Ecology of sympatric populations of mule deer and white-tailed deer in a prairie environment ecologyofsympatr1989wood Year: 1989 Land Use Livestock grazing has dominated land use on the area since 1890. Although extensive homesteading occurred during 1909-1920, when 1 homestead was established on approximately every 5 km2, most were abandoned during the 1920s and 1930s. Grazing by cattle predominated during this study. Only 6 of 17 ranches had implemented allotment management plans specifying some type of rest-rotation grazing system, the remaining ranches used the same seasonal pastures eac
Ecology of sympatric populations of mule deer and white-tailed deer in a prairie environment ecologyofsympatr1989wood Year: 1989 Land Use Livestock grazing has dominated land use on the area since 1890. Although extensive homesteading occurred during 1909-1920, when 1 homestead was established on approximately every 5 km2, most were abandoned during the 1920s and 1930s. Grazing by cattle predominated during this study. Only 6 of 17 ranches had implemented allotment management plans specifying some type of rest-rotation grazing system, the remaining ranches used the same seasonal pastures each year. According to the U. S. Dep. Agric. Soil Conservation Service (1976), 75 of the rangeland was in good to excellent condition, the remaining 25 was in fair to poor condition. Less than 4 of the area was used for dryland farming. In most cases private lands were open to the public and provided free access to hunters. Numerous permanent roads and trails allowed vehicle access to within km of any point on the area. Many temporary roads were created by hunters driving in search of game, allowing vehicle access to within 720 m of any point on the study area. There were only 3 places where terrain prevented vehicle access to within 500 m and these comprised only of the study area. History of Deer Populations Mule deer were common in portions of the northern Great Plains during most of the 1800s (Burroughs 1961, Severson 1981). White-tailed deer were locally abundant along major river drainages and tributaries. Populations of both species declined with increasing human presence in eastern Montana from 1872 through 1922, resulting in increasingly restrictive deer hunting seasons. The season was closed in 1923, and only 1 hunting season was allowed from 1923 through 1941. Despite this protection, whitetails had disappeared from much of the region prior to 1941 (Allen 1971). Mule deer numbers remained low through most of that period. u 1—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i
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