Migrations Across the West: Following the Old Roads
By: Michael Luby
If you’ve never seen a line of mule deer moving across the skyline at dawn, nose to tail, mile after mile, you’re missing one of the last great natural wonders in North America. These migrations aren’t just impressive; they’re ancient. Some herds travel over 150 miles between their summer and winter ranges, crossing rugged mountains, ranch fences, and six-lane highways like they’ve been doing it for a thousand years, because they have.
They move because the land tells them to. Snow pushes them out of the high country, and green-up draws them back in come spring. They’re not wandering, they’re surviving, following instinct and memory passed down through generations. But the routes they rely on are under siege. Subdivisions, oil pads, fences, and roads are chopping up once-continuous landscapes. And for a species that lives by movement, losing ground can be the same as losing life.
Thankfully, researchers have gotten smart about tracking these movements. GPS collars and satellite data are showing organizations like the Mule Deer Foundation exactly where deer go, where they stop to rest and feed, and where the real trouble spots are bottlenecks where a single fence or stretch of highway can stall an entire herd. MDF and our partners are leading the charge, using that data to push for land easements, build wildlife crossings, and influence policy that protects these corridors.
This isn’t just about mule deer. When you keep migration routes open, you keep landscapes whole. Deer shape vegetation patterns, and knit ecosystems together with their movements. For folks like me who’ve spent lifetimes walking the same trails they do protecting those old roads feels a lot like protecting home.
We owe them the room to roam. And I’ll be damned if we let progress pave over what’s left of wild America.
-Mickey
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Michael “Mickey” Luby – Writer Bio
Michael “Mickey” Luby is a modern-day mountain man and unapologetic traditionalist living deep in Western Montana. A seasoned mule deer hunter with decades of experience chasing high-country bucks, Mickey has earned a reputation for grit, stubbornness, and a sixth sense for finding big deer where the air is thin and the trails are long forgotten.
