Mule Deer Research Study Launches

In July of this year, the Conservation Research Center of Teton Science Schools received funding from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to conduct a three-year research project on mule deer responses to roadways and human development in Teton County, Wyoming. Over the next two weeks, Embere Hall, Research Director at the Conservation Research Center, and her experienced team, Susannah Woodruff and Trent Roussin, will brave the elements to fit 30 GPS collars to female deer in order to identify road crossing points and provide information on short distance migration corridors and habitat use in developed landscapes.Mule deer movements will be systematically monitored using on-the-ground telemetry systems and six telemetry over-flights each season. Collars will be scheduled to attempt location fixes every 1-3 hours during the winter season and less often during the summer months. This phase will continue for two years, with analyses being conducted separately for each year of the study and evaluated collectively at the end of the second year. Year three will focus on dissemination of the results to various agencies, conservation organizations, and scientific publications.In addition to WYDOT and FHA, project partners include the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, Teton County Planning Department, Grand Teton National Park and the many landowners permitting use of their property for capturing and collaring deer.

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