LOGAN — Utah’s drought conditions are far from a secret, and the impacts are widespread.

Currently, most of the state is in a moderate or severe drought, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. While droughts can have far-reaching impacts on water infrastructure, they can also affect wildlife habitat conditions.

Utah’s extreme drought from 2020 through early 2023, which ended with a record statewide snowpack, was a double-whammy for deer populations, Dax Mangus, big game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, told KSL in July.

Drought impacts the species by gradually reducing food and habitat options in wild spaces, ultimately leading to deaths from malnutrition. The record snowpack that saved the state from drought also produced large-scale die-offs, promptin

See Full Page