The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced it is extending the closure of four wildlife management areas, including one in Kamas, to protect deer and pronghorn as deep snow remains throughout northern Utah.
DWR initially planned to reopen public access to the wildlife management areas on May 1, after pushing the closure period back to protect wintering wildlife. The areas in northern Utah typically close to the public in early January and reopen during the second weekend of April. However, heavy snowfall has led the closure of the wildlife management area in Kamas, as well as one in Weber County and two in Rich County, to be extended until May 15.
“We were hoping enough snow would have melted by now that the animals would have left the WMAs and headed to higher elevations, but that hasn’t happened yet,” DWR Northern Region Wildlife Manager Jim Christensen said in a statement.
Mid-winter and early spring are particularly vulnerable times for Utah’s wildlife, according to a press release from DWR. The organization said it is difficult for animals to find food during the winter, which leads creatures like deer and elk to rely on the body fat reserves that are built up the previous summer.
“The animals are still at lower elevations and are still struggling,” Christensen said. “Deer herds in the northern areas of the state were hit pretty hard this winter, and we are seeing high mortality rates in some areas. In these types of conditions, big game animals are weakened and highly vulnerable to repeated, ongoing human-caused disturbances, so we’d like to prevent any unnecessary disturbances to the deer during this sensitive time of year. Not having people force the deer and pronghorn to move will help them save what little energy they have left.”
The Henefer-Echo wildlife management area, which was affected by the first extended closure, reopened on Monday.
There are 194 wildlife and waterfowl management areas in Utah. The land is intended to help conserve critical habitats for wildlife, minimize and mitigate wildlife depredation on private property, and provide anglers and hunters – who provide the funding for the areas through the purchase of fishing and hunting license – a place to practice their sport in the state, according to DWR.