SALT LAKE CITY – A lot has happened since the state implemented its latest mule deer management plan in 2019. Extreme drought conditions developed a year later and lingered into 2023, playing a major role in the state’s population tumble. The 2022-23 winter and its record snowpack didn’t help the situation, either. All of it exacerbated ongoing issues impacting deer, including predation from bears, cougars and coyotes, and habitat loss from development in the growing state.