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.46 Wildlife Habitat <br />• A. Present Situation (Step 3) <br />1. Terrestrial Species <br />a. Overlays 1-4 <br />b. Tabulation (Tables 1 thru 7). Tables called for in <br />.46A1(b)(2) and .46A1(b)(4) have been excluded due <br />to a lack of adequate information. <br />c. Narrative - The thirty-five species of mammals occurring. <br />in the planning unit are listed in part .36 of Step 2 of <br />this URA. <br />Mule Deer <br />(1) Population History <br />Deer populations increased gradually from the turn <br />of the century until the late 1950s. The increase <br />was triggered by a vegetative change from grass to <br />brush and the increasing trend was reversed by <br />greatly increasing the harvest during the late <br />• 1950s and early 1960s. Winter die-offs also <br />decreased the population. Deer herds now are <br />stable to slightly increasing. See Table 1 for <br />aerial trend count statistics. <br />(2) Seasonal Use Areas <br />(a) Winter, summer, or.year-long ranges. <br />Mule deer inhabit the planning unit mainly in <br />the pinyon-juniper and oak brush hillslope vege- <br />tative tyNes. These areas are used primarily <br />during the fall, winter and spring, the critical <br />periods during the year. The animals range <br />from 8,500 feet elevation down to the valley <br />bottoms, depending on severity of the winter. <br />• NF-WL-III-1 4/76 RWM <br />