Distribution of Mule Deer in Relation to Water Sources in Northern California

Water development projects for deer are used in northcentral and northeastern California to improve animal distribution and resource use. To aid resource managers in the efficient placement of water developments, we examined the spatial distribution of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) relative to water sources. Female deer averaged 1.55 ± 0.07 (SE) km and 1.19 ± 0.07 (SE) km from water in the 2 regions of the study area. The distance deer were from water was influenced by individual variation among deer within regions (P < 0.001), the month in a given year (P = 0.045), and likely whether or not females had fawns (P = 0.079). The mean greatest distance from water was 2.46 km (n = 36, SE = 0.14) which agreed with the maximum 4.8 km spacing in the habitat capability model. Our results supported the habitat capability model's preferred spacing of <3.2 km.