Predicting White-Tailed Deer Habitat Use in Northern Idaho

Abstract

Winter habitat use patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been studied extensively across their northern distribution. However, previous research has contributed little to predicting habitat use of unstudied populations. Thus, we evaluated winter habitat use of white-tailed deer in the Priest River drainage of northern Idaho and developed a predictive model of winter habitat selection. Our findings suggest that winter habitat selection is predictable given seasonal changes in basal metabolism and the effects of snow accumulation on forage availability and energy expenditure. During early (18 Nov-8 Jan) and late (3 Mar-2 Apr) winter, when basal metabolic rates were elevated and snow depths did not exceed 30 cm, white-tailed deer selected lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) pole timber stands that provided the greatest availability of preferred forage species