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Migration Stopovers of Mule Deer in the Verdi-Truckee Herd in California and Nevada

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2022-04-07T00:00:00Z
The Verdi-Truckee mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) herd winters south of I-80 in the Carson Range along the California-Nevada border, although a portion of this herd winters northeast of Verdi, Nevada on Peavine Mountain. Migration routes to summer range follow I-80 southwest, along both sides of the Truckee River, toward Martis Valley and Truckee, California. The summer range for this small herd (approximately 500 animals in 2019) is located east of Truckee and includes portions of Juniper Flat, Martis Creek, and the area south of the Truckee River to the confluence of Gray Creek. Migration behavior and timing of migration is dependent on seasonal weather conditions and snow depth during early winter. Significant challenges to this deer herd include barriers to movement, such as I-80, vehicle collisions, and increased housing development on winter range in Verdi neighborhoods. These data provide the location of migration stopovers for mule deer in the Verdi-Truckee population in California and Nevada. They were developed from 91 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 31 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 1-11 hours.

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