Sportsmen made it clear at a public meeting in Nephi they want the Division of Wildlife Resources to allow more predator control of coyotes and cougars and manage the deer hunt so the deer population will increase.
Bruce C. Giunta, regional game manager, and Benjamin W. Morris, game biologist, attended the meeting to take comment on the division's plan for the Nebo elk herd. But they also heard a good deal about the record number of cougars on the mountain.Most of the 59 sportsmen who attended the meeting did so to complain about the way the division is handling the deer hunt and predator control.
Jack Dansie asked how many does mountain lions and coyotes take in a year. "We had game here in the past," he said.
Most of the sportsmen said the population of cougars is higher than any remembered.
"Nebo has a very high cougar population right now," said Giunta.
Cougars respond to deer population, he said. The number of deer is low and the population of cougar will follow, he said. But it will take two years or so for the populations to level.
The big cats have been reported eating pet cats and dogs. "Conflicts with humans is at an all-time high," he said.
Nevertheless, said Giunta, it is difficult to call an all-out war on the animals. "Many feel that not a hair on their heads should be harmed," he said.
He said opponents of predator control could fight the issue in court and then Utah might end up like California - where no legal cougar hunting is allowed, even for damage control.
Morris said he has recommended more predator control but the division can only make suggestions. The Big Game Board makes the final decisions, he said.
Political opinion is part of the decision and if those present feel strongly, they should become involved, he said.
Keith Steele said he had seen deer hunting in the area decline. "You have to decide if you are going to raise coyote and cougar or raise game," he said.
The most important cause of low deer population is weather and drought, the officials said. Because of the prolonged drought, said Giunta, only 60 fawns have been born per 100 does. The herd will not build at that rate.
"We lost 95 percent of our previous crop of fawns last winter," said Giunta.
At that, said Morris, the Nebo area suffered the smallest winter kill of several nearby areas. "It is fairly good winter range."
Nephi Mayor Robert Steele said the latest estimates put the number of cougar at 5,000, up from 1,000 a few years ago.
Richard Hansen said he had hunted in the same area of Mount Nebo with his father for 15 years. "I never saw a cougar. In the past six years I have seen a cougar every year. One year I saw two," said Hansen.