For the fifth consecutive year, the Utah Wildlife Board has decided to decrease the number of general-season deer hunting permits. The board approved a total of 64,725 general-season deer hunting permits for this year, which is about an 8,350-permit decrease from the previous year. The current management plan for deer in Utah includes an objective to have around 400,000 deer in Utah. Biologists currently estimate there are about 335,000 deer in the state. Dax Mangus the Big Game Coordinator says "There are a few things that can negatively impact our deer populations, those include poor or limited habitat, predators and weather at either extreme." This year’s heavy snowfall has definitely impacted our deer herds substantially, especially in Northern and Northeastern Utah. That's where a majority of the tag cuts were made. Dax also stated that while it is hard to see the negative impacts of the severe winter in northern Utah, he was excited to see high fawn production and very high survival of does and fawns in southern Utah. For more information on what the board decided check out the full press release on the DWR'S website at wildlife.utah.gov.