MDFOFFICIAL MEMBER MAGAZINE OF THE MULE DEER FOUNDATION

For the Conservation of Mule Deer, Black-Tailed Deer and their Habitat. July / August 2018

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In the Lone Star State, my mule deer friends from the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF), landowners,

other conservation partners, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have been working together to improve mule deer habitat and conduct research since the birth of MDF in Texas in 2011. � anks to all MDF members working hard to raise at least a quarter of a million dollars for Texas’ mule deer! Most of these dollars were used as matching dollars to quadruple the amount of money put to projects using Pittman-Robertson funds (generated by an excise tax on � rearms, ammo, and archery equipment). In fact, we garnered about $275,000 of Pittman-Robertson money for these projects.

With these combined funds, we have been able to improve mule deer habitat on three wildlife management areas and private land through water developments such as wildlife guzzlers

and brush management; completed year 3 of a 5-year large scale project in the Panhandle studying the in� uence of agriculture on mule deer movement

and survival; and boosted mule deer numbers at the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area and El Carmen Land & Conservation Company-CEMEX USA (a private ranch adjacent to Black

Gap) where mule deer were once abundant. We have done some amazing things over the last 7 years, and here are some of the highlights:

Trans-Pecos Wildlife Management Areas

� e Trans-Pecos region is the state’s most diverse in � ora and fauna. � is region encompasses land west of the Pecos River, but includes the Stockton Plateau

and the sand hills near the southeast corner of New Mexico. � e habitats are extreme from desert valleys and plateaus to high wooded mountain slopes.

Elevations range from about 2,500–8,500 feet. Average annual precipitation � uctuates from less than 12 inches to 20 inches in higher elevations. � is region lies in the heart of the Chihuahuan desert, and a common management theme here is “we need more water”.

� e Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (BGWMA) is a little over 103,000 acres, located in Southeastern Brewster County consisting of varying soil and vegetation types and is the largest Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Texas. � e area is situated about 50 miles south of the town of Marathon. � ere are drastic elevation changes from 1,560 feet along the Rio Grande to 4,600 feet found in the Sierra del Carmen Mountain Range. Average annual precipitation for the area is 11 inches, which primarily falls between the months of June and September. BGWMA has a mixture of Chihuahuan desert scrub and desert grasslands, giving it a vast array of vegetation types. � ere is abundant plant diversity and many browse species used by mule deer that are common throughout the area are kidneywood, guayacan, spiny hackberry, sumacs, sotol, and lechuguilla. Most of the habitat found at the BGWMA is excellent for mule deer. Many of the permanent water sources away from the Rio Grande are in the form of wildlife guzzlers that harvest precipitation. � e water distribution on the WMA is adequate (a permanent water source every two miles), though many of the wildlife guzzlers were in dire need of refurbishing. With MDF and Pittman-Robertson funds we were able to address this problem.

Since 2016 we have refurbished 13 old wooden wildlife guzzlers and built two new guzzlers of di� erent designs (“Nevada-style” and tarp). � e refurbished wildlife guzzlers are on a � oat system, the � oat in the water trough will shut o� the water from the storage tank to the trough once the � oat reaches a certain level, while the “Nevada-style” and tarp wildlife guzzlers are passive water systems. � is means there are no � oats or valves and the water in the trough is at the same

level as the water in the storage tank (i.e., if the storage tank is half full, then the trough will be half full). Instead of utilizing a metal apron as the rain water catchment surface, the tarp wildlife guzzler is made up of strong 45 mil polypropylene. � ese guzzlers are not only essential for wildlife on the WMA, but we use them for demonstration purposes to show private landowners di� erent options to provide permanent water sources to wildlife in the Chihuahuan desert.

Mule deer translocations have also taken place at BGWMA and El Carmen Land & Conservation Company-CEMEX USA (ECLCC) to provide a boost to this area’s mule deer population that had been severely depleted from historic drought and other factors. From 2015–2017, we transplanted over 200 adult mule deer does from Elephant Mountain WMA and private ranches in Pecos and Brewster counties. � ese source mule deer populations had abundant numbers and were tested

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A tagged fawn and a radio-collared mule deer buck from the 5-year Panhandle research project using a wheat � eld at the western Rolling Plains study site.

