Volunteers with organizations such as the Mule Deer Foundation and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife will work with Division of Wildlife Resources biologists to set up feeding stations in areas including the upper Ogden Valley, Morgan, Kamas and the Cache Valley.
Biologists are trying to get to the deer, especially younger and weaker fawns, with a feeding program in time to save as many animals as possible in what is turning into one of the most severe winters in 25 years, said Justin Dolling, the DWR's northern region wildlife manager.
Some areas of northern Utah have been hit hard by storms. In the Heber Valley, for example, nearly 20 inches of snow fell overnight Sunday. On Saturday before the storm, flocks of wild turkey and mule deer could be seen near Wasatch Mountain State Park scratching for food.
Pete Staks, a longtime resident of Holladay's Olympus Cove neighborhood, reported seeing a small herd of elk near his home for the first time, suggesting that heavy snows are forcing wild animals into new areas in search of food.
Dolling said he was in the Ogden Valley on Saturday and driving through some roads was like going through tunnels.
"We talked to people driving the main roads Sunday and they said they were pushing snow with the bumpers of their cars," he reported.
Deer feeding can be controversial because some worry artificial feed does not satisfy nutritional needs. In addition, the practice concentrates animals in a small area.
But Dolling said Colorado has done research on a pellet food that can meet mule deer's nutritional needs that seems to work. The feed costs about $400 a ton. He said the agency could easily go through 50 to 100 tons of the product this year.
Miles Moretti, chief executive of the Mule Deer Foundation, which opens its national convention Wednesday at the Salt Palace, along with the Foundation for North American Sheep and Sports for Fish and Wildlife, said volunteers from his organization will participate in the feeding program.
"We plan to take pellets to where they need to be and to get troughs," he said. " We are soliciting donations from our members and rounding up volunteers. . . . We are hoping for warm temperatures at the end of the week, but it may be too little, too late."
Wildlife biologists have some advice to help Utah's deer make it through the last few weeks of winter:
* If you're concerned about a group of deer, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office. If DWR isn't familiar with the situation, it'll send a biologist or a conservation officer to check it out.
* Keep your dogs inside your yard. If you decide to take them out of your yard, keep them on leashes so they don't chase and harass deer.
* Don't disturb deer. Keep your distance from them.
* Don't feed the deer.
Reasons why the public should not feed deer:
* Deer feed mostly on twigs and leaves of woody plants. Their complex digestive systems cannot adjust to a sudden and dramatic change in diet. Consequently, they cannot digest new and unfamiliar food [such as hay, corn or apples] unless it's added to their diet gradually. Deer can literally die of starvation with full stomachs, sometimes within feet of feeding stations
* Feeding concentrates deer into a smaller area, degrading habitat and leading to disease outbreaks, particularly outbreaks of chronic wasting disease.
* The larger, stronger deer obtain most of the food. Fawns actually receive less nourishment than they would in the wild, and many of the fawns die.
* Providing food too close to roadways can lead to more deer being hit and killed by cars. The number of people who are injured, or even killed in these accidents, also can climb.
* Feeding within or close to neighborhoods can lead to ornamental shrubs and other landscaping being damaged by deer.
Source: Division of Wildlife Resources
