The Teton Valley News reports:
Many reports coming out of the field this year are that the deer hunt in and around Teton Valley has been a difficult one. While high fawn and doe mortality rates over the past couple of winters are surely to blame for what looks like a significant decline in our local herds, a recent report commissioned by the National Wildlife Federation shows that growing human demands on the landscape are corresponding to lower animal numbers and slower rebounds from cyclical pressures like hard winters, drought, and disease.
This report comes in conjunction with a public forum held Wednesday evening in Driggs as part of a series of talks on sustainability in the Teton Valley. Of course, sustainability and development has been a big and controversial issue in the Teton Valley for some time now - especially once the housing bubble burst, leaving empty high end homes vacant, and subdivisions looking like ghost towns.
I have noticed a great decline in mule deer numbers in the Upper Snake Region the past few years, from Palisades on up through Island Park and Kilgore. Winter kill certainly is partially to blame. And now, apparently, so are the developers. But ultimately, I've been baffled as to the real reasons why (it might be time to interview the biologist in the area).
It will be interesting to see the scientific facts (if there are any) that show Teton Valley development is to blame for disrupting mule deer migrations, and how that has led to lower numbers. Development & migration routes appears to be a hot topic right now, as the elk herd just across the border at Jackson is getting a lot of the same attention. You can read more about that here.
Also, cameras will be placed along a 10 mile stretch of I-84 just north of the Utah border, monitoring elk and mule deer migration. This comes in response to suspicions that the freeway itself has depleted herd numbers, by disrupting the long established migration routes. More on that here.
~ J. Bunch