T E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A ST E X A S

State SpotlightState Spotlight

“Nevada-style” wildlife guzzler at BGWMA

� e following article is provided by Shawn Gray, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s mule deer and pronghorn program leader. He has been, and will continue to be, the representative

of our key partner in our endeavors to restore and enhance mule deer habitat in Texas.

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for chronic wasting disease as well as other diseases prior to beginning any translocations. We radio-collared 60 percent of the mule deer does transplanted to monitor survival, dispersal movements, home ranges, and habitat use. Survival has averaged over 70 percent a� er one-year post-release. We are currently analyzing the amassed data sets to provide us with outstanding information to better manage our mule deer resource. Mule deer numbers at BGWMA and ECLCC are rebounding, and we believe these positive results are from current habitat improvements, translocations, and predator management.

On the Culberson and Hudspeth County Line in far west Texas within the Sierra Diablos is the � rst ever WMA created in Texas, Sierra

Diablo WMA (SDWMA). TPWD is responsible for over 11,600 acres of desert bighorn sheep and mule deer habitat at SDWMA. In the spring of 2018, members from MDF, TPWD, Borderland Research Institute at Sul Ross State University (BRI), and other conservation organizations conducted another wildlife guzzler project, but this time it was with the assistance of a helicopter. Because of the rough terrain of the Sierra Diablos, these wildlife guzzlers are remote and the use of a helicopter to carry materials and shuttle workers to the work site is necessary. � e team refurbished another old wildlife guzzler and built a new one to improve the water resources across the landscape at SDWMA. We also held the Van Horn MDF banquet the night of � nishing the SDWMA guzzler project. What a special way to be a part of the

MDF complete circle, from work project to fundraising in one day.

Panhandle Wildlife Management Areas

In the Texas Panhandle there are two major ecological regions, the High Plains and Rolling Plains. Broad grasslands and croplands dominate the High Plains region with scattered playa lakes. � e region extends to the Caprock Escarpment in the south and is divided into northern and southern portions by the Canadian River Breaks. Major habitats are short-grass prairies and sand hills. Elevations vary from 3,000–4,500 feet. Average annual precipitation is 15–21 inches with the highest amount falling in the spring and fall months.

� e western edge of the Rolling Plains ecological region is found within the Panhandle, which is bordered by the Caprock Escarpment. Major habitats of this region are mesquite plains, short and mid-grass prairies, sand hills, and breaks. Elevations range from 1,600–3,000 feet. � e average annual precipitation is about 22 inches with peaks usually in May and September.

TPWD has two WMAs in these ecological regions of the Panhandle where MDF funds have been matched with TPWD’s and other conservation partners’ money to vastly improve their habitats for mule deer. � e Matador WMA is located within the western Rolling Plains ecological region and Yoakum Dunes WMA is found in the High Plains.

At the Matador WMA in Cottle County, which is comprised of over 28,000 acres, we have conducted aggressive treatments to � ght mesquite invasion of the native grasslands. A treatment of aerial herbicide at the right time, aeration of the dead mesquite skeletons 3 to 4 years later, followed up by prescribed � re has converted over 15,000 acres of mesquite dominated rangeland to a more diverse grassland. With these habitat treatments the Matador WMA rangeland is becoming more what it used to look like – a

Mule Deer Foundation's Tarp Guzzler Project at BGWMA.

A mule deer buck harvested on Yoakum Dunes WMA during the 2015-16 hunting season. � e buck scored 232 gross Boone and Crockett inches.A translocated mule deer doe, her fawn, and a young

buck using the tarp guzzler at BGWMA.

grassland savannah and prime mule deer habitat.

Many Texas mule deer hunters know if you get the chance to hunt the sand hills in the southwest Panhandle, you have great odds of harvesting a monster buck. TPWD recently acquired a new WMA in 2014 called Yoakum Dunes speci� cally for lesser prairie chicken conservation. It is about 14,000 acres in size and lies within Cochran, Terry, and Yoakum counties. Yoakum Dunes WMA’s rangeland is mostly composed of shin oak and sand sagebrush. Even though shin oak can be good mule deer forage at times, especially when producing acorns, it will dominate range sites and severely reduce herbaceous growth (grasses and forbs) and forage production for wildlife. By applying herbicide treatments to reduce some dense stands of shin oak and sand sagebrush we have created an open mosaic of diverse vegetation, which lesser prairie chickens and mule deer prefer, on over 8,000 acres of the WMA.

With the increase of native bunchgrasses and forbs, fawning cover and forage will be improved for mule deer and pronghorn, as well as northern bobwhite and scaled quail, lesser prairie chickens, and other non-game species.

We are also improving water distribution on Yoakum Dunes WMA. In 2017, two new solar wells were drilled to provide permanent water to wildlife and livestock with a large catchment and over� ow pit. � ese solar wells will also provide water to livestock to improve grazing distribution throughout the WMA, which will enhance herbaceous vegetation communities to the bene� t of wildlife. Proof is in the pudding, during the 2015-16 hunting season a winner of the Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt public draw was successful in taking the largest scoring deer ever harvested on a TPWD WMA. � e massive muley had a gross Boone and Crockett score of 232 inches, highlighting the quality wildlife habitat created from hard work and partnerships.

A new wildlife water trough installed at one of the remote wildlife guzzlers at SDWMA, � anks MDF!

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Panhandle Mule Deer Research Project

For years TPWD, private landowners, mule deer managers, and other mule deer enthusiasts have been lacking valuable information on how mule deer use the matrix of rangeland and cropland in the Panhandle. We are blessed with an increasing mule deer herd in the Panhandle, but there can be a consequence of more deer in farm country: crop depredation issues. To better manage the mule deer herd in the Panhandle and help with crop depredation problems, questions such as, “How far do mule deer travel to utilize crops?”, “Which crops do mule deer prefer?”, “How much time do mule deer spend on crops?”, “What seasons are mule deer using mostly cropland?”, “Does cropland improve adult and fawn survival?”, “What is the seasonal nutrition level on cropland versus rangeland?”, “Are there di� erences in body condition and lactation rates from deer that utilize cropland versus deer that only use rangeland?”, “What rangeland habitat types do mule deer like?” need to be answered.

During October 2015 we were fortunate enough to have the stars align to bring many partners to the table to get the research project funded and o� the ground. TPWD, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Texas Tech University, BRI, and MDF were all in and we established study areas in the western Rolling Plains, eastern Canadian River breaks, and southwest Panhandle. TPWD and their partners’ goal is to radio-collar adult deer (20

bucks and 20 does) with GPS collars and 30 fawns with lightweight expandable VHF collars annually for two years at each study site. We have mounds of data already gathered and our graduate students are running analyses as fast as they can.

Our preliminary data is helping to address some of our questions, but not until all the data is complete and processed will we have more de� nitive answers. We plan to share more of our detailed information from this research project in future MDF articles.

Private LandAbout 97 percent of the land in Texas is privately owned and even though wildlife is the public’s resource, private landowners hold the key to wildlife habitat. In Texas we are no strangers to working hand-in-hand with private landowners regarding wildlife and

An old wooden framed guzzler at BGWMA with galvanized steel storage tank built circa 1960s.

Refurbished wildlife guzzler with new steel frame, apron, and 2,500-gallon poly storage tank at BGWMA.

habitat management. MDF, TPWD, and other partners have conducted several water projects, research studies, and restoration e� orts on private land for the bene� t of mule deer. Texas landowners have and continue to play a critical part in our state’s wildlife goals, especially for mule deer.

With our help mule deer populations should continue their upward trend. Because of the support from MDF, Texans have and will continue to come to the aid of mule deer and their habitat. I sincerely appreciate all the hard work that each Texas MDF chapter has put forth for our precious mule deer resource. � e future looks bright for Texas’ mule deer with MDF by their side.

Translocated mule deer doeat BGWMA/ECLCC.