Logic would suggest that the best of times for Utah's deer were back when there were few people, no homes or roads, hunting equipment was crude and not very efficient, and the only competition they faced in the search for food would have been from other deer.
So much for logic.
Truth is the best of times for Utah's deer was back in the 1950s and 1960s, a century after pioneers entered the valley, bringing with them herds of cattle and sheep that, based on practices at the time, overgrazed the available grass.
The predominant big-game animals when pioneers entered the valley were elk and bighorn sheep. There weren't many deer. The hillsides were covered with grasses back then, which are good foods for elk and sheep, but not for deer.
"Deer numbers erupted under an unusual set of circumstances," explained Jim Karpowitz, big game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and author of Utah's deer management plan.
Mule deer were common but not abundant back when pioneers entered the valley. Unrestricted hunting, in fact, nearly wiped out what deer Utah held. Lawmakers responded by closing hunting between the years 1908 and 1913, then after 1913 only bucks were fair game.
Overgrazing turned what were lush fields of grasses into a barren wasteland, which allowed browse and forbs, main foods for deer, to grow.
The deer responded. Numbers increased rapidly. In contrast, elk and sheep numbers fell just as quickly.
To control the rapidly expanding deer herds, Utah went to hunting both does and bucks in 1951. Hunters, in fact, were allowed multiple permits to hunt multiple seasons. Deer were numerous and big bucks common.
These were the "good old days" often relived by grandpas when they talk about past hunts.
The highest number of deer ever harvested in a single year in Utah was in 1961 when 132,000 were taken. By comparison, around 25,000 deer were harvested last year.
"It was at this point (1961) the deer populations started to drop," said Karpowitz as he leaned back in his office chair. "It's funny, sometimes I hear 25-, 30-year-old hunters talk about the 'good old days.' They weren't even around at the time. I wasn't even hunting at the time."
To slow the falling deer numbers, Utah went back to buck-only hunting in 1975.
"Under the buck-only program," continued Karpowitz, "hunting went through a series of boom-and bust-cycles."
One of the best hunts at the time was in 1985 when 82,552 bucks were harvested. The highest number of hunters afield was in 1983 when 228,907 bought licenses.
Back in 1983, roads were packed, campgrounds overcrowded and there was nowhere hunters could go without bumping into other hunters, and they complained — loudly.
Following the harsh winter of 1992-93, when thousands of deer died from starvation, Utah set a cap on deer licenses of 97,000. This covered all three deer hunts — archery, muzzleloader and general rifle.
That limit remains in place today. Aggravated by the drought, Utah's deer herds have struggled over the past decade. Biologists believe conditions this past year were such that deer numbers increased slightly.
Statewide estimates are that Utah's deer population is around 280,000.
Long term, said Karpowitz, "We hope to get it to our management objective of 426,000 deer. We've got a long ways to go."
The single most important element in the recovery plan for deer is to improve habitat. The encroachment of civilization and the continual building of homes, shopping centers, parking lots and roads continue to shrink available winter habitat.
A meager supply of food in the winter, the prolonged drought and, among other things, predators are all reasons for a lower number of fawns being born each spring, which in turn keeps deer counts down.
The proof goes back to history when pioneers made it possible for prime habitat — browse and forbs — to grow on critical winter range along the benches. Deer numbers rose sharply.
Currently, good deer habitat is very limited, especially in critical winter-range areas.
Last year alone, Utah lost more than 600,000 acres of sagebrush, an important food source for deer in the winter. Luckily, last winter was relatively mild, and few deer were lost to starvation. Biologists, however, fear that a bad winter like 1992-93 could prove devastating to Utah's herds.
Another problem deer face is predators, mainly coyotes, mountain lions and, in some cases, black bear.
"Predators have a greater impact when deer habitat is poor than when it's in good conditions. The past few years predator, especially coyotes, have been a problem," said Karpowitz.
When habitat is good, does produce more fawns, and when it's poor, as it is now, they produce fewer offspring.
"When they're producing 100 fawns per 100 does, predators aren't a real problem. The deer can outproduce the predators. But when you're only producing 25 fawns per 100 does, you can see why it becomes a real problem," he explained.
"On a study I did sometime back on the Book Cliffs, I could document that predators were killing about 40 percent of the fawns. We were still getting 90 fawns per 100 does at the time. Now, since the drought, we're getting fewer than 20 fawns per 100 does.
"A combination of factors determines deer-herd size — weather, habitat, predators and even road kill. Here again, when a herd is doing poorly, road kill can be a real problem. Now you add poor habitat and a struggling herd and you can see the problem."
As noted, the key to deer-herd recovery is based on habitat if herd size is ever to get back to 1980s figures. "We will never be able to go back to the numbers we had in the 1960s because we simply do not have the habitat available anymore to sustain those numbers of deer," Karpowitz said. It will require a lot of improvement in the habitat.
This year, under a Habitat Initiative program started by the late director of the DWR, Kevin Conway, Utah has started an intensive program to improve food supplies for Utah's big-game animals.
It will take years, even decades, to see any significant changes. Restoring damaged land involves time and money.
In the meantime, Utah's deer will have to make do with what they have, albeit limiting. And, wildlife managers will continue to try and keep a balance between what habitat is available and the deer that can comfortably live on those lands.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com