BY HORACE GORE
Nov/Dec 2006 Issue of Texas Deer Association Tracks

A mule deer management conference designed to place emphasis on the status and needs of mule deer in West Texas and the Southwest was recently held in San Antonio. The meeting, which featured experts in the field of deer management, was attended by some 130 ranchers, hunters and others interested in the desert mule deer.

The affair, which was held in the Airport Hilton, was hosted by the Texas Deer Association, Purina Mills and Mumme’s, Inc. Scott Hohensee, wildlife specialist for Mumme’s, conducted the program of speakers, which covered a wide variety of subjects on mule deer management.

The first presentation of the conference was an after-dinner discussion by Tom Watts, wildlife biologist on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, in Dulce, New Mexico. Watts covered the full spectrum of mule deer populations, habitat and hunting on the vast reservation that is rather famous for its trophy Rocky Mountain mule deer.

The following morning’s program began with an “official welcome” by Ruben Cantu, regional director of Region 1 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which covers West Texas and the Panhandle. This area of the state encompasses the range of the Texas mule deer.

An interesting presentation followed, presented by Louis Harveson, associate professor of wildlife management, Sul Ross State University, Alpine. Harveson gave a comprehensive report on the status, trends, and future of mule deer in the Trans-Pecos of Texas. The presentation showed changes in deer populations and habitats through the years, and some of the problems facing mule deer in the future.
Dr. Larry Varner, technical director of game management programs for Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, L.L.C., gave a keynote presentation on mule deer dietary habits and nutrition. In his presentation, Dr. Varner covered all of the nutritional requirements of mule deer, both wild and in penned situations. It was evident in the data presented that mule deer management can be benefited by supplemental feeding if done properly and in the right circumstances.

Following Dr. Varner was an excellent presentation on “Desert Mule Deer Ecology, Biology and Management” by Jim Heffelfinger, regional game specialist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Heffelfinger’s talk covered everything you might want to know about desert mule deer. His latest claim to fame is the publication of his new book, “Deer of the Southwest,” which was hot off the press as he attended this conference.

“Mule Deer in Breeder Pens” was an excellent presentation by Kent Carpenter, owner of Tule Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Carpenter has had a breeding operation going for about five years, and he covered some of the aspects of breeding mule deer that would be of interest to anyone getting into such a program.

A hotly contested new program involving mule deer harvest was presented by Stuart Sasser, owner of the Apache Ranch in the Trans-Pecos of Texas. His presentation, “Managed Lands Deer Program for Mule Deer,” covered a new harvest strategy, which allows qualifying landowners the opportunity to take deer over a wider time period than the standard 16-day season.

The program centers on certain requirements for landowners to enhance mule deer habitat in a variety of ways, and by so doing the landowner can obtain a certain number of permits that can be used over a special long period of time, which gives the landowner more flexibility in taking mule deer on his property.

This type of program has had much success with white-tailed deer and has recently been implemented for mule deer. Acceptance of the new mule deer program has been met with mixed feelings by conservative ranchers and landowners who oppose the longer season afforded by the MLD (Managed Land Deer) permits.

Dr. Warren Ballard, professor of range, wildlife and fisheries management, Texas Tech University, gave a presentation on “Deer-Predator Relationships,” a timeworn problem in mule deer management in Texas. Coyotes love venison, and there has never been a shortage of coyotes (and other predators of mule deer). Dr. Ballard gave an overview of predator problems and some of the ways to solve these problems that can be implemented by ranchers and managers.

The closing presentation was a panel discussion provided by questions from the audience. The panel was composed of all the conference speakers, and subject matter from the audience covered everything from supplemental feeding to quail hunting. The panel got a good workout from a wide variety of questions, and all of the questions were answered in an expert manner.

In summing up the interest of the conference attendees, it would appear that the need for more information on supplemental feeding of mule deer and an exchange of knowledge about mule deer will result in more meetings of this type in the future as hunters, landowners and managers involve themselves in the next frontier in Texas deer management.

BY HORACE GORE
Nov/Dec 2006 Issue of Texas Deer Association Tracks