"... dried-out range lands did not offer a very 

 succulent diet." (May-August). 



"On the West Unit, a long arid summer resulted in many 

 waterholes and reservoirs drying up"... (Sept. -Dec.) 



[Author's Note:] During February 1958, an attempt was made to 

 remove all deer from a 8.13 km 2 pasture that had been fenced 

 to receive a transplant of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 

 (Janson 1958). This pasture was approximately 9 . 7 km west of 

 the study area and within similar habitat. Fourteen mule deer 

 were shot, two were known to have escaped through the fence, 

 and a minimum of eight deer were known to have survived and 

 remained in the pasture. These data provided a minimum 

 density estimate of 7.7 mule deer /mi 2 (2.95/km 2 ) for an area 

 near our study area during February 1958. 



1959 - (Jan. -Apr.) ..."Severe winter conditions and 

 particularly deep snow caused hardship for most all 

 wildlife. By the latter part of February, many mule 

 deer were in poor condition. Body weight appeared 

 down and they seemed to lack the vigor and alertness 

 of normal animals." 



"The mule deer situation remains precarious over the 

 West Unit. The area was found to be uniformly 

 overutilized to the point we are in danger of losing 

 a considerable portion of the palatable forage 

 available that deer are dependent upon." 

 Data obtained during the winter indicates our doe-fawn 

 ratio to be about 65 fawns per 100 does which is an 

 indication the productivity of the herd has already 

 degenerated to a serious point." 

 "An early spring with abundant new growth of forage." 



(May-Aug. ) 

 "The limited use of the 1080 baits by coyotes last 

 winter [less than 5% eaten] should indicate that the 

 population is relatively low. However, almost any 

 night these animals can be heard singing at any 

 location along the river". 



"Both cottontails and white-tailed jackrabbits are 

 present in larger numbers. Increased road kills and 

 more sight records seem to support this theory." 

 "Body condition [of mule deer] was excellent and 

 during the early part of the hunting season all 

 animals had a wide layer of fat coating the body 

 cavity and internal organs." 



377 



