Mule Deer Research in Utah

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Mule Deer Research in Utah

• Mule Deer Plan Population Objective Strategies h
  k
• Implement a method to collect annual adult doe
  and fawn mortality estimates on representative
  units statewide
• Implement research studies on specific herd units
  that are chronically below population objective
  to identify problems and recommend solutions

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Whats limiting deer population growth?

• Knowledge gaps
• Birth rates
• Cause specific mortality
• Effect of coyote control on fawn survival rates
• Habitat limitations
• Competition with elk
• Fawn and adult survival rates
• Highway mortality estimates

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What causes fawn mortality and how effective is
coyote control?

• We are currently working with BYU and USU to
  design a study investigate fawn survival from
  birth to 6 months.
• This study will also look at cause specific
  mortality for fawns
• We also want to estimate coyote density and study
  the effect that coyote control has on fawn
  survival rates

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How will this information help increase deer
populations?

• Once we know what is killing fawns, we can take
  measures to minimize that mortality
• If coyote control is not currently effective, we
  can improve our methods to make it more effective

5
Is habitat limiting?

• Utah Range Trend Studies have documented a steady
  decline in the quality of mule deer habitat
• We currently have no research looking at how
  habitat quality and quantity limits population
  growth
• Recent studies in Colorado and Idaho have shown
  that habitat quality and quantity is the main
  factor limiting population growth

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Are elk competing with deer?

• Few studies looking specifically at deer elk
  competition
• Although there is certainly some dietary overlap,
  none have irrefutable evidence that elk and deer
  directly compete for resources
• There may be some indirect effects that are
  extremely difficult to tease out
• Even if research showed a negative impact of elk
  on mule deer, is it realistic to decrease elk
  populations?

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What is the annual survival rate of adult does
and fawns ?

• 7 units were chosen statewide to represent
  surrounding units
• Adult does and doe fawns were captured on each
  unit and fitted with radio collars to estimate
  annual survival
• Initial project cost was 381,000 and will cost
  224,000 annually
• We hope to continue this study as long as we can
  because it provides us the best possible survival
  data

Ballard et al. 2001
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What is the annual survival rate of adult does
and fawns ?

• Statewide adult survival rate was 88
• Higher than expected (85)
• Statewide fawn survival rates were 55
• Lower than expected (60)

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How will this information help increase deer
populations?

• Once we know survival rates in a specific area,
  we can more accurately determine if populations
  are increasing or decreasing
• If certain units have higher than expected
  mortality, we can investigate and try to minimize
  the cause of that mortality
• Over winter mortality can be estimated more
  accurately, this lets us know when winters are
  severe enough to require supplemental feeding

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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?

• We currently have a rough estimate of road killed
  deer from road kill pick up
• Picked-up 4,209 carcasses in 2008
• Drastically underestimating the true value
• We do not know the number of deer that are hit
  and killed by vehicles but are not recovered
• We initiated a study through USU to estimate
  highway mortality using road kill collection
• This will be a 3 year study with
  a cost of 364,000

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USU Highway Mortality Study

• 51 sampling location
• 3 mile segments
• 153 miles highway
• 9 of contractor miles
• Sites are selected seasonally

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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?
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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?

• Preliminary data from July 1st to September 30th
  
• Contractors have recovered 12.5 of tagged
  carcasses
• For every deer collected by contractors, 7 more
  are being killed

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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?
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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?
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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?

• In December 2010, we will GPS collar 31 adult
  female deer ( gt2 years)

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How many deer are killed on Utah highways?

• GPS collars will last 1.5 years (Dec 2010 to May
  2012)
• Survival and movements
• Frequency of road crossings
• Proximity to roads
• Home range positioning
• Use of wildlife crossings
• Movement near wildlife
  fencing

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How will this information help us increase deer
populations?

• Knowing the number of deer killed on the highways
  will help us convince UDOT that crossing
  structures are needed
• The GPS data will help us determine how deer
  interact with the fences and crossings
• This information will help us improve crossing
  design and location

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DWR Research Summary

• The DWR is proactively conducting research needed
  to find out what is limiting mule deer
  populations
• The DWR will spend 1.4 million in the next 4
  years on mule deer research
• The DWR is looking at spending an additional
  500,000 to fund the fawn cause specific
  mortality and coyote control effect study
• This research will help focus our efforts in the
  areas where they are needed most

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Thank you