Kamas wildlife management area to remain closed through May 14

Elk herd enjoying some hay on a farm near Henefer, Utah. Photo: TownLift // Kevin Cody.

KAMAS, Utah — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced last week that it will extend the closure of four wildlife management areas across northern Utah.

The Kamas wildlife management area was slated to open on May 1, but will now remain closed through May 14 along with Swan Creek and Woodruff Coop in Rich County, and Middle Fork in Weber County.

According to a press release from the Utah DWR, these extended closures are intended to protect deer and pronghorn sheep still wintering in deep snow in these wildlife management areas.

“We were hoping enough snow would have melted by now that the animals would have left the WMAs and headed to higher elevations, but that hasn’t happened yet,” said Jim Christensen, wildlife manager for the DWR Northern Region. “The animals are still at lower elevations and are still struggling. Deer herds in the northern areas of the state were hit pretty hard this winter, and we are seeing high mortality rates in some areas.”

“In these types of conditions, big game animals are weakened and highly vulnerable to repeated, ongoing human-caused disturbances, so we’d like to prevent any unnecessary disturbances to the deer during this sensitive time of year,” Christensen said. “Not having people force the deer and pronghorn to move will help them save what little energy they have left.”