60K expected on opening day of deer hunt


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SALT LAKE CITY — A lot of people are packing up their trailers and heading out for the general deer hunt, which opens this weekend.

At gas stations and grocery stores it's not hard to spot the people loading up for the deer hunt.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Conservation Outreach Manager Scott Root said make sure you're prepared, watch the weather, don't overdo physical activity, and have fun.

"Make sure you take care of yourself and if you're not in great shape, take it easy. We don't want any heart attacks out there," he said.

Root said the deer population is rather young this year. He has seen deer in both the lower and higher elevations, but finding a big buck is going to take some work getting into more remote areas.

What to expect
For details of what to expect for each region, visit wildlife.utah.gov.

Root said many deer are spending much of the day in large patches of scrub oak and maple. He said deer tend to leave the thick cover to drink and to feed early in the morning and right before dusk.

The deer hunt opens Saturday. More than 60,000 hunters, along with their family and friends, are expected to be in Utah's backcountry that day, according to DWR.

Although the mule deer population has been on a steady decline for the past 40 years, wildlife section chief Bill Bates said the number of hunters has dropped as well — making the chances of getting a buck about the same as it was in 1983 when nearly 229,000 hunters were going after a buck.

Each hunter generates anywhere from $60 to $100 per day in the field, contributing money to local economies and helping the state agency continue its work in habitat conservation and improvement, Bates said.

The hunt lasts until Oct. 27.

Contributing: Amy Joi O'Donoghue

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