IfuaUtlt (Zioe/i MattcXfement Idtut 



Introduction: 



The Judith River Management Unit, an area 

 of approximately 240,000 acres, was intensively 

 studied during the winter of 1941-42. This region 

 is drained by the Judith River in the Little Belt 

 Mountains. Other parts of the Little Belts, Castle 

 and Crazy Mountains were extensively surveyed 

 to find their relationship with the Judith River Unit. 



In 1929 the Judith River Game and Bird Pre- 

 serve was created. This, along with the buck law, 

 predator control, better law enforcement, and less 

 stock on the National Forest lands, tended to 

 increase the mule deer population until it reached 

 its maximum number in 1939. Due to the top- 

 ography of the drainage, the deer use a limited 

 area as winter range, part of which is privately 

 owned land. 



During 1927-28 eighty-six elk were planted 

 in the game preserve. They had increased to ap- 

 proximately 275 head by 1941, not including the 

 annual hunter harvest. During severe winter 

 weather the elk use a small portion of privately 

 owned land as winter range; however, the pres- 

 ent extended season on male elk until February 

 28 in the Indian Hill area helps hold them on 

 the national forest lands. 



The main purpose of the study was to find 

 the extent of damage being done to privately 

 owned lands, and the degree of use of the forage 

 species on the National Forest lands in the heav- 

 ily populated areas. To accomplish this, an ac- 

 curate census of both mule deer and elk had 

 to be made, along with monthly inspections to 

 determine the condition of the winter range. 

 Procedure: 



On November 1, 1941, a two-man crew began 

 work on this unit, using the Judith Station as 

 headquarters. Two cabins were stocked with sup- 

 plies, one on the Middle Fork and one on the 

 Lost Fork of the Judith River. The Judith Unit was 

 then divided into 30 range units, and each was 

 visited for the purpose of inspecting the condition 

 of the range and of making game counts. After 

 this was accomplished each month, an extensive 

 survey was made over other parts of the Little 

 Belts, Castle, and Crazy Mountains. 



The crew fini:'h<-<] tin 1 1 tiold work the last of 



April after spending approximately six months 

 in the field. They traveled a total of 5,539 miles by 

 car, 1,818 miles by foot, and 240 miles by horse. 

 Findings: 



A census of 1,800 mule deer and 275 elk was 

 made in the Judith River Unit alone. Approxi- 

 mately 63 per cent of the deer were found to be 

 ranging off the National Forest on privately owned 

 lands during the winter months. In the Sapphire 

 Mines area the deer count averaged from 60 to 

 140 per square mile during this period. 



When the range livestock was removed from 

 the National Forest lands October 15, the range 

 was found to have been utilized 45 per cent. The 

 first heavy use of forage by game was noticed 

 on the lower portion of the game preserve. This 

 was due to the congregation of deer and elk 

 within the protected area during the hunting sea- 

 son. Over a period of years abnormal early use 

 of this critical portion of the winter range, coupled 

 with the continued use after the hunting season, 

 has resulted in serious damage to the forage 

 species. Several adjacent range areas were found 

 to be under used by game. Thus the problem 

 was found to be distinctly one of distribution. 

 Recommendations: 



It is recommended that the present boun- 

 daries of the Judith River Game and Bird Pre- 

 serve be shifted so as to eliminate the lower, 

 heavily used portion and enlarge the upper part. 

 This change would prevent the deer and elk from 

 congregating on winter range during the late fall 

 and early winter, and would thus achieve util- 

 ization of the more abundant forage at the higher 

 elevations. Revision of the present boundary 

 would also tend to redistribute the game to under 

 populated game areas by changing the migra- 

 tion routes, and would thus enable the winter 

 ranges within the National Forest to support a 

 larger number of game animals than at present, 

 without causing damage ot privately owned lands. 



A closed area in a portion of the Dry Wolf 

 Unit, which lies adjacent to the northern boundary 

 of the Judith River Unit, is also recommended. The 

 purpose of this closure would be to increase the 

 big game population in this area which offers an 

 abundance of winter forage. In this way a more de- 

 sirable distribution of game would be achieved. 



[48] 



