It\u2019s no secret that mule deer face some serious challenges. Habitat loss, climate change, pressure from predators, chronic wasting disease, and a host of other factors are issues for the West\u2019s most iconic game animal.<\/p>\n
Compared to elk and whitetails, mule deer are relatively fragile, which is why the Mule Deer Foundation and similarly-minded conservation groups and individuals have dedicated so much time, energy, and money to helping protect mule deer from the multiple threats they face in 2023.<\/p>\n
One of the most significant developments in the history of mule deer conservation was unveiled at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in early February, when the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management announced a multi-year partnership with MDF<\/a> that will funnel up to $65 million into various conservation efforts over the next two decades.<\/p>\n This is on the heels of more than 300 MDF projects that tackled about 392,000 acres of habitat work (along with removing or modifying 171 miles of fencing) in recent years.<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>The Key to Solving Big-Game Migration Conflicts? Roadkill<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis work with the Forest Service and BLM will allow us to greatly increase the scale and scope of MDF\u2019s habitat projects,\u201d says Mule Deer Foundation president and CEO Joel Pedersen.<\/p>\n Though this influx of cash is critical, it isn\u2019t a silver bullet for mule deer conservation, particularly when it comes to some of the more intractable problems confronting them.<\/p>\n Even describing the matrix of issues accurately is a challenge because they overlap and influence each other, and are regionally specific as well. Issues with drought, suburban development, poaching, and disease are widespread problems that affect most of the mule deer\u2019s range, but manifest differently in Arizona, Colorado, and North Dakota.<\/p>\n That said, here are the major problems facing mule deer and what\u2019s being done to mitigate them.<\/p>\n Before delving into the specifics, it\u2019s worth answering this basic question. One of the best sources of information on mule deer and black-tailed deer is the Mule Deer Working Group<\/a>, which consists of two dozen representatives from Western state, territorial, and provincial agencies that manage these deer.\u00a0<\/p>\n In their 2022 Range-Wide Status of Black-Tailed and Mule Deer, they estimate there are 3.4 million blacktail and mule deer stretching from Mexico to Alaska, with the largest populations found in California (475,000), Colorado (416,000), Utah (305,000), Montana (294,000), Wyoming (292,000), and Idaho (282,000).\u00a0<\/p>\n While mule deer numbers aren\u2019t where wildlife managers would like to see them, the overall population is hanging in there.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn most jurisdictions mule deer and blacktail populations are under their objective goals but\u2014with a few exceptions\u2014the populations are stable or increasing,\u201d says Jim Heffelfinger, who chairs the Mule Deer Working Group.<\/p>\n Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation is an overarching issue that encompasses many of the problems mule deer face. Not surprisingly, this is why so many initiatives undertaken by the MDF and other critter groups focus on habitat.<\/p>\n Nothing hits mule deer harder than encroachment on summer and winter range and the introduction of impediments like roads<\/a>, fences, and housing that keeps them from easily traveling between the two.<\/p>\n We can also lump energy development under this heading. Whether we\u2019re talking about the installation of natural gas wells in Wyoming or building a wind farm in New Mexico, energy projects (\u201cgreen\u201d or otherwise) create problems for mule deer<\/a>.<\/p>\n When it comes to making it simpler for mule deer to migrate, fence removal and rehabilitation is a top priority.<\/p>\n \u201cThe easier you can make it for deer to get from where they are to where they need to go, the better,\u201d says Ian Tator, terrestrial habitat supervisor with Wyoming Game and Fish Department.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A shining example is the work that\u2019s been done to remove or rehabilitate more than 691 miles of fencing in the Red Desert to Hoback corridor, which is the world\u2019s longest mule deer migration<\/a> route.<\/p>\n To make fencing wildlife friendly, the goal is to make the top wire as low as possible (38 to 42 inches above the ground) while making the bottom wire as high as possible (16 inches off the ground is okay; 18 is better). Such fences are still able to contain livestock.<\/p>\n In Wyoming, about 4 percent of mule deer are killed by motor vehicle collisions every year\u2014a death toll that dwarfs what predators kill, reports<\/a> Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life\u2019s<\/em> hunting and conservation editor. And that\u2019s just a small slice of the greater roadkill pie across the U.S. Each year, approximately 2 million elk, deer, bear, rabbits, raccoons, and other critters meet their demise along America\u2019s highways and country roads.