Effect of nutrition and habitat enhancements on Mule Deer Recruitment and survival rates on the Uncompahgre Plateau
Led by Chad Bishop
This project was initiated in 1999 and field work was completed in 2005. The project was designed to measure the responses of deer to nutrition enhancement treatment during winter in order to evaluate the importance of habitat quality as a limiting factor for mule deer populations in western Colorado. The project stemmed from conflicting opinions as to whether habitat quality or predation was limiting mule deer populations. The study provided clear evidence that nutrition was limiting the deer population even in the situation where predation was an ongoing factor. This project was teamed with a research project conducted by Idaho Fish and Game Department and led by M. Hurley whereby Idaho exercised heavy levels of predator control on coyotes and cougars as the primary treatment to improve mule deer population performance. The Colorado work is currently in the final review stages to be published as a Wildlife Monograph through the Journal of Wildlife Management with likely publication during 2009. Likewise, the Idaho work is also in peer-review for publication in the near future.
(updated 12/2008)
Evaluation of winter range habitat treatments on over-winter survival and body condition of Mule Deer on the Uncompahgre Plateau
Led by Eric Bergman
This project was initiated in 2004 and field work was completed in 2009. The goal of these research was to assess the impacts on mule deer of large-scale vegetation habitat treatments implemented on deer winter ranges. The project was conceptualized as a management level follow-up to Chad Bishop’s project and was designed to evaluate the effects of multiple habitat treatments made over many years by the BLM to enhance forage production in the senescent pinyon-juniper dominated deer winter ranges characteristic of the Uncompahgre Plateau. Preliminary results suggest that higher over-winter fawn survival rates are associated with wintering areas having habitat treatments. Formal publication of this research is expected during 2012 and 2013.
(updated 5/2012)
Refinement of Vaginal Implant Transmitters to detect Mule Deer neonate births
Led by Chad Bishop
This project will evaluate changes in the design of vaginal implant radio-transmitters (VITS) to increase the retention rate of the transmitters by pregnant adult female mule deer. The impetus for this work came from the successful use of vaginal implant transmitters to monitor the impacts on neonatal new-born fawns of enhanced nutrition on adult female mule deer during winter (see Deer Study #1 above). Although VITS worked acceptably well for that initial study, improvements in retention must be achieved to use VITS on multiple or larger scale studies. In cooperation with ATS, the manufacturer of VITS, this study will dovetail with ongoing research to glean more output from the costs associated with capture of adult female mule deer that needed for research assessing the impacts of energy development on mule deer. Project will be initiated in 2008 and completed in 2010.
(updated 12/2008)
Population performance of Piceance Basin Mule Deer in response to natural gas resource extraction and mitigation efforts to address human activity and habitat degradation
Led by Chuck Anderson
This project is charged with monitoring mule deer population parameters in areas experiencing extensive energy development, and developing landscape scale mitigation approaches to benefit mule deer on winter range habitats within disturbed landscapes. Components of the project include: (1) improving winter range habitats via mechanical treatment methods to improve mule deer fitness and site fidelity, (2) address mule deer behavior patterns relative to energy development activity to identify “Best Management Practices” that minimize deer disturbance (CSU collaboration), (3) evaluate mule deer migration patterns through developed and undeveloped landscapes (ISU collaboration), and (4) evaluate neonate survival in developed and undeveloped landscapes (CSU collaboration). The Piceance Basin southwest of Meeker, CO contains one of the largest tight-formation natural gas fields in the United States. Multiple corporations own extraction leases throughout this 600 square-mile winter range inhabited by one of Colorado’s most important mule deer populations and one of the largest migratory mule deer populations in the USA. This project was initiated in January 2008 and will continue through 2018. Collaborators for this long term, multi-million dollar project include BLM, Colorado State University, Idaho State University, multiple energy corporations, sportsmen’s organizations, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Recent project updates and publications: