This just arrived from Ethan Lula, Wildlife Biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). The status of mule deer and other area large animal populations has been a hot topic at the past several Interlocal meetings. Ethan provides some insight, as well as a link to a wealth of additional information . . .
I just wanted to share a highlight from some of the ongoing wildlife research in the area. This past winter, as part of a region-wide effort designed to evaluate the use of remote cameras to estimate elk and deer abundances in forested habitat, FWP captured 3 elk, 9 mule deer and 9 white-tailed deer in HD 101. The map [above] is from an adult doe mule deer that was captured along Foothills Rd, and is currently spending the summer about 40 miles, as the crow flies, in BC. This is one of the farthest migrations FWP has documented in the area, and took about 20 days to complete (May 7 – May 22), crossing the width of the Whitefish Range and the North Fork of the Flathead River. Very impressive and serves as an important reminder that our “local” wildlife populations are influenced by factors and interconnected at much larger spatial scales than we often realize.
If you want to learn more about the large mammal monitoring project, here is a link to the website where you will find background info, a YouTube video, and the annual reports:
https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/research/northwest-large-mammal-monitoring-project.