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Central Region RAC adopts DWR deer permit recommendations after heated public debate
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Summary
The Central Region RAC voted 7–5 to accept the Division of Wildlife Resources's 2026 deer permit recommendations after extended questioning from RAC members and dozens of public comments that flagged apparent inconsistencies—especially for the Wasatch and Manti units—and asked for more unit-level data and transparency.
The Central Region Advisory Council voted to accept the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources's recommendations for 2026 deer permits after more than two hours of presentation, questioning and public comment on consistency and data interpretation.
DWR biologist Mike Wardle told the RAC the recommendations reflect multiple metrics—adult doe survival, fawn:doe ratios, historical permit numbers and modeled post-hunt buck:doe targets—not a single percentage change. "When our biologists are looking at how many permits to issue, we're not just looking at percentages," Wardle said, adding that the division considers adult survival and fawn recruitment in addition to buck:doe ratios.
Public comment and several RAC members focused on units where the proposed permit changes exceeded 20 percent of current allocations. Local residents and ranchers argued that recent mild winters and observed low deer counts did not support increases. Attorney and commenter Dustin Ozick asked whether issuing more tags would cause a population decline; Wardle replied that increased buck permits reduce the number of bucks during the hunt but are rarely a primary driver of population change in subsequent years.
RAC members pressed the division to provide more unit-level supporting material—population objectives, harvest success rates and explicit model inputs—especially for the six units with changes larger than 20 percent. Wasatch West and the Grama (Canvas/Wasatch/Manti) units drew repeated concern. Wasatch West biologist Alicia Kautcher described the district's 5-year success-rate range (about 10% low to 23% high; 5-year average ~18%) and said model outcomes change substantially with that variable.
After discussion, RAC member Eric Reed moved to accept the division's proposal "as presented"; the motion was seconded and the RAC approved it by voice vote, passes 7–5. The council recorded the result and directed staff to provide additional unit-specific documentation to inform the wildlife board and the public at the next stage.
The wildlife board will receive the RAC's recommendation packet and public comments as it considers final rulemaking. The RAC meeting included both formal public comment and numerous technical exchanges that the division agreed to summarize in supplemental materials for review before the board meeting.