<\/p>\n The installation of \u201cwildlife accommodation\u201d fencing and the construction of overpasses and underpasses<\/a> that create a safe way over or under highways for wildlife are some of the steps being taken to reduce the death toll.<\/p>\n A key section in McKean\u2019s report states: As part of last December\u2019s federal infrastructure law, Congress dedicated $350 million over five years to the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which aims to incentivize states, municipalities, tribes, and NGOs to submit plans to reduce wildlife mortality in the spots with the biggest roadkill problems. That\u2019s in addition to the $350 billion the law appropriated for highway projects over the next five years.<\/em><\/p>\n Conservation easements have been one of the most effective tools for mule deer conservation, as it accomplishes the dual goals of keeping the landscape intact while guaranteeing public access<\/a>. Typically, a rancher or other landowner will work with their state to purchase rights to a significant portion of their land, rather than have the property broken into smaller segments and sold off piecemeal.<\/p>\n This is a win-win in that it provides landowners with much-needed cash to keep their operation going, while protecting and conserving critical habitat\u2014particularly when the next generation in the family isn\u2019t interested in ranching or farming.<\/p>\n In Montana, unfortunately, this program is under fire<\/a> from Gov. Gianforte\u2019s administration, which has reshaped the Montana Land Board with far-right politicians who seem hostile toward the program\u2019s ability to secure easements in perpetuity.<\/p>\n States in the intermountain West have traditionally been very pro-development, whether talking about subdivisions or energy exploration. That is unlikely to change. But in Wyoming\u2014where that proclivity is chiseled into the state\u2019s bedrock\u2014there\u2019s an effort to consult with developers about the impact that their proposals will have on mule deer and other wildlife.<\/p>\n Though these efforts don\u2019t have the force of law behind them and are purely advisory in nature, such discussions arm developers with information to lessen negative outcomes from their projects.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll come as no shock, I\u2019m sure, to learn that the plants that mule deer eat, sleep under, and walk around are pretty important to their survival. Sage, aspen, and bitterbrush are all critical for mule deer, while invasive grasses and conifer encroachment are challenges that have to be countered.<\/p>\n When shrubs hit a certain age\u2014depending on the specific plant\u2014their nutritional quality drops which makes them less beneficial for mule deer and other wildlife. Fire suppression (discussed below) contributes to this issue.<\/p>\n A lot of on-the-ground conservation efforts involve shrub mowing and mastication\u2014basically running vegetation through machines that chews it into small pieces and spits it out. Towing mowers behind large tractors is costly and time-consuming, but create precise mosaics of sagebrush that is ideal for mule deer and sage grouse.<\/p>\n The issue with noxious grasses\u2014cheat grass, Ventenata, medusa head, and others\u2014is that they convert habitat that\u2019s good for mule deer into habitat that isn\u2019t. Annual grasses reproduce by seed each year and are unwittingly spread by people via roads and trails, as well as natural means, like the wind.<\/p>\n This is one of the more exciting developments in mule deer conservation in recent years. Rejuvra is an herbicide typically broadcast by helicopter that prevents invasive annual grasses from growing for several years.<\/p>\n It is relatively new\u2014barely five years old\u2014and widespread use has only started in the last couple years, but it is already yielding good results. In Wyoming alone more than 100,000 acres of mule deer habitat have been sprayed with it.<\/p>\n Decades of fire suppression combined with persistent drought across much of the Southwest have created a major headache for wildlife managers and conservationists.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve painted ourselves into a corner by allowing the amount of fuel to grow to the point where we risk destroying the soil\u2019s ability to nurture plant life. Now, when fires do occur, they burn so hot that they kill the organic matter in the ground.<\/p>\n Fire suppression also degrades the environment by breaking the natural burn cycle that allows plants to rejuvenate and sprout young, nutritious browse. Aspen is a prime example of a plant that sustains deer and elk and that requires fire to stay vital and healthy.<\/p>\n In this case, we know what the answer is: controlled (aka prescriptive) burns, coupled with efforts to thin timber and reduce excess fuel in the landscape.