Wyoming Mule Deer Lake De Smet Migration Routes

The Lake De Smet mule deer herd is one of three subgroups in the larger Powder River herd unit in north-central Wyoming, and they represent the only known migratory segment of the Powder River herd unit (Sawyer and Telander, 2023). Sixty-four percent of the GPS-collared Lake De Smet mule deer migrate 15–20 mi (24–32 km) seasonally from winter ranges to the southeast of U.S. Highway 16 to summer ranges in the rolling foothills to the north of Lake De Smet and Piney Creek (fig. 27). During their migration, these mule deer have to cross U.S. Highway 16, two Wyoming county roads, and many fences. Interstate 90 effectively creates a barrier for the herd and limits summer mule deer movements to the northwest. Irrigated hay meadows and other agricultural fields are common and interspersed among the rolling foothills and sagebrush draws. White-tailed deer are also abundant in the region and may explain the high prevalence and associated mortality with CWD in the Lake De Smet mule deer herd (Sawyer and Telander, 2023). Together, CWD and WVC along U.S. Highway 16 represent the leading causes of mortality for this mule deer herd (Sawyer and Telander, 2023). These mapping layers show the location of the migration routes for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Lake De Smet population in Wyoming. They were developed from 79 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 30 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.

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