Hunters show support Utah Governor Herbert they support SFW's Mule Deer Initiative

Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife (SFW) held several town hall-style meetings with hunters in many parts of the Beehive State in recent weeks. The purpose was to outline SFW’s Mule Deer Now initiative, a bold new plan to increase Utah’s Mule Deer populations. Roughly 360 SFW members/hunters met with Utah Governor Herbert in Cache Valley and a week earlier more than 400 hunters attended the meeting in Cedar City.

“Mule deer is our number one priority species, and our members are focused keenly on improving both quantity and quality of our deer population,” said SFW President Byron Bateman. “There is a lot of energy among hunters to do something to fix the declining deer herds in Utah, and we need to do it now.”

Such support and hunter turn out at these meetings sends clear messages to state game and fish managers and elected officials. SFW Founder Don Peay said, “In a small northern Utah town, 400 people came to a public meeting with Utah Governor Gary Herbert.  Forty of them came to talk about taxes, energy, education and immigration.  But 360 of them were hunters who want to fix our deer herd and keep wolves out of Utah.”

Governor Herbert made it clear that restoring Utah’s mule deer numbers is a big priority for him.  Dr. Dwight Israelsen, a passionate mule deer hunter and chair of Utah State’s economics department, also addressed the crowd and Governor Herbert regarding the critical need to fix Utah’s mule deer.

On Governor Herbert’s Facebook page was posted this message about the Mule Deer meeting: “Had a great time last night in Wellsville speaking with an auditorium full of Sportsman about public lands and wildlife management. Thanks to the Cache Republican Party for hosting a great event.”

SFW is holding additional meetings throughout the state in partnership with Big Game Forever, an organization dedicated to preserving ungulate species of North America. SFW’s Mule Deer Now initiative outlines four major objectives for Utah Mule Deer:

1. Make Mule Deer recovery in Utah a primary objective.
2. Manage Mule Deer to produce and sustain a minimum 400,000 mule deer population statewide.
3. Dramatically increase predator control funding and efforts in each county within Utah.
4. Set Mule Deer hunting permit numbers annually, and decrease the number of tags when necessary, according to mule deer populations and buck-to-doe ratios within each of Utah’s 30 individual mule deer regions.

Sign on to support SFW’s Mule Deer Now Initiative.

Read the Utah Auditor General’s November 2011 Performance Audit of The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, specifically Chapter IV: Conservation Permits and Cooperative Wildlife Management Units Appear Beneficial

Click here to download the “Executive Summary”.

Despite denials by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding these plans, these plans are moving forward. This official “draft” was released for official comment by members of the wolf recovery team in the last couple of weeks. In the wake of criticism by western states, USFWS’ national director accused states of “mischaracterizing” the Southern Rockies wolf plans. These leaked documents confirm that the criticism of these plans by western states were well founded. It is apparent that USFWS is moving to dramatic increases in wolves across the entire Southern Rockies and into Texas.

These plans are dangerous. These plans do not protect wildlife. These plans do not protect livestock. These plans would violate well-established limitations on federal authority. These plans are based on a dramatic overreaching.

You can help stop these plans from being forced on the good people of the Western United States by visiting www.BigGameForever.org and signing the petition.

On November 13, 2011 the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources received information regarding a poached mule deer buck through Iron County and Beaver County dispatch.

Officers Josh Carver and Brent Farnsworth responded to the scene, west of the Bald Hills in Iron County, where they located a large antlered buck lying dead. A necropsy was performed on the carcass and it was determined that the animal had been shot several times with a rifle. Further investigation of the area revealed a second, small two-point buck deer, that was also shot and left to waste.

The largest deer was a 27 inch wide, 6X7 buck which scored approximately 203 points.

Witnesses observed a white crew cab truck, possibly an F-250 diesel, fleeing the scene. They also observed two men dragging the deer carcass. One of the suspects was wearing a white sweatshirt and the other was wearing a grey sweatshirt. Three suspects fled in the white truck at approximately 4:30 p.m. on November 13, 2011.

The incident occurred on Black Mountain, west of SR-130. This is west of the Bald Hills in Iron County. Anyone with information regarding the illegal killing of this animal, or any other, is encouraged to contact the UTIP Hotline at 800-662-3337. The Utah Division of Wildlife and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife will be offering a reward for information on this case or others. Requests for confidentiality are respected.

Every year Utah Conservation Officers conduct numerous investigations into the illegal killing of wildlife. In 2010, Officers confirmed 902 illegally killed animals valued at over $370,000. This incident, and others like it, represent a loss to the resource and all citizens who value wildlife.

Contact:

Officer Josh Carver
joshcarver@utah.gov
435.691.4167

Hoyt Expands into 150,000 sq.ft. Facility

Hoyt Archery, the dominant leader in the archery industry, has just announced its expansion into a brand new, state of the art, 150,000 sq ft manufacturing facility. The move into this new facility comes on Hoyt’s 80th year in business. Established in 1931, Hoyt has been a steady force and leader in the archery industry innovating and pioneering countless technologies and products that have changed archery forever with their latest being their revolutionary carbon bow designs.

The continued and rapid growth of the Hoyt Archery company forced an expansion from their 85,000 sq ft building into their new, spacious, high tech facility. Custom built specifically for the Hoyt Archery operations, this new complex will be home to all of Hoyt’s precision manufacturing areas such as their state of the art machine shop, limb lamination and fabrication, specialized paint and finishing operation, custom string building and all assembly production, including all carbon specific production lines. The facility also includes new state of the art research & development and engineering labs allowing Hoyt’s team of engineers to continue to push the envelope, maintaining an intense focus on archery innovation and technology, strengthening their position as a leader in the archery industry.

Along with the manufacturing, engineering and research & development operations, all of Hoyt’s corporate offices will be operating from the same facility. Due to the demand for factory tours, the new facility has also been designed with an elevated catwalk and observation decks, allowing for a bird’s eye view of the high tech Hoyt operation for tour groups. The facility is also equipped with a state-of-the-art conferencing centre with theatre-style seating for special group meetings. All operations have been moved and are fully functioning in the new facility.

Hoyt President, Randy Walk commented “This is a very special and momentous time for Hoyt Archery. The construction of this new, custom-built facility is a huge step to our future developments and ensuring our continued success moving forward. The phenomenal growth we have experienced over the years is truly humbling. We are very proud of our 80 year track record and look forward to the next 80 years of engineering and designing innovative products that truly benefit archers and bowhunters around the world and that drive the industry forward.”

Hoyt has been one of SFW’s longest corporate sponsors and a true friend to wildlife conservation efforts throughout the United States.

Hoyt’s new address:

Hoyt Archery Inc.
593 N. Wright Brothers Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

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Kierra, Byron Bateman and Adam Eakle