178 



Table 94. Mule deer population characteristics iii the Rirney study 

 area. 



Number Classified 



Population 

 Fawns ; 100 Bucks: Structure (%) 



to observe during the sununer due to a tendency to "shade up" in more 

 heavily wooded areas. 



Deer groups during the fall were larger and located nearer to creek and 

 river bottoms (Figure 86). More mule deer were observed along the 

 Tongue River than in other seasons, and no deer were observed in 

 the northwestern one-third of the study area. 



Figure 87 shows the winter distribution of mule deer. Three main 

 areas were used: 1) the ridge between Bull Creek and Whitten Creek, 

 2) the ridge between \iniitten Creek and Zook Creek, 3) the head of 

 Coal Bank Creek. A group of nine deer beds were observed in the 

 southwestern oart of the study area between Bull Creek and the head 

 of Whitten Creek, but the herd was never located. 



Most of the groups had more than three deer, but no groups of more 

 than 15 deer were observed. This lack of large herds of mule deer 

 during winter is in contrast with the Kirby and Tongue River Dam 

 study areas and most other coal areas near Ashland (Martin 1980a). 



The extent of winter range on the Birney area is uncertain due to 

 the unusually mild winter. Most of the deer were on or near steep, 

 sagebrush-covered south-facing slopes. These slopes, which are 

 small and scattered throughout the study area, are probably the 

 normal winter ranges. 



Vegetation use; Mule deer made heavy use of sagebrush habitat 

 during the entire study (Table 95). Ponderosa pine types were 

 more heavily utilized in 198I than in 198O. Use of this type was 

 certainly underestimated because of the difficulty of seeing deer 

 in it. Very few deer were observed in deciduous tree and shrub 

 habitats, except in fall when many mule deer moved down on the 

 Tongue River. This low use reflects the small amount and poor 

 quality of riparian habitat within the study area. 



Activity : A high percentage of mule deer were observed feeding 

 during spring and summer (Table 96). The highest percentages of 

 standing and laying deer were observed during winter, the period 

 of greatest stress. Martin (1980a) correlates the high feeding 



