Mule Deer Working Group Paper: 2020 RANGE-WIDE STATUS OF BLACK-TAILED AND MULE DEER

Ran across this today in a "themeateater" article and hadn't seen a link to it here. Thought some folks would find it interesting.

https://www.wafwa.org/Documents%20an...e%20Update.pdf

Alaska -> California with western provinces and states as well, interesting to see numbers across the full range.

Abstract (highlighting is mine):
The purpose of this document is to provide a general overview of the current blacktailed and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population status and general abundance trendsthroughout their range in North America. The Mule Deer Working Group (MDWG) consists ofrepresentatives from the 24 state, territorial, and provincial agencies that comprise the WesternAssociation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). The purpose of the MDWG is to providea collaborative approach to finding solutions to improve black-tailed and mule deer conservationand management. One of the most common types of information requested of the MDWG isregarding the general population status and trajectory of black-tailed and mule deer populations.Stakeholders are interested in whether mule deer are still declining or in the process ofrecovering. To provide a quick snapshot of the status of this species, we assembled thisinformation by having each agency MDWG representative provide a current population status, aswell as general survey and harvest information for their respective jurisdiction. All states andprovinces use very different methodsto survey and estimate populationparameters and harvest. Some havemore scientifically rigorousprocesses than others, based on theirresources and management needs.Black-tailed and mule deerpopulations are below agency goalsin all but a few jurisdictions,however, only a few indicatecontinued long-term decline. Moststates, provinces, and territoriesreport their populations have beenstable or increasing over the lastthree years, but several states in theIntermountain West report morerecent declines since last year,largely attributed to unfavorableweather conditions