The Southeastern Region Regional Advisory Council voted unanimously to approve updated big-game management objectives for three mule-deer units after receiving a presentation and extended discussion about model parameters, habitat work and chronic wasting disease (CWD) hotspots.

The council acted during its meeting in Green River, where Dustin Mitchell, identified in the meeting as the region's wildlife manager, said the division reviews and updates unit deer plans every five years and proposed increases on three units in the region. "Every 5 years, we we review and our and update our unit deer plans," Mitchell said.

The updated objectives reflect new, unit-specific parameter values the division said it now has from recent studies. Mitchell told the RAC that the modeling approach is not a wholly new model but uses updated parameter inputs (adult doe survival, buck:doe ratios, harvest, etc.) drawn from unit-level data collected since the prior cycle. "It's the same model that we've been using for decades. It's just in those parameters that we use ... now we're actually forcing the model to use the data that we've been collecting that's probably more realistic to these units," he said.

Nut graf: The change matters because population objectives guide management actions and potential tag-setting; several RAC members pressed the division on whether the revised objectives are realistically attainable given recent trends and local stressors such as drought and CWD in parts of the La Sal range.

Discussion and evidence: RAC members raised several concerns before the vote. One member questioned whether the new parameters were available and known when the statewide plan was finalized, saying the timing felt late. Mitchell and other staff said the improved unit-level data were developed after the prior planning work and thus were appropriate to apply now. Several RAC members asked how habitat work and partners (BLM, Forest Service, UDOT) would support reaching objectives; Mitchell pointed to on-the-ground projects such as conifer removal, prescribed burns and water developments and invited federal partners to coordinate.

CWD and targeted hunts: On the La Sal units, members pressed Mitchell about CWD. A RAC member asked, "On the LaSalle increase, kind of a hotspot for CWD ... Can you speak a little bit to that?" Mitchell acknowledged CWD presence in the Moab and Castle Valley areas and said the division has implemented targeted CWD hunts to reduce local prevalence and that those hunts will focus on known hot spots.

RAC cautions about aspirational targets: Multiple advisory council members cautioned that past objectives have often not been met and warned against setting objectives the public will misread as guaranteed population increases. One member said the statewide objective framing can create public confusion when media announcements suggest big population goals that are not realized. Other speakers emphasized that objectives are revisited every five years and that the committee that developed the unit values included diverse stakeholders (landowners, federal agencies, conservation groups) and discussed trade-offs including habitat capacity and partner constraints.

Formal action: A motion to "approve as presented" was made by Matt Farnborst and seconded by Cash Dollings. A roll call recorded yes votes from Trisha Dean, Matt Farnborst, Jacob (surname not specified in transcript), Josh (surname not specified), Charles Fisher, Daniel Luke and Brad Richmond; the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: The division will proceed with the objectives as approved and expects to monitor results through post-season counts and targeted management (including the new CWD-focused hunts). Members said they expect continued reporting to the RAC and federal partners as projects and monitoring continue.