Movements, Survival, and Mortality of Black-Tailed Deer in the Klickitat Basin of Washington

I studied movements, survival, and mortality sources for migratory Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the Klickitat River Basin (KRB) of Washington during 1988-95. During 1988-93, 490 deer were captured and marked; an additional 69 adult deer were radiocollared and relocated 3,152 times. Fifty-seven of 66 radiocollared deer (86%) seasonally migrated, and distances between seasonal activity centers averaged 27.8 km (range = 5.0-85.6 km). Among migrants, 34 (60%) summered on the Yakama Indian Reservation; the remainder summered on state and corporate forest lands adjacent to the reservation. All but 2 deer wintered on state and private land south of the reservation. Annual survival for radiocollared adult females averaged 0.82 but was 0.71 during a severe winter. The survival of radiocollared adult males averaged 0.50. Most deaths of radiocollared deer were caused by hunting, whereas malnutrition during winter was the major mortality source for neckbanded females. Illegal kills exceeded legal kills for radiocollared females and represented 20% of all hunting deaths for radiocollared males. Most hunting mortality occurred on state and private lands and was associated with recreational hunting, even among deer that had summer home ranges on tribal lands. The timing of autumn migrations subjected many deer to the cumulative effects of tribal and nontribal harvest and highlighted the importance of coordinated management. These data suggested tribal deer harvests had little effect on recreational hunting opportunities in the KRB.