Glenn Harper | USGS Science

USGS2024

Temporal habitat use of mule deer in the Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico

Mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) are important economically, culturally, and recreationally to the Pueblo of Santa Ana in central New Mexico, USA. Studies of habitat selection improve our understanding of mule deer ecology in central New Mexico and provide the Tribe with valuable information for management of mule deer. We used global positioning system telemetry-collar data collected on mule deer around the Pueblo of Santa Ana to create resource selection functions from proximity-based habitat predictors using a generalized linear mixed model. We created separate resource selection functions for females and males during summer and winter at different times of the day. Season generally had a greater effect on mule deer habitat use than the time of day. Female and male mule deer selected for similar habitats but were sexually segregated in their summer distributions. These findings are consistent with results from other locations where mule deer partitioned habitat similarly between seasons and sexes. Supported models reaffirm accepted patterns of habitat selection for mule deer to the Pueblo of Santa Ana where local results were lacking. Our results can help managers identify locations in and around the Pueblo of Santa Ana where future development such as highway expansion are likely to conflict with mule deer activity and locations where habitat enhancement projects such as adding water sources can have the greatest effect for the deer population.

New Mexico↗

USGS2022

Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 2

Migration is widespread across taxonomic groups and increasingly recognized as fundamental to maintaining abundant wildlife populations and communities. Many ungulate herds migrate across the western United States to access food and avoid harsh environmental conditions. With the advent of global positioning system (GPS) collars, researchers can describe and map the year-round movements of ungulates at both large and small spatial scales. The migrations can traverse landscapes that are a mix of different jurisdictional ownership and management. Today, the landscapes migrating herds traverse are increasingly threatened by fencing, high-traffic roads, oil and gas development, and other types of permanent development. Through the use of GPS collars, a model of science-based conservation emerged in which migration corridors, stopovers, and winter ranges can be mapped in detail, thereby allowing threats and conservation opportunities to be identified and remedied. In 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assembled a Corridor Mapping Team (CMT) to work collaboratively with western states to map migrations of Odocoileus hemionus (mule deer), Cervus canadensis (elk), and Antilocapra americana (pronghorn). Led by the USGS Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the team consists of Federal scientists, university researchers, and biologists and analysts from participating State and Tribal agencies. The first set of maps described a total of 42 migrations across 5 western states and was published in 2020 as the first volume of this report series. This second volume describes an additional 65 migrations mapped within 9 western states and select Tribal lands. As the western United States continues to grow, this report series and the associated map files released by the USGS will allow for migration maps to be used for conservation planning by a wide array of State and Federal stakeholders to reduce barriers to migration caused by fences, roads, and other development.

western United States↗