Editor's note: This article is part of an occasional series by the Great Salt Lake Collaborative showcasing the fun side of the Great Salt Lake. For more coverage go to greatsaltlakenews.org.
ANTELOPE ISLAND STATE PARK — An oasis on the Great Salt Lake drew 100 hunters from all over the region to Antelope Island State Park earlier this month.
On Tuesday, April 16, the park held its annual shed antler hunt.
According to Antelope Island State Park Manager Wendy Wilson, similar events are held throughout the state, but the Northern Utah park has been doing this format for around 20 years.
"Mule deer lose their antlers in the spring and folks like to go out and collect them," she said. "Out here at Antelope Island, we have trail restrictions in place for the majority of the year. Once per year, we lift those trail restrictions for a certain number of folks to go out and try and gather some of those shed antlers out here at Antelope Island."
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Travis Hansen from Ogden, checks out the Bison head he found, during the Antelope Island Shed Hunt, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
This year saw the island opened to 100 hunters who were given access to nearly the whole island — save for some very sensitive wildlife areas — from sunup to sundown.
Wilson said hunters tend to hunt antlers for a litany of reasons.
"I know some sell them," she said. "Some are hobbyists and carve them up. Some just like to collect them."
This year's shed antler hunt, like others in recent memory, came amidst the backdrop of a shrunken Great Salt Lake, which once fully encompassed the island. While a couple of above-average winters in a row have turned things around and will continue to help replenish it, the lake's health is still on the minds of park officials.
But Wilson said the lake's shrinkage won't necessarily impact the deer herds.
"It's their regular habitat," she said. "They move across the lake right now anyway across the causeway — (a dry lakebed) would allow them more access back and forth. They would still come out here. There's food and there's water out there for them."
However, she said the impacts would be more centered on the park itself.
"It doesn't really affect the events so much," she said. "As far as the park goes, less water affects the number of groups that come out to the island. It affects the amount of water resources they have. It affects the amount of dust — as the lake dries up, there's more dust, and that affects visibility and breathing."
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shed hunters search for antlers, during the Antelope Island Shed Hunt, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Wilson said conservation efforts at the island to benefit both the lake and the park have been well-received.
"People love when we do conservation work out here," she said. "Improved spring habitats to ensure that there's water resources for the animals is one of the big ones."
She said wildlife habitat rehabilitation also has been a major effort for the park.
In the meantime, Tuesday's hunt proved to be fruitful for some, while others had a little more difficulty.
Among those scouring the island Tuesday was Reilly Groo, who's been shed antler hunting since he was 3 years old.
By mid-morning, he'd already collected a set of antlers and a deadhead — a skull with antlers still attached.
"It's been a little weird," he said. "There's a lot more people coming here in Utah, a lot more people that just mainly don't care about some of the rules and regulations. Like for deadheads, you can't (just) take them — you have to take pictures of them and get clarified by a (Department of Natural Resources) officer to be able to take them. Some people don't do that. That's why I do it — be out here and show people an example of what you're supposed to be doing."
(Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner) Reilly Groo shows off his early findings during Antelope Island State Park's shed antler hunt on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
However, Todd Leishman and his son, both of Rexburg, Idaho, weren't having quite as much luck as of mid-morning.
"In Idaho, where we were, we've done fairly good," Leishman said. "But here, I didn't even see one deer pellet. I saw one track that could've been an antelope or a deer the whole time. That's pretty not great."
Still, he said he enjoys the experience of shed antler hunting.
"It's exercise — I'm getting older and don't want o tgo to the gym to exercise, so I like that," he said. "Get out and spend time with my son."
Wilson said interest in this year's hunt was overwhelming.
"We had over 1,000 people interested in this event," she said. "One hundred people drew out, so most of them didn't. We're a very, very popular event."
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Travis and Bailey Hansen from Ogden, search for antlers, during the Antelope Island Shed Hunt, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
