Mule deer are migrating down from the high country to find food on their winter ranges. If you are traveling Highway 789 south through Baggs, WY, and notice mule deer with bright yellow tags on their ears or white collars on their necks, don’t be alarmed. Those tagged deer are part of important monitoring the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is conducting on the Baggs Mule Deer Herd.
Baggs Wildlife Biologist Tony Mong says the project is an extension of the on-going big game underpass and fencing project completed in 2009 north of Baggs.
“The fencing and wildlife underpass have proved to be a tremendous success in saving mule deer and people from vehicle collisions,” Mong says. “Close to 6,000 mule deer used the underpass during the fall and spring migration of 2010 and 2011. I believe another benefit to this deer-vehicle collision prevention technique is the possibility for wildlife monitoring. This technique has the potential to provide managers a great deal more information on individual use of underpasses, deer survival, population estimations and distribution on the landscape.”
Mong, along with local sportsmen, game wardens and fellow biologists with the Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are trapping mule deer and placing ear tags on mostly does and fawns to determine annual survival of deer using the underpass using mark-resight methods. Mong also hopes to determine the amount of “back and forth” movement in the underpass within a migration season and determine dispersal patterns from the underpass.
Baggs Wildlife Biologist Tony Mong says the project is an extension of the on-going big game underpass and fencing project completed in 2009 north of Baggs.
“The fencing and wildlife underpass have proved to be a tremendous success in saving mule deer and people from vehicle collisions,” Mong says. “Close to 6,000 mule deer used the underpass during the fall and spring migration of 2010 and 2011. I believe another benefit to this deer-vehicle collision prevention technique is the possibility for wildlife monitoring. This technique has the potential to provide managers a great deal more information on individual use of underpasses, deer survival, population estimations and distribution on the landscape.”
Mong, along with local sportsmen, game wardens and fellow biologists with the Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are trapping mule deer and placing ear tags on mostly does and fawns to determine annual survival of deer using the underpass using mark-resight methods. Mong also hopes to determine the amount of “back and forth” movement in the underpass within a migration season and determine dispersal patterns from the underpass.
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