# Where did all the deer along the Mirror Lake Hwy go?



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

We have been walking the Mirror Lake Highway from the WY/UT border to around Trial Lake since 1994. Walk it all pickin up litter, both sides of the highway in June and walk drive the road 2 or 3 more times until the DOT closes the road because of snow (about Nov 1). 

Most years I've noted, either mentally or on paper, the number of dead deer along the roadside. Many years over 60 dead deer have been counted. Most of those dead deer are in the 7 miles of private land from the Wyoming border up to the Bear River Cabins. There's another stretch between the Ruth Lake trailhead and the Hayden Fork Trailhead that historically has a fair number of dead deer.

There are deer that get whacked and then run off and die that I don't see or smell but there's without fail telltale signs of the collision; broken auto parts, skid marks and hair on the edge of the road. 

So this year there's only 3 dead deer along or near the highway from the Wyoming border to the Trial Lake turnoff, about 29.5 miles and one of them has been dead a long time probably got hit late last fall.

What's up?


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

-^|^--^|^--^|^-Aliens -^|^--^|^--^|^-


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I guess no deer....
Winter kill,
And of course wolves..................jk

North slope deer hunting just got worse.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Wasn't it a big snow year in the region? If so, beyond winter kill, could it be a delay in how fast they moving back up to summer territory? How are the plants along their migration corridors doing in the region?

I only know generalizations but I know there can be fluctuations between the years. Is the first week of July outside the scope of those types of changes in the Uintahs?


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Safer drivers, but maybe the snow. Probably Sasquatch. Definitely Trump's fault.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Critter said:


> -^|^--^|^--^|^-Aliens -^|^--^|^--^|^-


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

I saw 4-5 dead deer on the way to mirror lake on the 4th


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## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

maybe they're just more cautious then usual due to the possibility of losing their health care?


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

TPrawitt91 said:


> I saw 4-5 dead deer on the way to mirror lake on the 4th


Really, I finished cleaning on the 3rd. Did you come from the WY side?

I'm prolly walkin down the road too fast.

.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

wyogoob said:


> Really, I finished cleaning on the 3rd. Did you come from the WY side?
> 
> I'm prolly walkin down the road too fast.
> 
> .


No I came from Kamas. Between there and Mirror lake I saw 4-5 on the side of the road.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

goofy elk said:


> I guess no deer....
> Winter kill,
> And of course wolves..................jk
> 
> North slope deer hunting just got worse.


I forgot about the Utah wolves. 

.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Last fall the state of Utah implemented a Safe Deer program. All deer are now required to take an online course with an in person field day. The course consists of how to spot Utah license plates, how to tell if they're democrat or republican, how to tell if they're a female driver on her cell phone or if they're a guy driver with a beer can up to his face and most importantly how to tell if they are mormon or non mormon. This new school program for deer has significantly reduced the deer mortality rates as deer are now better able to gauge if they are likely to be hit or not while on the mirror lake highway. I hope this explanation clears it up. If it doesn't please refer to the Utah Deer Safe Highway Guidebook on page 233 section A, subsection 2, sub sub section 3.1, addendum ZZ for clarification.


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

It's simple goob just like the elk herd you Wyoming boys killed them all during the winter. Leaving scraps for all of the north slope Utah hunters.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> Last fall the state of Utah implemented a Safe Deer program. All deer are now required to take an online course with an in person field day. The course consists of how to spot Utah license plates, how to tell if they're democrat or republican, how to tell if they're a female driver on her cell phone or if they're a guy driver with a beer can up to his face and most importantly how to tell if they are mormon or non mormon. This new school program for deer has significantly reduced the deer mortality rates as deer are now better able to gauge if they are likely to be hit or not while on the mirror lake highway. I hope this explanation clears it up. If it doesn't please refer to the Utah Deer Safe Highway Guidebook on page 233 section A, subsection 2, sub sub section 3.1, addendum ZZ for clarification.


Thanks. You guys in Utah are doing a great job managing the deer herd. I've read that Utah will have 100,000 more deer this year. 
Whitetails? 
Result of Option 2?


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

wyogoob said:


> Thanks. You guys in Utah are doing a great job managing the deer herd. I've read that Utah will have 100,000 more deer this year.
> Whitetails?
> Result of Option 2?


Actually most Utard deer hunters couldn't tell a whitetail from a muley so what the DWR is doing this year is to put out 100,000 silhouettes of mulies in fields near roads so the Utard deer hunters can shoot one and then leave it there where it falls and no one will be the wiser. Then they can go home and tell everyone they got their deer.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

hazmat said:


> It's simple goob just like the elk herd you Wyoming boys killed them all during the winter. Leaving scraps for all of the north slope Utah hunters.


