Colorado Plateau Shrubland and Forest Ecoregion

Description: High elevation areas in western Colorado, eastern Utah, southern Wyoming, and northern Arizona and New Mexico. Habitat ranges from spruce trees at high elevations, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir at mid-elevations, and sagebrush and pinyon-juniper at lower elevations.

Climate: Much of this region is above 5,000 feet and includes many mountain peaks above 15,000 feet. Precipitation ranges from 8 to 24 inches. Winters can be severe.

The deer: Deer are migratory because of the heavy winter snowfalls at high elevations. Deer populations are most affected by severe winters that cause nutritional stress, high fawn mortality and lower fawn recruitment. Some lower elevation ranges can be summer range limited. Livestock grazing may affect the quality of forage available to deer.

Limiting factors: Severe winters and droughts can impact the productivity of mule deer by causing high fawn mortality. Improper livestock grazing has caused changes in mule deer winter range.

Recommendations:

1. Limit disturbance to existing winter range, and acquire additional winter range.

2. Improve quality and quantity of winter range habitat.

3. Maintain stands of aspen for mule deer fawns and summer range.

4. Limit development of and disturbance to summer range in areas where summer range is limiting.