Oregon Mule Deer Migrations Mapped In Latest USGS Report

The migratory corridors, winter grounds and stopover points on the way to and from summer range of more than a dozen Central and Eastern Oregon mule deer herds are detailed in the latest edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States.

Released this week, it builds on previous mapping of Beaver State as well as Washington, Idaho and other states’ deer, elk, pronghorn and moose herds.

Why is this important?

“With these maps in hand, public and private partners are able to better understand where animals migrate and work together to reduce barriers and conserve important migration habitats,” said Matt Kauffman, a USGS wildlife biologist who heads up what’s known as the Corridor Mapping Team out of the University of Wyoming.

For example, a press release on this fifth edition of the series states that “detailed maps allowed Arizona to redesign a wind and solar farm to facilitate wildlife movement and guided the investment of tens of millions of dollars for wildlife crossings through state and federal highway funding.”

Ungulation Migrations, volume 5, also builds on ODFW’s Migration Matters: The migratory journeys of mule deer in Oregon, and it includes collar data from deer in Oregon’s Biggs, Crescent, Deschutes, Fossil-Grizzly, Juniper-Silvies, Keno, Mid-Columbia, North Blues, Northeast, Ochoco, Steens Mountain, Sumpter and Warner herds.

You know I love to go loooooooooooooooooooong on stories related to the wanderings – wonderful, weird and otherwise – of Northwest wildlife, but I got a wee bit of more pressing work to do at the moment.

But to put a point on this widely supported effort by federal, state and tribal wildlife agencies that benefits hunters and the general public, not to mention the deer and range themselves, “These maps represent the state of the art for migration science and management. They are crucial for building the partnerships needed to conserve the ungulate migrations of the West into the future.”

And that is gonna have to be that.