184 



Whltetall Deer 



One hundred and thirty-nine whitetail deer were observed on or 

 near the Birney study area. Average group size was lowest in 

 summer (1.5) and highest in spring (4.i|) (Table 100). Fall 

 observations were too few to obtain production data. Aerial 

 observations per hour ranged from zero to 7.5 deer per hour 

 (Table 93). 



Table 100. 



Average group size and vegetational use of white- 

 tailed deer on the Birney study area. 



Spring Summer Fall Winter 



Distribution: Figure 88 shows the distribution of whitetail deer 

 during the entire study. Most of the observations were actually 

 outside the study area boundary, along the Tongue River. They 

 were most often observed in the uplands within the study area 

 during winter. 



Use of vegetation; The vegetation data were lumped into four 

 main vegetational types because of the small number of observations 

 (Table 100). Most whitetail deer were observed in the agricultural 

 tyoe, except during winter. All agricultural observations were 

 in alfalfa hay fields. Winter sightings were mainly in types 

 which provided shelter: ponderosa pine and riparian types. More 

 specifically, most of these sightings were in the ponderosa pine- 

 .juniper and deciduous tree cover types. Grassland areas received 

 the highest use during fall. Most grassland observations were in 

 greasewood flats adjacent to the river bottom. 



Use of topogrpahy, slope, exposure: Nearly all of the whitetail 

 deer were observed on flood plains or alluvium/terrace areas of 

 flat or gentle slope. Whitetail deer use more rugged topography 

 in other areas where they are not dependent on river bottom 

 forests for food and cover (Dusek 198O), 



Antelope 



Twenty-five antelope were observed on the Birney study area during 

 the study. Most of the study area is marginal or unsuitable for 

 antelope. Observations centered in two areas: 1) The ridge 

 between Bull and Cook Creek near the Cheyenne Indian Reservation 