<\/p>\n But executing controlled burns on the necessary scale is frustratingly difficult. The degree of coordination required to pull one off is formidable. Everyone from local volunteer fire departments, landowners, and town officials up through the ranks of federal and state game and environmental officials needs to be on board. And, of course, the weather needs to cooperate.<\/p>\n Compounding the problem is the need for someone to actually give the okay\u2014and be accountable for what happens. The upshot is that burning is a powerful, useful, and necessary tool, but deploying it on the scale needed is an uphill battle.<\/p>\n Nowhere is fire more useful than in the effort to improve aspen habitat.<\/p>\n \u201cAspen needs disturbance to thrive and fire is the best tool for that,\u201d says Steve Belinda, chief conservation officer for the MDF. \u201cAny given year we\u2019re doing thousands of acres of aspen work. But because of the administrative hurdles required to burn, we\u2019re generally doing a lot of chainsaw work to cut down conifers and reduce the competition aspens face. In some instances, we can use the conifers as fuel for ground burns to stimulate suckers, meaning new aspen growth.\u201d<\/p>\n The $60 million funding agreement the MDF signed last week with the U.S. Forest Service aims to cut through much of that bureaucratic tangle and expedite forest thinning, prescribed burning, and vegetation treatments that will not only help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the West but also improve mule deer habitat.<\/p>\n As Belinda alluded to above, when trees like Douglas fir, pi\u00f1on pine, and junipers are allowed to grow unchecked, they shade out aspen, mountain mahogany, and other shrubs, degrading mule deer habitat.<\/p>\n While burning is the ideal way to address conifer encroachment, a lot of the work involves cutting them with chainsaws or using a technique called \u201cchaining,\u201d<\/a> where heavy-duty chains (think of the kind use to anchor an aircraft carrier) are strung between large tractors and dragged over stands of conifers to knock them down.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Arizona we go through a lot of pi\u00f1on-juniper, grinding it up,\u201d says Bob Jacobs, who sits on the board of directors at the Mule Deer Foundation and who owns a fire protection company in Flagstaff. \u201cEven though pi\u00f1on-juniper is native, it is out of proportion to what it should be. Fire suppression, grazing, and drought have spurred the spreading of PJ across the landscape. It sucks up water and shades the ground from light, not allowing other plants to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all mule deer live in arid regions. Sitka blacktails call the rainforests of coastal Alaska home and one of the issues they face is the loss of habitat due to poor logging practices.<\/p>\n \u201cPrince of Wales Island had 60 years of clear-cutting that created a lot of [short term] habitat,\u201d Belinda says. \u201cAll that forest is reaching second growth and stem exclusion, which means all the sunlight is being eaten up by the crown and no light is getting to the forest floor.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s in conjunction with dense grass in the undergrowth that makes the terrain not very functional for animals, Belinda says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to move through and doesn\u2019t have good groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n Because these elusive deer are difficult to track and count, research is needed to figure out the extent of this issue and recommend forestry practices to thin the maturing second growth and ensure the adequate fringe areas along the beaches that blacktail rely on for food and cover.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the classic break-up line: It\u2019s not you, it\u2019s me. In this case, it is<\/em> us. In the complex relationship between people\u2014hunters and non-hunters\u2014and mule deer, we are the problem.<\/p>\n In the case of hunters, the issue is that mule deer are the object of too much attention and desire, making it difficult for wildlife managers to balance hunting opportunity while maintaining populations of mature males with trophy potential in the context of overall herd health. When it comes to non-hunters, mule deer suffer from indifference and neglect (also proximity, as mentioned in the development section above).<\/p>\n Hunters want opportunity. They also want the chance to take a mature animal. Some hunters value meat and time afield over antlers while others are willing to eat a tag as long as an encounter with a heavy-horned brute is possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This is one of those dynamics that doesn\u2019t have a clean-cut solution. You\u2019re never going to make every hunter happy, but that doesn\u2019t mean wildlife managers shouldn\u2019t try.<\/p>\n Communication is key. Prior to every hunting season in Wyoming, for instance, Game and Fish officials meet with the public to discuss changes to the regulations and management proposals.