WDFW Deer Study with Colville Tribes, Chelan PUD, and Other Cooperatives
By Woody Myers, Wildlife Research Biologist
WDFW just began a five-year research study to learn more about mule deer populations in northeast and north-central Washington.
The study, which includes parts of Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, and Pend Oreille counties, represents a cooperative effort of a number of agencies and organizations, including the Colville Confederated Tribes, Chelan Public Utility District (PUD), Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, the Washington Chapter of The Mule Deer Foundation, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) Colville, Okanogan, and Wenatchee National Forests.
To date, 34 mule deer does have been captured and marked with radio-telemetry collars to allow monitoring of their movements. The monitoring will help determine habitat use, herd boundaries and home range sizes, population densities, and mortality rates, patterns, and causes. Blood samples and measurements taken when the deer were captured will also help determine health and productivity. Several hundred mule deer will be marked with radio equipment or colored collars throughout the study period.
Although WDFW is the lead agency for coordinating and completing the study, field work assistance comes from a variety of sources, including Colville Tribal biologists, graduate students from the University of Washington and University of Idaho, and interested volunteers from across the state.
The study is being designed by WDFW deer specialists to identify population regulation mechanisms within mule deer herds across eastern Washington’s varied landscapes. It is designed to tie reproductive performance to habitat condition and trends and relate that performance to mortality rates including hunting.
The general trend has been a declining mule deer population in Washington. Yet some areas, like parts of Douglas and Grant Counties, have shown increased mule deer numbers. It seems that one size may not fit all when it comes to managing mule deer because they occupy a variety of habitats in eastern Washington.
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