king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

greener pastures. Such effort robs
them of precious energy.
Mule deer adjust their
feeding patterns as snow deepens.
Snow depths exceeding eighteen
inches essentially push deer out
in search of less snow. One study
in Colorado showed that in two of
three winters, over ninety-percent of
winter range was excluded from deer
use because of snow depth. When
snow is deep, deer generally feed
from noon into the late afternoon
when the sun warms up the snow
and makes it softer and easier to
paw for forage. They tend to target
areas where snow isn’t as deep such
as south-facing slopes, wind-blown
ridges, and under trees.
In contrast, years with low
levels of precipitation reduce forage
availability and quality and force
deer to eat older plants with less
nutritional value. Deer, therefore,
go into winter in poorer condition.
Much of the West has experienced
drier than normal conditions in the
past few years. The cumulative
effect of these drought years has left
winter-range forage in dismal shape.
This fact, coupled with this winter’s
large amounts of snow and extreme
cold temperatures, is the formula for
a catastrophic deer winter kill.
It’s a feeling of utter
powerlessness to watch mule deer
experience a heavy winter. Should
humans intervene and help starving
mule deer or allow “nature” to take
its course? Some believe humans
shouldn’t interfere with the “natural
cycle” and that extreme weather is
nature’s way of controlling wildlife.
This cycle has been going on for
eons – only the strong survive.
However, there is a setback to this
way of thinking for the reason that
humans have already interfered with
mule deer and the so-called natural
cycle. Let me explain.
Today’s mule deer
experience more unnatural obstacles
than in any other time in their
history. Taking into account that
human-infl uenced habitat changes
should be credited as a major cause for
the creation of most of the best mule
deer habitats in the early 20th century;
the drive for more development on mule
deer habitats today far exceeds historical
demands for growth and expansion. As
human populations increase, we give
way to housing growth, oil and gas
development, bigger highways, faster
speed limits, higher fences, and manmade
reservoirs rather than mule deer
migration routes and winter range. Thus,
the natural world is not able to overcome
the effects of man’s “progress” and the
mule deer lose, especially during a harsh
winter.
What can be done to help mule
deer during a hard winter? Biologists
believe good winter range is the biggest
factor limiting mule deer populations;
therefore, the clear answer is for humans
to improve and protect the existing
critical winter ranges. Today, mule deer
enthusiasts have a better understanding
on just how important winter range
truly is. Countless projects, funded
by sportsman’s groups, are helping to
enhance critical habitat.
Sadly, huge sections of winter
5MULE DEER WATCH5
range have already been lost to
human development. Developed
winter ranges force deer into more
susceptible areas with higher risk
for winter mortality; either into the
developed area, which brings upon
its own risks or on a more nontraditional
wintering area, which
is usually uphill with higher snow
levels.
Most state wildlife agencies
recognize that supplemental winter
feeding is a tool to be used under
certain circumstances, such as to
promote public safety by drawing
deer away from highways and urban
areas, control big game damage in
agricultural areas, and to assist deer
that have recently lost winter range
to development or wildfi re.
This winter, the Colorado
Division of Wildlife launched a
massive feeding program in areas
that were hit hard by massive
snowstorms including the Gunnison
Basin, one of Colorado’s popular
trophy muley destinations. A total
of $2 million, which came from
sportsmen’s license fees, was
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