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• Using DOW harvest reports, Cringan (1973a) estimated the mule <br />deer carrying capacity of GMU 832 between 11,800-16,100 animals. <br />This number amounts to 39-53 deer per square mile on summer range, <br />and 156-212 deer per square mile on winter range. Figure H-2 <br />depicts areas of winter and summer range for deer on the Dow <br />West permit area. Fixed wing aerial surveys during February <br />1978 and February 1979 (ECI 1978, 1979) have resulted in counts <br />for the 150+ square mile Parachute Creek and Grand Valley areas <br />of 34 animals in 1978 and five in 1979. However, helicopter <br />surveys in 1979 resulted in observations of 330 deer, mostly <br />along south or east-facing slopes of the Parachute Creek tribu- <br />tary canyons (2.2 square miles of the study area). The difficulty <br />in estimating mule deer populations in rugged terrain from the <br />air, even under ideal observation conditions is widely known. <br />Hunter harvests from 1960 through 1972 have ranged from yields of <br />7,596 in 1962 to 469 in 1971. Both Cringan (1973a) and Stoecker <br />(1974 b) have stressed that these hunter harvest data do not neces- <br />sarily indicate a decline in the basic carrying capacity of the <br />unit for deer. The 1978-1979 winter caused considerable loss <br />in the deer herd. More animals might have been expected after <br />an easier winter. Studies on deer movement patterns in the area <br />(Paur 1972; ECI, 1978, 1979) have revealed that virtually all <br />major side canyons, as well as the main Parachute Creek canyon, <br />are utilized during winter. Diurnal movement patterns often <br />consist of feeding on warm, snow-free, shrub-covered south-facing <br />slopes during the day and sleeping on more densely vegetated <br />north-facing slopes at night. However, deer also occasionally <br />move rather quickly through the many breaks in the cliffs leading <br />to the Roan Plateau uplands to feed during mild periods. <br />Elk also occur within GMU 832 and the Dow West permit area but <br />in substantially smaller numbers than mule deer, Division of <br />Wildlife harvest reports for 1971 showed a mean annual yield <br /> <br />H-4 <br />