Tag Archives: deer population

Crunch time begins for deer and elk

Montana FWP talks about this critical time of the year for deer and elk populations . . .

Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering crunch time.

That time of the year when spring and winter play a tug of war, and depending on how it goes, deer and elk could be the losers.

Members of the deer family that go into winter in good shape have the energy reserves and body fat to survive those December and February subzero spells. But a long winter that continues through March and April will start to tip over the smallest and weakest.

And if we humans are not careful, we’ll cause some of the bigger animals to tip over.

Already some of our large game species could use a break. January was nice, with a handful of 50 degree days. But February plunged us back into winter, which after all is the season we’re in.

Now the real test for wildlife begins.

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States seeking to halt mule deer population decline

State agencies are trying to figure out what’s going on with mule deer populations over recent decades . . .

Wildlife management agencies, hunters and wildlife organizations have done a lot of research, habitat work and plain old head scratching in recent years over what is causing a decline in the number of mule deer across parts of the West.

A recent report by Western wildlife agencies found mule deer declining in four states, including Wyoming, and one Canadian province. Montana’s population was reported as stable, although certain regional populations have seen some dramatic declines.

“Certainly numbers are still down,” said Quentin Kujala, Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife management section chief, but whether that constitutes a downward trend or simply a temporary pause he could not say.

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Wolf impact on northwest deer populations small

Field and Stream magazine has an articel up on the impact wolves are having on deer populations in this corner of the country. Short version: Mountain lions and coyotes take far more deer than wolves, but the effects of all three are dwarfed by the impact of the weather. The North Fork gets a specific mention in the discussion . . .

In 2011, for the first time ever in Idaho, hunters harvested fewer mule deer than whitetails–big news for a state with a deer harvest that has long been dominated by muleys, and whose recent-big game headlines have been dominated by wolves and stories of their impacts (some exaggerated, some true). Wolf kills, scat, howls, and tracks… are frequent reminders of wolves’ presence in the Western whitetail woods.

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Deer and elk populations bouncing back in Northwest Montana

As well as being good news for hunters, this will no doubt add fuel to the debate about wolf population impact on big game . . .

Big game wildlife populations appear to be bouncing back in Northwest Montana after a few rough years, according to state Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ spring surveys.

The percentage of white-tail fawns that survived winter is the highest since 2006 in Region 1, according to FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams. Williams said the survey found an average of 44 fawns for every 100 adults. Last year, that number was 30/100. In 2009, it had dropped to 24/100. Mule deer and elk populations also gained ground in almost all areas, Williams said.

The latest population estimates are welcome news for hunters and FWP. Last fall, nearly every region in the state saw significant declines in both animals harvested and hunters in the field, supporting a widespread perception that big game populations, specifically deer, are on the decline.

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Another sign of spring: deer counting

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks people are out in the field gathering data on deer populations . . .

Hunting deer in springtime resembles its fall cousin in everything but the weaponry: Get up before dawn, go far away from other people, creep quietly to avoid scaring the quarry.

The only difference is that the big scopes don’t have rifles attached. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Jay Kolbe has his mounted to his pickup window. As the morning light shifts from blue to yellow, he drives from one patch of new grass to another, counting every whitetail adult and fawn he can spot.

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