Utah Chukar Numbers Climbing

Good news, hunters — it looks like the number of chukar partridge in Utah is up this fall.

On Aug. 31, Division of Wildlife Resources Biologist Tom Becker flew a helicopter survey over the Cedar Mountains in central Tooele County. He found an average of 18 chukars per square mile.

While 18 chukars per square mile is nowhere near the boom year of 2006 — when Becker found 97 chukars per square mile — it's a big jump from the four chukars per square mile he spotted last year.

And researchers from Brigham Young University are confirming what Becker found — chukar numbers in the west desert appear to be up this year, especially from Nephi south...