DWR biologists fly deer by helicopter for annual checkups

CACHE COUNTY — Biologists with the Division of Wildlife Resources, and several volunteers stood at the ready Wednesday morning, as mule deer were flown in to them by helicopter, at the Hardware Wildlife Management Area visitors center.

“Deer is a very visible species that people love in Utah. And we want to make sure that that the populations stay healthy and sustainable,” said Jim Christensen, Northern Region Wildlife Manager for the DWR. “We’re always concerned about the overall health of wildlife populations.”

The deer are brought in one or two at a time, as groups of people put them on stretchers to be weighed, and then tables for examinations.

“We’ll draw some blood, to get any kind of information from that we can. And then if it does not have a GPS collar already, we’ll put a GPS collar on it,” Christensen explained.

The effort in Cache Valley is one of many that will take place over the next couple of months, as biologists work to determine the health of herds statewide. Herds in different areas face unique challenges, like the one in the Hardware Wildlife Management Area.

“These deer generally come into winter in much better shape, health-wise and fat-wise, than anywhere else in the state,” Christensen said. “The concern with that is at the end of the winter, these deer come in worse shape than anywhere else in the state too.”

Christensen said that’s because the herd faces some harsh winter conditions compared to other areas. Bringing in a small number for checkups now can give biologists an idea of how the herd will fare in the months ahead.

“If they’re coming in right now in really good fat shape, but then we start losing deer throughout the winter faster than we would expect, maybe we’ve got something else going on,” Christensen said. “You know, some elevated predation levels or something like that.”