MDF public land habitat work inspiring private landowners to do the same
MDF on Public Land in Beaver Head National Forest:
The Mule Deer Foundation is working with the United States Forest Service on public land to improve mule deer habitat. The East Deer-Lodge Valley Stewardship Agreement between the USFS and MDF is a 10-year project which wraps up September 2024. The total management area is 47,000 acres. The project area is 40,000 acres.
This project includes 215 acres of USFS watershed improvement through the thinning of the overgrown forest understory. Increasing the amount of suitable habitat on this piece of public land increases the diversity and productivity of native forage. This habitat in mule deer summer ranges increases their chances of winter survival and likelihood having healthy fawns. This also decreases the potential grazing conflicts with adjacent landowners by potentially keeping grazing wildlife on public lands longer.
Private Landowners Engaged:
MDF Regional Conservation Coordinator Aaron Swallow,
“I worked with the USFS wildlife biologist to find a nexus between this project and an adjacent piece of private land. She pointed me towards Ted Dodge with the Watershed Restoration Coalition of the Upper Clark Fork. Ted reached out to the landowner who turned out to be very interested in doing similar habitat work. We are working collaboratively to get good projects done across the fence on their property next year.”
Cooperation between private landowners the Mule Deer Foundation is the future of western habitat management and conservation.
The Mule Deer Foundation’s “connected by conservation” message has clearly taken affect here. Folks are using small, impactful projects as catalysts to engage landowners, creating a larger impact for wildlife across the landscape.
Forward thinking at USFS NEPA decision allow for long term work on selected landscapes.
Projects like this would not be possible given the long-term scope and scale without USFS planning for landscape-scale habitat work. The forward thinking utilized by the United States Forest Service is exactly what we want to see across the west. This is a great example of government agencies, nonprofit conservation groups, and private landowners committing to the simple idea
“that Mule Deer are important, and I want to see them on the landscape”.
Then doing what it takes to follow through with habitat management across all mule deer habitat regardless of ownership boundaries.
Great Job Aaron bringing folks together for Mule Deer!
Good luck this fall. Send pictures or stories from the field to Web@muledeer.org to be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article, or any of our articles helped you become a better conservation steward, join the mule deer foundation. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/
Trevor J Hubbs https://www.instagram.com/trevorhubbs/
Trevor is the Communications Manager for the Mule deer Foundation. He grew up hunting and fishing the eastern edge of the Ozark mountains for quail, ducks, and bucks. Trevor is a contributor for “Fur, Fish, and Game”, Lethal Minds Journal, Strung Magazine, and Shooting Sportsman among others.
