as overlays to orthophoto and topographic quadrangle maps of 

 the study area. The kinds and amounts of vegetation cover 

 types in each 28.8-ha block were measured by superimposing a 

 dot grid of 25 regularly spaced points on each block and 

 recording the type under each dot. Each cover type was 

 assigned a value from to 25 in each block, weighing its 

 relative importance. The number of different cover patches 

 was counted as the number of discrete units of all types in 

 the block. The topographic index was determined by counting 

 the number of contour lines intersected by 1 line drawn 

 horizontally and 1 drawn vertically through the center of each 

 block. Each block was then assigned to 1 of 4 TOPOINDEX 

 categories: 1 = 0-69 m relief /km (X =_34 m/km) ; 2 = 70-149 

 m/km (X = 114 m/km); 3 = 150-230 m/km (X = 195 m/km); and 4 = 

 231-321 m/km (X = 275 m/km). Distance to water was measured 

 from the center of the block to the nearest water source known 

 to exist seasonally during wet and dry years within one of 5 

 distance classes: 1 = 0-0.402 km; 2 = 0.403 - 0.806 km; 3 = 

 0.806 - 1.61 km; 4 = 1.62 - 2.41 km; and 5 = > 2.41 km. 



Use and Selection of Vegetation Cover Types 



Mule deer used blocks containing forested cover types 

 more than expected during all seasons (X 2 = 129.9 to 550.4, 1 

 df, P < 0.005). Forest types comprised 51.5% of the study 

 area and 63.4%, 61.4%, 66.9%, and 60.9% of blocks used by deer 

 during summer, autumn, winter, and spring, respectively. Deer 

 use of forested types was greater during winter than all other 

 seasons (X 2 = 8.41 to 36.7, 1 df, P < 0.005). Deer also used 

 forested types proportionately more during summer than during 

 spring (X 2 = 4.49, 1 df, P = 0.04). 



Data concerning relative use of individual vegetation 

 cover types by season (Table 9.3) are presented as relative 

 risk-odds ratios (Everitt 1977), which were used as a 

 preference index. Values greater than 1.00 indicated that 

 more deer than expected (P < 0.05) used blocks containing a 

 particular type. The higher the value, the more the apparent 

 selection. Values less than 1.00 indicated that fewer deer 

 than expected (P < 0.05) used blocks containing that type. 

 Where no value is listed, deer use was not significantly 

 different from that expected based on relative availability. 



Mule deer use of specific vegetation cover types differed 

 seasonally (Table 9.3; X 2 = 378.76, 60 df, P < 0.0001). 

 Blocks used by deer during summer contained more burned 

 Douglas fir- juniper type than expected. They also used blocks 

 containing moderate and open density classes of the Douglas 

 fir- juniper and pine- juniper-shale types, and the 

 shale-longleaf sage and grassy bottom types more than 

 expected. Conversely, blocks where the sagebrush-grassland, 



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