Mule Deer Fanatic

This winter has brought cold weather and deep snow to much of our Mule Deer country. Some of the states are refusing to feed the deer for good reason, and, I might add, taking flack for it from the likes of the Mule Deer Foundation. I could go into a list of reasons why Mule Deer shouldn’t be fed, but instead, I will talk about the feeding program in Colorado.

There are supposedly 21,000 mule deer in the Gunnison Basin. Of those, about 7,000 are being fed. So far, 11% of the ones being fed have reportedly died. More on the way. I don’t yet know mortality rates for the ones that aren’t being fed. The local economy depends heavily on hunting, so between local businesses and the Mule Deer Foundation, the governor has been pressured into allocating $1.7m (without counting donations and volunteerism) for feeding mule deer. How many deer will they save? We’ll see. It is at times like this when special hunts should be considered.

This much is certain: Colorado’s deer herd has been a long time making a come-back, and is still not fully recovered. It would be a shame to save wintering deer and then have them eaten by predators before they could be hunted. Even if some of the deer can be saved from exposure, many of them will be eaten by predators. The older/mature bucks will be hit the hardest. If $1.7m were invested in predator eradication – particularly if it went to hunter/trapper bounties, it would be far more effective in preserving a local economy and a deer herd.

Bills Proposed to Limit Hunting Access! Several bills have been proposed in the Colorado Legislature that seek to severely restrict and limit the access to Colorado’s sportsmen. House Bill 1069 presumes all unmarked trails are closed to motorized vehicles. This bill would restrict access to hunters using ATVs and create penalties for infractions. House Bill 1137, sponsored by State Representative Jerry Sonnenberg (R-65), would force the Division of Wildlife to sell an equal amount of public hunting land for every purchase, grant, or gift of hunting land it inherits – an anti-”No-Net Loss” bill. Finally, House Bill 1096, introduced by State Representative Debbie Stafford (D-40) would prevent anyone to hunt behind an enclosure, no matter how large the enclosure. The language is so broadly written that it will eliminate hunting on all fenced properties, regardless of their size.

Here is an update on the Colorado Gunnison herd:

The Colorado Governor is apparently allocating $1.5m for emergency feeding. The DOW has about $400k and is accepting donations. The DOW has recruited 250 volunteers, and hopes to feed 8,000 of the estimated 21,000 mule deer in the area. Helecopter flights are set to identify mule deer locations. Roads around the area have been closed by the BLM.  Snow machines have packed down snow tracks so snowmobilers can access feeding areas. Mule Deer in other areas of the state are being monitored, but do not appear to need help at this time. Some deer herds in Wyoming are also in dire condition, but I am unaware of any plans to feed them.

DOW photos

Quote from DOW rep Elderkin:

Deer in Gunnison are being fed “a specially formulated high-energy wafer developed by DOW scientists during the 1980s,” the DOW said.

The DOW estimates there are about 11,000 mule deer in the northern part of Garfield County, north of the Colorado River. In the Roaring Fork Valley from Glenwood Springs to Aspen, the DOW estimates there are about 16,500 mule deer. Another population south of Glenwood Canyon is estimated at 6,000.

Snow covering up big game animal’s food may not be a problem forever. Elderkin said this is the first winter in seven years that any amount of snow cover has lasted more than a few days.

“I’m sure it has something to do with global warming, but I don’t know,” he said. “As far as what I can see around here, I don’t think there’s any argument about global warming.

Feed mule deer

Donations to help feed mule deer on Colorado’s Gunnison Basin are being sought by the Mule Deer Foundation.

Heavy snow and cold weather have created harsh conditions, preventing mule deer from reaching their normal winter food sources. The Colorado Division of Wildlife began feeding them Jan. 13 at 60 emergency sites.

A $50.00 donation will feed 15 to 18 deer for a week. To help, go to www.muledeer.org or call 888-375-3337.

According to the Denver Post, the Colorado DOW has decided to feed 21,000 mule deer wintering in the Gunnison Basin. The DOW claims that this is Colorado’s largest mule deer herd. Deep snow and extreme cold are making life difficult for the mule deer in 2008.

There are good reasons not to feed deer, such as increased predation and disease due to crowding. But, there are two other reasons that are even more significant: 1) Feeding develops a dependency; and 2) Often the deer die anyway because their digestive systems cannot adapt fast enough. Very often, a lot of money is spent in administrative expense and the deer get too little, too late.

In order to feed the deer, the elk wintering in the same area will need to be coaxed away with hay. So, both mule deer and elk will need to be fed in order to feed the deer.

