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Show t ! letters to A i the editor J ded " ; ' : Thanks for saving deer Opw letter to the people of Utah : The Division of Wildlife t nTf is pleased t0 rePrt that ' Utah deer and elk herds are covering well after the hard mter. Now, it's time to reflect on remarkable success of the jnwgency big game feeding 1 6 muandtothankthe sands ted their money and time to unprecedented program. CI Dlvisin of Wildlife lit'65 ,reCeived $556,421.22 in Jons to the emergency big SSg fUnd- Donatio"s in W'221 given directly to the H g S Game Feedine legisl at. 1 aPPrPnated by the fit ;,-,and $80'000 from the I h' eederation. At this Ci20,000 of the money into hmf !hu.money went directly " pe e s Tg hl8h Protein deer feed I Wase0tof.the money helped ; Civpv,b0ught gasoline for Kone o ,1 hdeerandelk herds. p--6 used for any purpose other than the emergency big game feeding program. All administrative costs and thousands of DWR personnel-hours personnel-hours were essentially donated to the program. The Division has contracted an independent consultant to assist in the preparation of a comprehensive report documenting the emergency feeding program. The report will include a complete accounting of expenditures. Of the $304,000 in donations to the emergency feeding fund, over a third of the money came from Utahns. We are truly grateful to the people for this. Your $100,000 bought 500 tons of ieed. Think of all the animals alive today because of that. We also want to thank Utah Army and National Guard units, local chapters of the Utah Wildlife Federation, and the dozens of businesses and corporations which donated feed, supplies and equipment equip-ment to help save the animals. Of course, no price can be put on the thousands of hours of time donated by the people of central and northern Utah, without whom the program would have failed. Their unceasing efforts to carry feed to desperate, starving deer and elk through deep snow in subzero temperatures are truly remarkable, and a powerful testimony to our natural concern for wildlife. This feeding effort was an emergency. It was not planned, but put into action under the emergency conditions facing these animals. Some mistakes were made. No one is perfect, and (as in all things) we probably could have done better. But let's hope we never have to find that out. We are proud of the work everyone did; proud of and grateful to the people of this state who helped in whatever way. Our spring range rides to determine herd conditions are over now. Our conservation officers tell us that, although there were heavy losses in some areas, most of the animals survived. The doe deer look strong, and many will bear twin fawns next month. Life goes on. Thanks to the thousands of Utahns who care, we saved our deer and elk. -Homer D. Stapley Field Programs Director Division of Wildlife Resources |