Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Utah
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The objective of this study is to model and project mule deer survival and fecundity in relation to weather and primary productivity throughout the state of Utah at a wildlife management unit (WMU) level. These models can be used in a management setting to increase understanding of demographic parameters across a range of environmental conditions. The projection models can be utilized to inform future management decisions based on estimates of a WMU’s expected potential and variation in deer production. I hypothesize that deer survival and fecundity will be highest with cool-wet summers and relatively moderate winters. I also hypothesize that deer survival and fecundity will be positively related to NDVI and climate will be a major driver of NDVI.