C. MULE DEER 



1) Introduction 



Mule deer have historically received lower priority for big 

 game management within the Kootenai Management Unit, with white- 

 tailed deer and bighorn sheep receiving management priority. Be- 

 cause of its lower management priority, only limited data are 

 available for tliis species. Appendix B summarizes the history of 

 the mule deer population within the area impacted by the Libby Dam 

 project, and major investigations of the population and/ or the 

 habitat requirements of the species. 



In a comprehensive management plan, currently being prepared 

 by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, mule deer 

 are ranked number 3 - behind white-tailed deer and elk - for mana- 

 gement within Region One (northwestern Montana). This priori- 

 tization will place added emphasis on future mule deer population 

 itanagement . 



2) Seasonal Habitat Preference 



The majority of the information on the mule deer population is 

 related to its winter distribution. Mule deer prefer to winter at 

 the higher elevations along wind blown ridges and open slopes. 

 Zajanc (1948) and Blair (1955a) reported mule deer wintered on 

 ranges above white-tailed deer and elk, with a definite preference 

 for areas of broken topography such as those found between Ten-Mile 

 Creek and Stonehill. Appendix C illustrates the distribution of 

 mule deer winter range within the area of concern. 



Based on these observations, it was determined the portion of 

 the Libby Dam impact area between Jennings and Gateway , particu- 

 larly the broken topography between Ten-Mile Creek and Sutton Creek, 

 was of importance to mule deer. The higher slopes along the Fisher 

 River and Wolf Creek area received moderate use by wintering mule 

 deer with only scattered individuals present. The bottomlands and 

 lower benches provided important winter range for white-tailed 

 deer, but v/ere of little value for wintering mule deer. 



These lower areas did provide excellent spring range with an 

 abundance of nutritious forage necessary to promote good physical 

 condition prior to parturition and lactation (Mautz 1978). The 

 U.S. Dep. of Agric. (1965a) reported the spring grass ranges were 

 receiving approximately equal use by both mule deer and white- 

 tailed deer, indicating the mule deer were moving onto the lower 

 areas where "green-up" occurred earlier in the spring. Brown 

 (1983, pers. commun.) reported, while conducting spring elk surveys 

 within drainages adjacent to the impacted area, mule deer were 

 dDserved using the lower benches and slopes used by white-tailed 

 deer as winter range. 



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