Yeah, we can't thank ya enough for our freezers full of Utah elk but we don't have late deer seasons since the bad winter of 1992 following 4 years of selling 3 or 5 doe/fawn tags over the counter to everyone.

I didn't mean to yell, sorry.

.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

I hear that more people have found wyogoob's recipes and are picking up what they hit or what others have hit to try out some of goob's good cooking.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Maybe the deer finally realized the deer crossing signs where made for them, so they understand where it's safe to cross.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I agree with Goofy. Winter kill may have been higher than previous years. Has anyone seen any winter kill numbers to substantiate that theory?

Honestly, numbers seemed a little low in that area last fall too....


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Bax* said:


> I agree with Goofy. Winter kill may have been higher than previous years. Has anyone seen any winter kill numbers to substantiate that theory?
> 
> Honestly, numbers seemed a little low in that area last fall too....


Yes, many of these deer winter around Evanston and we had a high winter kill.

But dead deer were scarce on this stretch of road last year following an average to mild winter - only 16 dead deer carcasses between miles 28 and 55 plus 4 or 5 deer/car collision sites where I couldn't see or smell a dead deer.

.


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

CPAjeff said:


> Maybe the deer finally realized the deer crossing signs where made for them, so they understand where it's safe to cross.


Too funny... "you can direct the deer population wherever you want it to go"... 
I like the school zone idea too, nothing like mixing kindergarteners with rutting bucks in November.

Side note: why does the lady in my Bluetooth headphones always sound so surprised... CONNECTED!?!


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> Yes, many of these deer winter around Evanston and we had a high winter kill.
> 
> But dead deer were scarce on this stretch of road last year following an average to mild winter - only 16 dead deer carcasses between miles 28 and 55 plus 4 or 5 deer/car collision sites where I couldn't see or smell a dead deer.
> 
> .


 Hmmmmm.... Langoliers?


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

It could be the cutthroat trout or lack of.that's killing all the deer off


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Bax* said:


> I agree with Goofy. Winter kill may have been higher than previous years. Has anyone seen any winter kill numbers to substantiate that theory?
> 
> Honestly, numbers seemed a little low in that area last fall too....


A lot of the deer that summer on the North Slope on the Bear River and Black's Fork drainages winter on the Muddy more or less around Leroy WY, milepost 19 on Interstate 80. In years past there's been literally thousands of deer wintering in that area; now there's just hundreds.

Every May the Game & Fish runs a deer mortality survey in the same place on the south side of the Interstate around Leroy. I've been on it a couple of times. They teach you how to tell the difference between a female skeleton and a male deer skeleton. It's a fun day and they let you keep any antlers you find. :grin:

I think the G&F said there were 70% losses on the Muddy by January 1. (Keep in mind many of these deer are Utah deer) Mortality for mule deer northwest of Evanston by January was 90% they said and we've talked about that here on the UWN. (Some of these deer are Utah deer, even Idaho deer)

A friend of mine has a large ranch on the Muddy. His ground goes up close to the Utah border. He runs a guiding service especially for trophy deer. There's huge deer and big shot clients; NBA basketball players, doctors, lawyers and such. Not much left of the deer hunting business at this point. There just aren't any deer left.

I'll see if I can find the mortality results from this year's G&F surveys.

I've been hanging around the Mirror Lake Highway for over 35 years, walking it since 1994. I've seen some really bad winters, combined with terrible drought and the over-selling of tags. Maybe it's bad luck, maybe one of these limiting factors hits the deer herd just when it starts to make a comeback. Or maybe there's something else. I don't know.

.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

So, are you saying I should turn in my L.E. No. Slope tag that I drew with 16 points?


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

ridgetop said:


> So, are you saying I should turn in my L.E. No. Slope tag that I drew with 16 points?


Oh don't do that, just bring it by the house and I will take care of it for you.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

TPrawitt91 said:


> No I came from Kamas. Between there and Mirror lake I saw 4-5 on the side of the road.


Oh, OK, that makes sense. I seen 2 between Provo Falls and Bald Mountain Pass.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

ridgetop said:


> So, are you saying I should turn in my L.E. No. Slope tag that I drew with 16 points?


Heavens no, I'm saying hunt along the Mirror Lake Highway. There must be tons of deer there because none of them are getting killed on the highway like they did for the last 20 years or so. And hey, Wyoming quit the extra tags and the late deer hunts north of the UT/WY border so there's some more deer for ya.

.


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