Record Snow Pack in Utah and Still Snowing

[bearpaw]

https://www.ksl.com/article/50606204/utahs-statewide-snowpack-breaks-record-set-40-years-ago

The Positive, Salt Lake, Lake Powell, and Mead were all drying up, I've heard Salt Lake is already up two feet and most of the snow hasn't melted yet, other lakes and reservoirs are also rising, and it's still snowing almost daily this week. Farmers are rejoicing and there should be good feed this year for the animals that survive winter.

The Negative, animals have been pushed as low as they can get, more animals than usual in all the cities. Elk and deer are being fed all over southern Idaho, I don't know if Utah feeds during hard winters, nobody has seen excessive winter kill yet, but its hard to see what might be buried in the snow. Salt Lake area has been handing out sand bags for two weeks so people can get ready for anticipated flooding.

[KFhunter]

I launched a boat out of bulldog, the water line was prolly 100 feet up on the rocks! 

Last few years bulldog wasn’t even in the water, it was a creek


I would looove to visit Powell at full pool and do some striper fishing 

[KFhunter]

Sorry, bullfrog launch

[BeerBugler]

Definitely seeing excessive winter kill on deer in SE Idaho, 45-65% with 76 being hit the hardest. No end in sight, critters have been as far down as they can get for months. I started seeing deer dead in their beds in early February.

[Moose Master]

Heading to Utah in mid April with the fifth wheel.  Talked with two different outfitters and both said pack for all seasons and pack chains. Both outfitters were very open about visiting them.  Talked with one this am in the Vernal area and she said there is 3 feet of snow at her place right as of today
We are just thrilled with going on a road trip and letting the horses loose in the Duramax !!!!

[Karl Blanchard]

Just got done listening to a podcast about this very topic. They go in depth on winter kill from some of the big ones and obviously break down this current situation. I've been shouting about above objective elk herds out competing deer for usable winter habitat for years now and was glad to hear someone else discussing it. Diamond zone is a prime example of that.

[baldopepper]

So. I'm kinda betting there will be no emergency restrictions or closoures of any kind take effect in any of the states suffering high winter kills.  All hoping this is a one of a kind winter and we won't see a repeat next year.  Kinda thinking when I hear of 60%+ winter kills maybe those areas should be closed down for a year.  I hate seeing opportunity disappear, but it's not opportunity if there's nothing left to hunt.  Brother in Utah tells me road kills have also been terrible with animals wintering down much lower than usual.

[Karl Blanchard]

So. I'm kinda betting there will be no emergency restrictions or closoures of any kind take effect in any of the states suffering high winter kills.  All hoping this is a one of a kind winter and we won't see a repeat next year.  Kinda thinking when I hear of 60%+ winter kills maybe those areas should be closed down for a year.  I hate seeing opportunity disappear, but it's not opportunity if there's nothing left to hunt.  Brother in Utah tells me road kills have also been terrible with animals wintering down much lower than usual.

CO and WY are already stating reduced tag allocations are coming in certain areas.

[baldopepper]

So. I'm kinda betting there will be no emergency restrictions or closoures of any kind take effect in any of the states suffering high winter kills.  All hoping this is a one of a kind winter and we won't see a repeat next year.  Kinda thinking when I hear of 60%+ winter kills maybe those areas should be closed down for a year.  I hate seeing opportunity disappear, but it's not opportunity if there's nothing left to hunt.  Brother in Utah tells me road kills have also been terrible with animals wintering down much lower than usual.

CO and WY are already stating reduced tag allocations are coming in certain areas.

aren't most of the tags and quotas already issued and in place for the 2023 season? I've often wondered about the wisdom behind season and quotas being set a year or more out.  Obviously hunters want it that way so they can plan ahead, but are they going to recall tags and reset quotas when they discover in May that they've had a horrendous winter kill? Proper management might dictate that, so I guess we'll wait and see what happens. Certainly hope next winter isn't a duplicate of this one.

[Pathfinder101]

Purely anecdotal, but I just watched a YouTube video this morning of a guy trying to kill a cougar with his bow (looked like on the Wasatch Front).  He came across 9 elk carcasses.  He was speculating how many were cat kills and how many were winter kill.  That's a lotta dead elk for one hillside....

[baldopepper]

Yea, unfortunately it's a great winter for predators. Kind of like a huge buffet line. Sad to think they'll go into the spring fat and sassy and in great shape to takedown deer and elk trying to recover from a devastating winter. 

[bobcat]

Wyoming doesn't set their final quotas until late April.

[baldopepper]

Just talked to one of my brothers in Utah. Said 34 elk road killed in the last month on I-80  In a short stretch as you leave Salt Lake. That's a pretty big bite out of that Wasatch front herd.  He said it's like that state wide this winter with record road kill reports on both deer and elk. Very sad situation- no real assessment on actual winter kill yet, but doesn't look good.

[kramman]

Yea alot of snow in Utah. Son is in logan ut, it's the most snow he's seen there in 5 yrs and it's not even close. It started snowing around Thanksgiving and hasn't stopped.