Below is a recent Facebook post from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Our habitat biologists just finished planting over 33,000 shrub seedlings to improve big game winter range habitat in central Utah. Mule deer and elk depend upon woody shrubs species like sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush during the winter for food. Restoring shrub species on the landscape will help these animals maintain good health through the winter, which will increase their survival rates and promote population growth.
Heavy equipment was used to till the ground, soften the soil and remove grass and weedy plant competition where possible. Seedlings were planted at multiple locations near Santaquin, Ephraim, Eagle Mountain, Wallsburg, Orem, Indianola and Vernon, Utah.
We’d like to give a big thanks to our partners Mule Deer Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Safari Club International – SCI and Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative.
Go here to watch a video about the project.
(Photo credit: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)