It's February. Pray For Mule Deer Fawns

Fawn survival and recruitment is the key to healthy mule deer populations, and it's not an easy thing to achieve in Idaho.  Fawns have a rough time of it, and who knows what kind of a winter will be in store from year to year.  Fortunately, we have had a mild winter so far.  But just as challenging is the job of the wildlife biologists to predict survival, and then propose harvest limits for a specific management area.

Recruitment generally describes when a fawn has made it to its first birthday.  Just getting there means that the mule deer has made it through two critical periods of life.  The first critical period is generally June and July.  Those are the first two months after birth when the little guys and gals are getting their feet wet, and are the obvious target for predators.

If they can survive those months, the next challenge they will have is late winter, generally February to April.  This is when the fat reserves are put to the test.  Fawns survive less so than more mature deer during this time period because adults are better able to put on fat during the summer and fall.  Less fat means less energy, so malnutrition causes the fawns to become all the more vulnerable to predation and to the elements.

When comparing fawn survival rates between game management units, the big factors are habitat condition, predation, competition of feed, and herd density between those units.  If the habitat can only feed so many mule deer, and the herd is too big for the habitat capacity, and the elk are needing the same feed, and the wolves are surrounding the camp - you have a recipe for disaster, and the fawns are the first to get left out. 

The weather may be identical in another unit, but if the habitat is better, the carrying capacity isn't abused, and predation isn't as prevalent, the survival rates will be higher.

But from year to year in a given area, weather is the biggest factor.  An unusually cold and wet fall and/or winter only brings on malnutrition quicker.  

So how do Idaho's game managers set season harvest limits?  First, they do what studies they can on particular mule deer populations, but by January, they have to propose something to the Fish and Game Commission.  Season dates and harvest limits are then set in March.  That means the dates and limits are set before the results of the studies can be observed in April, May, and June, as the fawns escape winter's clutches, or not.

Monitoring winter survival is tough, and the biologists do what they can with modeling, but nothing is perfect.  It's not difficult to get mule deer populations in big trouble really fast.  A couple years of too liberal harvest quotas, followed by a couple of years of drastic weather, and a particular population could be in big trouble.

It's a volatile situation for the fawns for obvious reasons.  And it's volatile for the IF&G who has to answer to sportsmen and the public for any missteps.

~ J. Bunch

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Deer & Elk Outlook For 2012

In case you missed what IF&G officials reported to the Commission recently, here is the low-down from IF&G website:

Deer and elk numbers are meeting management objectives in most parts of the state, but some hunter numbers are down slightly, Fish and Game officials told the Idaho Fish and Game Commission Thursday, January 26.

Female elk numbers meet or exceed objectives in 21 of 29 elk management zones; they are below objectives in eight zones. Bull elk meet or exceed objectives in 20 zones and are below objectives in nine.

Fish and Game plans to conducting aerial surveys in the Panhandle, Elk City, Brownlee, Weiser and Pioneer zones this winter to update elk herd information.

Mule deer exceed management objectives for buck to doe ratio. All population management units exceed 15 bucks per 100 does. From mid-December to mid-January, Fish and Game biologists captured and radio-collared 277 mule deer, including 195 fawns, in 20 game management units. They are now monitoring 796 radio-marked mule deer in 39 units in 12 population management units as part of annual mule deer survival monitoring effort.

Dry conditions and the unusually open winter statewide so far this year, have led Fish and Game to change its aerial survey plans because deer are spread widely rather than confined to typical winter range.

Aerial surveys are planned or underway to estimate populations in Smoky-Bennett, western part of Central Mountains, and Island Park Population Management Unit. Mountain Valley has been postponed until next year.

Harsh winter conditions last year resulted in the lowest over-winter fawn survival, at 32 percent, and since Fish and Game began monitoring in 1998-99.

Adult doe mortality was as high as 26-36 percent in four eastern Idaho population management units.

In response to mule deer monitoring results last year, antlerless hunt tags and some buck hunt tags were reduced. Because of low survival of fawns, a lower buck harvest was predicted for 2011 - few yearling two-points were available.

It's too early to tell how the mulies will fare this winter, but Fish and Game hopes to get a better idea from the fawns biologists recently captured and radio-collared.

White-tailed deer also are meeting management objectives for buck harvest throughout the state.

All whitetail data analysis units are meeting management plan objectives for buck harvest and percent of five-points in the harvest. Unit 4 was slightly below objectives for hunter number and hunter days, but whitetails are not the major focus for hunters in these units.

Whitetail numbers have been improving since the losses during 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 winters in the northern part of state. So far the outlook is positive for good numbers next fall.

No formal population surveys were conducted for whitetails.

Fish and Game managers will bring proposed 2012 deer and elk seasons to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in late March.

The Clearwater Region has set four open house meetings to discuss proposed changes to the 2012 big game season. All meetings will be from 5 to 7 p.m.

• Monday, February 27, Senior Citizens Center, County Road, Grangeville.
• Wednesday, February 29, Latah County Fairground Exhibit Bldg, 1021 Harold, Moscow.
• Thursday, March 1, Fish and Game Clearwater Hatchery, 18 Hatchery Roe Drive (downstream of the North Fork Clearwater River), Orofino.
• Thursday, March 8, Fish and Game regional office, 3316 16th St., Lewiston.

That news was pretty much to be expected.  Hopes are that the rest of the winter will be animal-friendly.

I'm sure there will be more detailed information coming down soon.  Stay tuned.

~ J. Bunch

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Whitetails Taking Over Muleys

Whitetail deer seem to breed like rabbits.  And that's one reason why they're increasing in numbers in the West.  Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana have all seen whitetail numbers increase, while mule deer numbers decrease.

A couple of other reasons why whitetails are on the rise over muleys:

1. Whitetails are more likely to have twins

2. Increasing rural expansion - suburbs taking over mule deer habitat and leaving it for the whitetails who can stand living closer to humans

3. Wildfires that destroy sagebrush land, destroys mule deer wintering land

4. Increased demand for forage between elk, whitetails, and mule deer leaves the less competitive mule deer at a disadvantage.  Whitetails are very competitive, and adaptable to changing environments.

Whitetails are moving out of their traditional stomping grounds of valleys and river bottoms, and are taking over what was once prime mule deer habitat.  For instance, whitetails can be seen the high Yellowstone plateaus, a place they've never, or rarely, been seen before.

The Billings Gazette article has the full analysis of what's going on in Montana, but is very applicable to Idaho's whitetail/muley dilemma.

~ J. Bunch

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Teton Valley Mule Deer

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

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