The Division of Wildlife Resources recently acquired a large tract of land northeast of Fruitland, which may not seem too noteworthy.
Except in this case, it's being seen as one of the agency's "most important purchases."
The purchase involved 5,700 acres.
It is crucial winter and transition range for deer, elk and sage-grouse, and it is adjacent to the Tabby Mountain Wildlife Management area (40,000 acres) — the largest managed area in Utah.
"(This) gives us a much larger area to manage and secures access for sportsmen, and in this case to an area that was private … and could have been sold and developed, which would have closed access," said Miles Hamberg, habitat program manager for the DWR in the Northeastern Region.
Feelers went out about 10 years ago with respect to the DWR acquiring land owned by the Smith family. Serious discussions began about five years ago. The sale was final on June 29.
The Utah Mule Deer Foundation contributed more than $200,000 toward the purchase. The remaining funds came from the sale of land in Roosevelt by the DWR.
Money from the MDF, said Miles Moretti, president, was "raised at a local banquet."
Allan Smith said the family could have made more money selling the property to developers, but "in the end, we decided to work with the DWR to preserve the land for wildlife."
The Tabby Mountain deer herd, part of the Currant Creek herd, is considered one of the "healthiest" in Utah. The mountain range also holds a large population of elk, which is part of the Wasatch Mountain limited-entry unit, "so there are some pretty large bulls in this area," said Hamberg.
Heretofore, hunting was limited to a small group under the Cooperative Wildlife program, which meant hunters either had to buy an expensive permit from the landowner or draw one of a limited number of permits.
The land itself backs up against the Tabby Mountain foothills. In the winter, deer migrate from there onto the Smith property.
The land currently holds large areas of grasses and some forbs. Hamberg said plans are to bring in cattle during the summer to put pressure on the grasses, which would make it possible for more forbs to grow.
Elk feed primarily on grasses, while deer choose to dine on forbs, such as sagebrush.
Sagebrush is also a protective wintering area for sage-grouse that move over from the Strawberry Valley area when the weather turns cold.
"What we hope, too, is that through our habitat enhancement programs that wintering deer and elk will remain on the winter range rather than move onto farms and residential areas and cause damage," said Hamberg.
"Also, now that the property belongs to the state, we can make it more accessible to the public, at least during the summer and fall," said Kevin Christopherson, DWR regional supervisor. "During the winter, it will likely be closed to the public to provide deer and elk with a disturbance-free place to spend the winter."
The Smith family grazed sheep and cattle on the land.
The land is located about five miles northeast of Fruitland.