Washington Mule Deer Wenatchee Stopovers

The Wenatchee Mountains mule deer herd inhabits a matrix of private and public lands along the eastern slope of the Cascade Range in Chelan and Kittitas Counties in Washington (fig. 24). Historically, the Wenatchee Mountains mule deer herd was separated into two subherds, Chelan and Kittitas; however, recent GPS collar data indicated the mule deer south of U.S. Highway 2 and north of Interstate 90 represent one population. Their high-use winter range extends along the foothills west and south of Wenatchee, Washington and throughout the foothills of the Kittitas Valley near Ellensburg. Their low-use winter range occurs along the foothills west of the Columbia River north of Interstate 90. In the spring, migratory individuals travel west into the Wenatchee Mountains to their summer range, which includes regional wilderness areas. Between 2020 and 2021, collaring efforts focused on the foothills near Wenatchee and in the surrounding foothills near Ellensburg. Collar data analysis indicated the Wenatchee Mountains mule deer population is partially migratory. A high proportion of migratory individuals inhabit the northern winter range of the Wenatchee Mountains, and resident individuals more commonly inhabit the foothills of the Kittitas Valley. In 2022, collaring efforts of mule deer (n=25) in the northern winter range foothills near Wenatchee targeted the higher proportion of the migratory population, to more clearly identify the movement corridors intersecting U.S. Highway 97 near Blewett Pass. The herd has several challenges, including the increasing frequency of large-scale wildfires and residential developments, which continue to degrade and reduce available winter habitat. Disturbance from human recreation on the winter range continues to be a concern. Additionally, U.S. Highway 97 and State Route 970 receive high volumes of traffic in the region and present semipermeable barriers to spring and fall migration. These mapping layers show the location of the stopovers for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Wenatchee population in Washington. They were developed from 184 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 59 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 4 hours.

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  "geospatial"
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