The Colorado DOW apparently believes that, if the mule deer aren’t fed, half of them may die and it could take up to eight years for them to recover from a massive die-off. In the absence of predators, though, the deer herd could recover much quicker.

From the Denver Post:

——————————————

GLENWOOD SPRINGS – The Colorado Division of Wildlife on Thursday presented awards to several energy companies, all of whom have operations in Garfield County, for their work to “protect wildlife and wildlife habitat”.

“We try to work cooperatively with these companies,” said Randy Hampton, a spokesman for the DOW. “Most of the time they come to us and ask ‘What can we do better?’ It is our hope that the industry will continue to turn to us for that wildlife expertise.”

The two largest energy operators in the county, Williams Production RMT and EnCana Oil and Gas (USA), both received awards Thursday.

State officials cited EnCana for its work to provide more than $1 million to fund DOW studies of wildlife, including the greater sage-grouse and mule deer in the Piceance Basin. The state agency also lauded the company’s efforts to support DOW law enforcement efforts to reduce poaching, according to the DOW.

The company also has completed “significant baseline wildlife research on the company’s North Parachute Ranch property, where they have applied management plans to address greater sage-grouse, grazing and weed management and land restoration,” a DOW statement said.

“We are honored,” said Doug Hock, spokesman for EnCana. “Our employees care about wildlife. We care about the same values that people live here and recreate here. We are always looking to partner with groups like the DOW to find ways protect and preserve wildlife.”

Williams was also honored for its “commitment to wildlife research and the DOW Hunter Outreach program, including providing more than $450,000 to the Central Piceance Basin wildlife research project,” the DOW statement said. Other Williams’ efforts the state recognized was its work to obtain water rights in 2007 and construct an irrigation system to “provide water to critical deer range in the Rulison, Parachute and Grand Valley gas fields.”

Other companies and their honored efforts, according to the statement released Thursday, included:

• Shell Oil Company for an agreement that keeps 18,000 acres of Shell land in the Piceance Basin open for public hunting through a 10-year hunting lease with the DOW for $1 a year.

• ConocoPhillips for providing funding and support for a research technician who worked on sage grouse research.

• Chevron for allowing DOW sage-grouse researchers access to the company’s private lands around Skinner Ridge.

Kyle Lopez, 14, of Divide, Colorado - killed this buck during the 2007 season:

He tagged a trophy buck that, according to reports, has scored more than 303 inches net Boone and Crockett and will be the largest buck ever taken by a youth as well as the largest mule deer taken in more than 20 years. The buck has 41 points and a 37 2/8 inch outside spread. The main frame alone is more than 207 inches with more than 100 inches of nontypical points.

A Craig Colorado man named Darwin Vesely has killed a 203 inch monster buck. According to the Craig Daily Press, the current mule deer record for Moffat County is 197. The monster buck was killed on Nov 3, 2007 in unit 2, Douglas mountains.

According to Rick Kahn, Colorado’s Big Game Manager, 2007 is going to be a good year for killing a large Mule Deer Buck. He is estimating a deer population of over 600,000 in 55 separate herds.  I think he must be counting whitetails as well as mule deer, since he says there are 70,000 more deer than ten years ago.

Kahn estimates that the buck/doe ratio is 31/100.  He says that hunter success for 2006 was 46% and that 33,885 bucks were harvested.  The number of hunters has dropped by two thirds since the early 1990’s  The number of deer hunters went from 250,000 in 1993 to 160,000 in 1997 to  90,000 from 1999 forward.

Kahn says the DOW is having a hard time recruiting doe hunters ( and that is good – I hope no one is killing does ), and that there are still 15,000 unfilled doe tags available.

Kahn cannot figure out why Mule Deer Hunters are after trophy racks instead of just venison.  He doesn’t realize that the scarcity created by the DOW causes trophy Mule Deer to be in much higher demand, relatively speaking.

So, if you are fortunate enough to have drawn a Mule Deer tag in Colorado, get out there and see for yourself.

According to a recent Denver Post article, Colorado Mule Deer are on the rebound. Some sources are saying that the Colorado mule deer population is up to 650,000 animals. Other sources say that Colorado once boasted 1.2 million mule deer.  In 1988,  Colorado claimed 750,000 mulies.

The Mule Deer Foundation was right there claiming credit for the increase in animals, with minor projects to their credit, such as fencing out cows, chopping down trees, and blocking oil and gas development.  I did not notice any predator elimination projects, which could have really made a difference. 

According to Colorado DOW representatives, the drastic decrease in hunting pressure since 1999 and a series of mild winters are the main factors in increased mule deer numbers in the state. What do you think the chances are that Colorado will go back to over-the-counter tags?