Post-1900 mule deer irruptions in the Intermountain West: Principal cause and influences

Abstract

Tests hypotheses for mule deer population increases between the early 1930's and mid-1960's. Concludes that livestock grazing and absence of fire converted vast areas of grasses and forbs to woody plants favored by mule deer. Mule deer populations, therefore, irrupted between 1930 and 1965 and have since experienced a decline as plant succession moves toward shrub senescence and trees. Habitat management alternatives are discussed.

Citation

Gruell, George E. 1986. Post-1900 mule deer irruptions in the Intermountain West: Principal cause and influences. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-206. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 37 p.