NOTE: This is an informal “part 2” to my prior blog post, focused on mule deer annual long-distance annual migration.
Seeing mule deer in our Wenatchee neighborhoods and on nearby shrub-steppe hillsides is common between November-March. I’m guessing that questions often come to mind, while watching a deer twitch it’s large ears, or bound up a steep hill. What brings so many mule deer to our valley? How are they doing? Why do I see more mule deer during wintertime?
I reached out to WDFW biologist Devon Comstock to find out about current mule deer research that is underway locally that uses helicopters, GPS collars, and mapping technology. Multi-year studies are designed to help Washington biologists learn more about wintering mule deer habitat needs. Devon serves at the Assistant District Biologist for Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife District 7 (Chelan and Douglas Counties). Devon’s bio is included at the end of this piece.
Wildlife biologist, Devon Comstock, with red crossbill captured during a banding training session in the Methow Valley.
And to help tell this story visually, I am pleased to feature images by guest photographer and Wenatchee Naturalist, David Hillestad,. He has captured his encounters with mule deer in Chelan and Douglas Counties over the past few years. Be sure to read his bio. at the end of the piece.
Photographer David Hillestad
Below, is my interview with WDFW Devon Comstock.
Susan: Tell me a bit about recent field studies conducted by Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife that started in 2020.
Devon: In 2019 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior, in association with Secretarial Order 3362 – Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big-Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors, to begin a 4-year movement and migration study of mule deer in the East Cascades Mule Deer Management Zone in northcentral Washington State. To better understand seasonal movement patterns for mule deer in Chelan and Kittitas counties, WDFW targeted deploying 100 GPS collars on adult mule deer does in January 2020. Captures will again be conducted in January 2021 which will re-deploy collars from study animals which died over the past year. This study is part of a larger west-wide effort to map important ungulate migration corridors.
Susan: Does WDFW have any preliminary results to share, specifically about the Wenatchee Foothills? This is the area west of the City of Wenatchee, south of the Wenatchee River, and north of Squilchuck Creek.
Devon: Mule deer captured in the Wenatchee Foothills showed strong migratory patterns, with approximately 90% of the does captured in the Foothills employing a seasonal migration strategy in the first year of the study. This is similar to previous work done on mule deer in northern Chelan County, which found that 89% of mule deer were migratory. Over the next 3 years, the data collected from the current GPS collars will allow WDFW to map migration corridors, detect important stop overs and the timing of migration, which had not previously been done for this population.
Susan: What message do you have for Wenatchee Valley residents to better help them understand the wintering needs of mule deer, and actions citizens can take to help protect them?
Devon: Mule deer in Chelan County migrate from contracted winter ranges adjacent to the Columbia River to vast mountainous summer ranges in the North Cascades; this pattern of migrating from a snow-limited condensed winter range to larger mountainous summer range is similar to other migratory ungulates in the Intermountain West. To this end, mule deer are most at-risk of the degradation of their winter range in Chelan County through development, fragmentation and wildfire. In general the summer ranges of Chelan County mule deer are largely federally managed forests and Wilderness Areas, which provide contiguous access to high quality forage. Conversely low elevation winter range is a dissected mix of landownership and management objectives, which can make wildlife management challenging.
Susan: What are some stresses experienced by wintering mule deer?
Devon: Stressors on winter range include excessive disturbance from motorized and non-motorized recreation and loss of woody browse (such as bitterbrush) to sustain deer through the winter. There are numerous seasonal recreation closures in the Wenatchee Foothills for this very reason, and respecting these closures and following posted trail rules is important for protecting wintering mule deer. This is especially critical towards the late winter right before green up, when deer are at their most nutritionally stressed and vulnerable. Another risk to migratory mule deer is roads that overlap with, or are adjacent to winter range. This can result in an increase in deer mortality or injuries from motor vehicle collisions.
Susan: Many people want to “help” the mule deer, and will put out food like cracked corn. How does this practice impact deer?
Devon: It can be tempting to think that feeding deer is a way to help them make it through a hard winter. However, WDFW encourages citizens to avoid feeding deer (even inadvertently at bird feeders). Feeding should be avoided for a number of reasons, including concentrating animals in a way that increase the potential for disease and parasites to spread among animals, disrupting natural foraging patterns, and feeding of inappropriate foods can result in physiological problems such as acidosis or foundering.
The Mule Deer Working Group has an excellent fact sheet titled “Understanding Mule Deer and Winter Feeding.”
Susan: How important are the Wenatchee Foothills to Chelan County’s total mule deer population?
Devon: I don’t feel like we have the data yet to answer this question, without it being misleading. The problem is we have an incomplete census of our herds in Chelan County. Certainly the Wenatchee Foothills are important mule deer winter range, as evidenced by high mule deer presence in the winter, but we can’t really qualify that with the proportion of total population.
Susan: In closing, how would you summarize the importance of the Wenatchee Foothills to mule deer?
Devon: Here’s what’s probably more relevant: The Wenatchee Foothills provides high-quality winter range for mule deer in Chelan County (you can refer to the models in the Wenatchee Foothills Community Strategy) and post-hunt winter surveys consistently detect high deer use in these areas. Because migration routes are learned behaviors and mule deer have high site fidelity, preserving these wintering areas are important to sustaining mule deer populations over the long-term.
DAVID HILLESTAD BIO: I grew up inner city Seattle, so I saw a lot of pavement and cloudy days. Thankful for the chance to go on Boy Scout outings to give me a taste of the outdoors. The boy is father to the man, so I still enjoy venturing out in the mountains and other habitats. I had an incongruent career path or perhaps a career path taking me from TV and radio broadcasting to building crew racing shells to a “settled” 23 years in residential mortgage banking and real estate brokerage. In my 60’s I wanted to escape the bustle of Puget Sound living and chose Chelan County on purpose. That’s when I picked up a camera in earnest. There is so much beauty and wonder to record…and remember. The best parts are the like minded acquaintanceships garnered along the way. www.davidhillestad.smugmug.com
DEVON COMSTOCK BIO: I have been with WDFW for 6 years, first as a private lands biologist for 3 years before taking the role of assistant district wildlife biologist in Wenatchee. Prior to that I worked with non-profit groups in Oregon on habitat restoration, wilderness preservation, and wildlife monitoring in eastern Oregon. I have a Masters in restoration ecology from University of Idaho.