A Case for Standardized Ungulate Surveys and Data Management in the Western United States

Abstract

Fluctuations in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations during the past century (Workman and Low 1976) have increased interest in ungulate population trends and crossjurisdictional management (Heffelfinger and Messmer 2003). Linked to this interest is a need for more research and monitoring at regional and other inter-jurisdictional scales (Unsworth et al. 1999, Wakeling 2005). Considerable obstacles to addressing this need for landscape-scale research and monitoring include interstate and intrastate variation in data collection and monitoring that complicates inference about trends and underlying causes of ungulate population fluctuations (Carpenter 1997). We recognize that mule deer and elk (Cervus elaphus) management is constrained by ecological variability as well as local political and economic realities. Nevertheless, we believe that enhanced regional collaboration is critical for better understanding and management of ungulate populations (Carpenter et al. 2003). In 2004 the Science and Research Committee of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) formally acknowledged the need for improved interagency collaboration in data acquisition and management applications. In response IAFWA called for the development of strategies to improve ungulate monitoring programs. In 2005 IAFWA joined with the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), United States Geological Survey Cooperative Research Units Program, Nevada Department of Wildlife, and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Mule Deer Working Group to organize an Ungulate Survey and Data Management Workshop. This workshop was held on 19 May 2005, at the Boomtown Hotel and Casino, Reno, Nevada, USA, immediately following the annual meeting of the Western States and Provinces Mule Deer and Elk Workshop. More than 100 people attended, representing western state wildlife agencies, federal land management agencies, tribal wildlife management agencies, and private consultants. The purpose of this workshop was to develop recommendations for more cooperative ungulate-data survey design, data collection and analysis, and data sharing. The event featured a series of formal presentations and break-out sessions. Participants focused on the case for regional collaboration, habitat monitoring in relation to herd objectives, sampling methods, data analysis and sharing, and the practical application of adaptive harvest management to deer (Odocoileus spp.) and elk. We describe the outcomes of the workshop and summarize the recommendations presented to state agency wildlife chiefs in 2005 at the WAFWA summer meeting held in Alberta, Canada.