Migration Routes of Mule Deer in Owl Creek Mountains Herd in Wyoming

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) along the Owl Creek Mountains display both a longitudinal and altitudinal migration as they depart the northern section of the Wind River Indian Reservation (fig. 28). Deer in this trans-boundary migration corridor move from areas under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, to lands where the Wyoming Game and Fish Department manages wildlife. West of the Reservation, deer migrate to summer ranges in the Absaroka Range, the Mount Leidy Highlands, and the Gros Ventre River watershed, all within the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone National Forests. The herd numbers around 3,000. Arid winter ranges are a mix of shrubs, herbaceous grasslands and riparian ecosystems, within Tribal land as well as private land along the Wind River. Animals migrate an average one-way distance of 63 mi (101 km), ranging from as little as 14 mi (23 km) to as far as 141 mi (227 km). Summer ranges are predominantly lodgepole pine forests with smaller areas of open herbaceous grasslands. The population size of the herd has remained relatively steady over the last decade. There is minimal concern for these animals on winter range because Tribal Trust Land is under low risk of development, and the Shoshone and Arapaho manage deer hunting for sustainable harvest under a game code established in 1984. However, some of their winter range along Wind River is in close proximity to US Highway 26/287, putting deer at heightened risk of vehicle collisions. Critically, the migration routes extend through residential areas such as Dubois and the Hoback Basin with heightened risk of negative human-wildlife interactions (i.e. vehicle collisions, fences and barriers). Summer ranges within National Forests are of less concern. These data provide the location of migration routes for mule deer in the Owl Creek Mountains population in the Wind River Reservation. They were developed from 73 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 20 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.

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