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Matt Kauffman

Mule deer within the Red Desert population, part of the larger Sublette herd, make the longest ungulate migration ever recorded in the lower 48 states (fig. 33). Here, mule deer travel an average one-way distance of 150 mi (241 km) from the Red Desert in the south to the Gros Ventre Range and Teton Range in the north. This migration originates in the desert sagebrush basins of the Red Desert area of southwest Wyoming where deer winter. In spring, an estimated 500 deer travel 50 mi (84 km) north across the desert to the west side of the Wind River Range. From there they merge with 4,000 to 5,000 other deer that winter in the foothills of the Wind River Range and then travel a narrow corridor along the base of the...
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Wind River Tribal Engagement/Mule Deer Migration
The Wind River Reservation in Wyoming contains over 2 million acres of the best and most diverse and intact habitats in the contiguous US. It is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. In collaboration with Tribal Fish and Game, the USFWS Lander Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and the USGS Wyoming Cooperative Research Unit, partners have been conducting an investigation of the migration patterns of 113 GPS-collared mule deer that began in 2018. As part of our SA diversity and inclusion efforts with a $60,500 investment, this project will extend the ongoing work and engage various segments of the tribal community in the research as a means to further understanding of fish and wildlife management...
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Identifying and prioritizing mule deer migration corridors across sagebrush ecosystems of the Western U.S.
In partnership with WAFWA MDWG and many participating western states, we propose the following three-pronged plan:1) Develop a standalone program which simplifies the technologically challenging analyses outlined in Sawyer et al. (2009b) into a user-friendly software add-on that can be implemented by biologists and managers using their own GPS collar data. 2) Work with biologists and managers of state agencies to analyze mule deer data sets. Specifically, using the program outlined in objective 1, we will assess the broad applicability of the analysis methods to identify migration corridors. This step will include the development of a list of key issues and considerations for analyzing these types of data in addition...
Mule deer in the Platte Valley South population are part of the larger Platte Valley herd unit with an estimated population of 11,000 animals. These mule deer winter in the sagebrush canyons and basins near the Platte and Encampment Rivers, south of Saratoga, Wyoming (fig. 29). Most of these deer migrate southerly 20–70 mi (32–113 km) to portions of the Sierra Madre, Medicine Bow Mountains, and Park Range in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Some of these deer move as far south as Rabbit Ears Range and must negotiate numerous fences, highways, and residential development to complete their migrations. These data provide the location of migration routes for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Platte Valley...
Elk within the Clarks Fork herd migrate though some of the most rugged and remote terrain in the lower 48 states. The herd, which numbers around 3,000, winters in the Sunlight Basin and the Absaroka foothills just west of Cody, WY. Winter ranges are a mix of sagebrush hills and lodgepole pine forests, within expansive private ranchlands. During migration, animals travel an average one-way distance of 33 miles, with some animals migrating as far as 67 miles. Spring migrations off of winter range head west towards Yellowstone National Park, up several drainages that flow out of the Absaroka Mountains, including the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, Crandall Creek, and smaller creeks to the south. Summer ranges consist...
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