Achieving a secure and sustainable population for white-tailed deer
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February 19, 2014
In 1967, Columbian white-tailed deer (CWTD) were listed as an endangered species. Their range had shrunk from about 13 million acres to around 350,000 acres. Approximately 20,000 acres of which were in the Cathlamet/Westport area. Once ranging over a large part of western Washington and Oregon, the population was reduced to two Distinct Population Segments (DPS). The Douglas County DPS in Oregon was de-listed in 2003, and the local Columbia River DPS has extended its range along the Columbia River Valley to Ridgefield WA. This expansion has led to recommendation by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that the DPS be downgraded from “Endangered” to “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
The recovery of this species is dependent on achieving a secure and sustainable population over a geographical range; protecting the deer from localized events and land-use changes that can affect their habitat or health. To measure recovery, the population must be known. Counting wildlife is difficult, but new technology using infrared cameras can make the job easier.
Infrared cameras pick up heat. By flying at low-elevation in a slow-moving helicopter, small hotspots can be recorded. The cameras are sensitive enough to distinguish shapes and sizes, and deer can be told from sheep, cows, and elk. Deer-sized dogs, random hotspots, and thick cover can affect accuracy, but these mistakes can be corrected.
Every few years, surveys are flown in deer habitat using people or goats as test subjects. By surveying a known quantity, biologists can determine the number of subjects missed in various habitat types. This information is used to correct the numbers recorded in the deer surveys.
Deer surveys normally occur during the first three weeks of February. This year they will take place the week of February 17th.
(Editor's note: The Eagle is providing this space to aid the Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to inform the public about local wildlife management issues.)
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