<\/p>\n Wyoming also surveys hunters after the season and folds that data into its Job Completion Reports<\/a> that offer a detailed look at big-game harvests, management goals, and hunter satisfaction. By engaging with the hunting public in such a way, Wyoming mitigates some of the misunderstandings (and conspiracy-oriented misinformation) that can take root otherwise.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no silver bullet,\u201d says Tator of WGFD. \u201cBut it goes back to staying connected with the constituents and understanding what they desire by talking with them and conducting surveys. We\u2019re always trying to answer the question: What would you like from us?\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, it seems there are more people across the West who are interested in mule deer and mule deer hunting than ever. While this can lead to more engagement with (and funding for<\/a>) conserving mule deer habitat, it is an added strain on the resource.<\/p>\n One huge issue for mule deer conservation efforts is trying to convince non-hunters that their hobbies\u2014whether mountain biking, hiking, backcountry camping, off-roading, or birding\u2014have negative impacts on deer and other wildlife.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of these users expect access 365 days a year and don\u2019t understand disturbance ecology,\u201d says Steve Belinda, MDF\u2019s conservation chief.<\/p>\n As a prime example, Belinda points to the desire among mountain bikers to establish and ride loop trials in the wilderness.<\/p>\n \u201cBikers don\u2019t like to follow a trail back, they much prefer going in a large loop,\u201d Belinda says. \u201cAnimals don\u2019t like to be contained in [such] a loop and will move off, which burns fat or prevents them from putting on fat. That affects birth rates and birth weights, which are critical for fawn survival.\u201d<\/p>\n Some state agencies are attempting to limit trail use and shut them down for portions of the year but face stiff resistance from these recreationalists.<\/p>\n \u201cThese folks want to be out there all the time and don\u2019t care about deer and elk or pronghorn or sage grouse,\u201d Belinda says.<\/p>\n Another goal to lessen these impacts is by having recreationalists pay for access or otherwise contribute money for conservation. But just as everyone wants to be a gangster until it\u2019s time to do gangster stuff, the majority of these people\u2014who would probably describe themselves as conservationists\u2014have balked when any type of user fees or other costs have been proposed.<\/p>\n Utah, for instance, recently closed all shed and horn hunting<\/a> until May to lessen the disruptive impact those activities can have on mule deer and elk in light of this year\u2019s harsh winter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n These issues will only become more acute as places like Colorado, Montana, and Idaho continue to experience significant influxes of new residents, many of whom will add pressure to an already stressed resource.<\/p>\n The earth is getting hotter<\/a>, droughts\u2014that we used to think of as temporary phenomena\u2014have become more frequent and intense<\/a>, and we seem to be subject to an increased tempo of extreme weather.<\/p>\n Naturally, this has made life tougher on mule deer and other wildlife. (Though mule deer in Canada are on the increase in part because of these shifts.) These changes in the climate don\u2019t have isolated impacts. They affect many of the factors we\u2019ve already touched on, such as wildfires, conifer encroachment, habitat loss, and the movement of people from drier areas\u2014such as Texas and California\u2014to the Rocky Mountain West.<\/p>\n Of all the problems caused by climate change with respect to mule deer (and there are too many to fully articulate here) the one that\u2019s most straightforward to address is water.<\/p>\nHow Many Mule Deer Are There?<\/h2>\n
Habitat<\/h2>\n
Problem: Suburban and Exurban Development<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/mule_deer_jumps_fence.jpg\")
Solution: Fence Removal and Conversion<\/h3>\n
Solution: Reducing Collisions with Vehicles<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/wildlife_overpass.jpeg\")
Solution: Conservation Easements<\/h3>\n
Solution: Consulting with Developers<\/h3>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/mule_deer_sage.jpg\")
Shrubs, Trees, and Grasses<\/h2>\n
Problem: Unproductive Shrub Communities<\/h3>\n
Solution: Sagebrush Revitalization<\/h3>\n
Problem: Invasive Annual Grasses<\/h3>\n
Solution: Rejuvra<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/mule_deer_wildfire.jpg\")
Problem: Wildfire\u2014Not Enough and Too Much<\/h3>\n
Solution: Controlled Burns<\/h3>\n
Problem: Conifers Run Wild<\/h3>\n
Solution: Chaining and Prescribed Burns<\/h3>\n
Solution: Forest Thinning<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/mule_deer_Development.jpg\")
Human Impact<\/h2>\n
Solution: Dealing With Hunter Expectation<\/h3>\n
Solution: Dealing with Non-Consumptive Outdoor Recreationalists<\/h3>\n
![\"Mule](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/10\/migrating_deer-scaled.jpg\")
Climate Change<\/h2>\n
Solution: Coping with Relentless Drought<\/h3>\n