December 17, 2007

The unusually mild fall weather has finally ended. Most years, much of SE Idaho is covered in several inches, or feet, of snow and the weather has dipped below zero in places by the first of November. This year, much like last year, the weather has allowed for a fall green-up that has benefited all of the wildlife in this corner of the state. 

The mule deer hit the green browse hard, particularly in the areas that were burned during the summer and early fall of 2007, the worst fire year in Idaho since 1910. The availability of feed late in the year meant the deer were able to put on the fat reserves necessary to see them through the winter. The check station data collected by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game indicates the xiphoid fat depth of the yearling bucks in early October was about 9mm, higher than the 6mm depth that normally signals a dangerously low body fat content. With the continued packing on of body weight, the deer should have sufficient body fat to see them through almost any winter we may experience this year. 

And yet, even during a mild winter, we lose nearly half the fawns. Nature has developed a system that ensures the does survive the winter by making them the dominant animals in the herd when times get tough. The bucks drop first in most years, weakened by the rut and unable to put on enough fat reserves to survive winter. Next to go are the fawns, literally pushed away from the available feed by the does, and many years struggling to move to feed in the deep snow. But the does survive with the next year's crop of fawns already in their wombs, ready to begin the cycle again the first week of June.

I have been somewhat pessimistic about the mule deer herd's prospects for survival this year. My concern has been the desperate condition of the habitat, whether we call it winter or summer. In many locations the browse is in very poor condition or has been reduced to bare dirt by over-grazing of cattle. The rains and light snows we have had for the past two months combined with the mild temperatures may make the difference for mule deer and many other species of Idaho wildlife this year. 

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game should have herd composition counts by mid-to-late January. That count allows the Department to determine buck/doe ratios and population counts in select areas. By the use of statistical analysis, IDFG biologists can extrapolate across the region and determine the success or failure of mule deer management objectives. IDFG should also have completed the fawn collaring project across the region by early January. Green-up counts in the spring will show the affect of winter on the herd. 

Many of the hunters with whom I spoke this year indicated they saw good numbers of does and fawns this October, and most reported good quantities of small bucks. If we have high survival of those animals until spring, we could have better mule deer hunting in SE Idaho than we have had for several years. The prospect for a big, trophy-class buck in excess of 30-inches wide? If we have more deer, odds are more will survive to reach the age-structure that results in the big bucks we all want to see in the fall.

 

Rick Cheatum

 

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