Craters of the Moon National Monument And Preserve Deer Survey and Observations 2006

Munts, Michael

Mule deer surveys were performed during the spring and fall of 2006. These included unstructured spring surveys as well as the systematic fall surveys in the north end of the monument. Systematic road surveys were continued on the loop road in addition to the usual informal count during May and June. The number of does continued to decline from the previous three year period. Numbers were about a quarter of the 15 year average. Yearlings were also down with numbers about a third of the 15 year average. Over-winter survival of fawns was not calculated and reported due a very small and statistically skewed sample size. The fall survey recorded numbers that were a third or less the of 15 year average for all age classes except adult males which were higher. The fawn to adult female ratio increased slightly to reach a 3 year high. This may indicates a slight increase birth rates or an increase in early fawn survival. The total population estimate also showed a continued decline with estimates less than half of the 15 year average. This was likely a result of drought conditions continuing through most of the last five years. When the data was averaged into three year intervals the deer population shows a general pattern of decline since the mid 1980s and reaching its lowest point in the current year. The numbers of all age/sex classes have continued a decline started in 2000. The moose population in Little Cottonwood continues to remain stable with one pair of adults and one or two calves in a season. In addition to the Little Cottonwood/Leech Creek Population a yearling was seen near Lava Lake indicating that animals are dispersing from either Fish Creek or Barn Creek and moving through the Preserve. White-tailed Deer were recorded in the Preserve for the first time in 2006. There is growing population in the Pioneer Mountains west of CRMO and dispersing animals were expected but had not been previously documented