Mule Deer Now!
Sign Up to Make Mule Deer Restoration a Reality
We need your help to fix Utah’s Mule Deer. One of the West’s most iconic species, Mule Deer are the backbone of hunting and wildlife conservation. Sign the petition to demand Mule Deer restoration in Utah now.
SFW Project Videos
Highway mortality is the second highest factor in mule deer mortality, second only to predation. SFW continues to fund wildlife road crossings and studies to determine their effectiveness in saving big game. Wildlife bridges and underpasses are proven to work. The Beaver, Utah crossing structures under I-15 are an excellent example that these are valuable investments, as are the crossings US-6 outside of Emma Park, Utah, heading toward Price. SFW is working on several additional wildlife crossing projects in Utah, Montana and other western states.
Other video for Wildlife projects funded by SFW:
Highway crossings video
Video of the Newfoundland Guzzler project funded by SFW & Utah FNAWS
Henry Mountains Buffalo capture & transplant funded by SFW
Utah CWMU program and public opportunity
Big Game Transplants in Utah
Utah Wildlife Division Presentation on Conservation Permits
SFW Funds Tree Planting on Dry Mountain
(Santaquin, Utah) JULY 2011 – Thanks to support from SFW, two Eagle Scout candidates and many volunteers from Santaquin, Utah were able to replant trees to replace those lost in the Molly Fire of 2001. This is an effort that will continue for years to come, but funding from SFW this summer has helped get the transplant started and spark the interest of additional volunteers. The timing of the project missed the formal funding deadlines and many organizations were unable to help. But according to scout leader Daniel Olson, “SFW’s flexibility and efficiency in finding a way to get involved was astonishing. Thanks to SFW donations, this year volunteers planted 346 Douglas Fir and and White Fir trees.” The overall plan is for trees to be planted in small stands mixed among open areas to maintain a healthy balance of shelter and space for wildlife benefit. The trees will also help to stabilize the mountain and restore the beauty of the National Forest. Combined with contributions from the US Forest Service, two acre-sized areas were planted on June 18 and July 2. Approximately 50 different volunteers were involved.
Background: Dry Mountain is located south of Provo, Utah. In late August 2001, the “Mollie” fire consumed the vegetation on more than 8,000 acres on the mountain. After a fire, the soil surface repels water and vegetation has difficulty taking root. It takes years for burned soil to recover to the point it is once again beneficial to wildlife. SFW efforts and donations toward habitat recovery like the Dry Mountain project are designed to jump start and bolster the recovery process as well as bring volunteers together for the benefit of wildlife and habitat.
Making A Real Difference
Hunting and the sportsman’s way of life is under attack as never before. The need for organized and coordinated efforts in wildlife and hunting conservation have never been greater. Protecting the hunting legacy and our rights to enjoy it takes great effort and significant resources – both human and financial.
SFW funds dozens of wildlife and habitat improvement projects each year and provides resources and the volunteer manpower required to make these projects successful. Working with state fish and game departments, the BLM and federal land and wildlife agencies, SFW members are making a real difference in the fight to protect and enhance wildlife populations and hunting opportunities.
SFW has purchased critical winter range and another habitat lands in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and New Mexico for the perpetual benefit of wildlife and hunter access. SFW has been the catalyst for funding projects to rehabilitate over 1 million acres of public lands in the west. Vast tracts of land saturated with unproductive pinion-juniper represent no food value for ungulates or other wildlife. Using chaining, burning and re-seeding, SFW will continue fighting for wildlife’s future. SFW regularly purchases winter feed and seed and aircraft services necessary to re-seed critical big game habitat devastated by wildfire.
Conservation Permits
$12.5 Million for Wildlife
Since 1997, the Utah Conservation Permit Program has allowed more than $12 Million to enhance wildlife habitat, transplant and start new flocks and herds, and other on-the-ground activities. The Utah Conservation Permit program has contributed greatly to Utah’s dramatic increase in both quantity and quality of elk, moose, bighorn, bison, antelope, mule deer, goats, and wild turkey. 100% of your purchase price of a Conservation Permit voucher goes into wildlife conservation. While some initially thought this was taking 5% of the permits away from sportsmen in the normal state public draw, hunting opportunity has dramatically increased in the state of Utah, and these permits have played a large roll in increasing habitat, thus increasing herds and flocks of game. In a recent survey, 75% of Utah sportsmen supported this program. The organizations involved in marketing these permits include Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), Mule Deer Foundation (MDF), Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and Safari Club International (SCI).
View the Utah Division of Wildlife’s presentation on Conservation Permits
Conservation Permits and Cooperative Wildlife Management Units – Beneficial
Conservation Projects
See SFW’s 2011 Conservation Projects Summary (coming soon)
SFW has donated $609,365 to the Utah Division of Wildlife for 65 wildlife habitat improvement projects recently completed.
Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife pays for the elk feeding near Millville, Utah
Foundation
SFW is a charitable non-profit conservation wildlife organization. The mission of SFW is to promote the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat, assist in providing quality wildlife management programs, educating the public about the role hunters play in wildlife conservation, and perpetuating the family tradition of hunting and fishing.
