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Northern RAC backs Division's first-cycle deer permit recommendations under new statewide mule deer plan
Summary
The Northern Regional Advisory Council unanimously recommended the Division of Wildlife Resources's permit recommendations for 2025, the first cycle under the new statewide mule deer management plan, following discussion over automatic permit adjustments and unit-level changes including the Beaver and Henrys units.
The Northern Regional Advisory Council unanimously recommended the Division of Wildlife Resources's deer permit recommendations for the 2025 season, the first permit cycle under the statewide mule deer management plan the wildlife board adopted last fall.
The recommendations implement an automatic adjustment rule within the plan that allows the division to change unit permit numbers by up to 20 percent without returning each small change to the board, Dax Mangus, one of the division presenters, told the council. "We're trying to follow the direction from the board and implement those changes," Mangus said, stressing the division intends to treat some adjustments as data-driven automatic actions rather than issues for board votes.
Why it matters: the new plan aims to make permit-setting more predictable by limiting how much staff and the board can alter unit-by-unit numbers year to year. Council members and public speakers pressed for clarity about which changes were automatic and which were open for discussion, and raised concerns about specific units where recent winter losses have affected population estimates.
Most substantive discussion focused on a few units where the recommendations represent notable changes. On the Beaver unit the division proposed splitting the unit and issuing 1,900 permits for Beaver East and 900 for Beaver West; combined those totals are higher than last year's permits and reflect the division's assessment that deer numbers have rebounded since recent drought years. Mangus said biologists used the available classification data to estimate the split proportions but acknowledged the division had not collected data at that scale before the plan change.
On premium limited-entry units such as the Henrys, the division recommended shifting some permits from premium limited-entry tags toward "management buck" permits that allow hunters to harvest bucks with fewer than four points on at least one side. The management permits were designed to increase hunter opportunity for mature bucks with less desirable antler configurations while still pursuing the plan's buck:doe ratio objectives, Mangus said.
Public comment was mixed. Garrett Slatkoff of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers said the organization supports the recommendations and the 20 percent automatic-adjustment provision. Troy Justenson, representing a sportsmen's group, asked that some units (Beaver West in particular) start more conservatively; he suggested 500 permits where the division proposed 1,500 (the division ultimately presented a 900 recommendation for Beaver West). Division staff said they were willing to consider more conservative starts where appropriate and would refine numbers as more data are collected.
The council approved the recommendations as presented by unanimous roll-call vote. Members repeatedly urged the division to track units with large permit-to-population ratios and to revisit the plan if outcomes diverge from objectives.
What happens next: the RAC's recommendation is advisory and will be forwarded to the wildlife board, which formally adopts statewide permit numbers and rules.
Sources: Dax Mangus, Division of Wildlife Resources presentation; public comment cards and RAC roll-call vote recorded in the Northern Regional Advisory Council meeting transcript.
