Call this mule deer boom a serendipitous collision of regulations and weather or, if you prefer, pass it off as simply one of those cycles of nature that swing this way and that.
The biologists who toil for the Colorado Division of Wildlife might agree with either assessment, but they know there’s more. Much more.
Bob Meulengracht also knows the score. The Denver resident is director of field operations for all western states for the Mule Deer Foundation, a close partner with the wildlife agency in what has been a dramatic revival of fortunes for muleys.
From a dismal low during the last decade of the previous century, Colorado has rebounded as a leading destination for those who drift off to sleep with visions of hatracks.
When the first of three rifle deer seasons opens Saturday, deer will be featured on the marquee right up there with elk, an uncommon situation in a state famous for the world’s largest elk herd.
Meulengracht agrees that the 1999 shift to limited deer licenses immediately kept more prime breeding animals in the woods. A continuing series of mild winters conspired to keep them there, promoting a population growth reflected in every segment of the herd.
But behind this broad-brush explanation lies a spattering of projects that collectively might make all the difference.
We know what the Division of Wildlife does to maintain the health of the herds. How the Mule Deer Foundation helps is a story to be told. With 1,000 members in eight Colorado chapters, 10,000 members nationwide, the organization weighs in with money and manpower to assist the agency in a broad range of endeavor. The foundation began 20 years ago in Redding, Calif., and now has its headquarters in Salt Lake City. It also lists the conservation of blacktail deer in its mission statement.
Meulengracht estimates MDF has contributed $500,000 to various Colorado projects over the past half-dozen years, twice that if you weigh the value of volunteer manpower. Much of this can be counted in cash donations for specific habitat projects that might stretch DOW’s budget and otherwise not get done.
“There’s so much that’s been going on,” said Meulengracht, who, with regional director Scott Hampel, monitors chapter work in Denver, Greeley, Colorado Springs, Eagle, Walden, Rifle, Montrose and Naturita.
Among the enterprises:
Gave $15,000 to fence cattle off the Dry Creek Basin State Wildlife Area, a prime deer winter ground on the south end of the Uncompahgre Plateau.
Assisted DOW in the landmark neo-natal fawn study on the plateau.
Sent 40 volunteers to cut trees to stimulate a burn in the Radium State Wildlife Area to improve habitat.
Provided $10,000 and volunteers to affect a similar burn at the Oak Creek State Wildlife Area.
Another volunteer effort developed springs to provide water for wildlife at the Cherokee State Wildlife Area. In addition, $10,000 cash was given to the project.
Funded a study probing the effects of oil and gas development impact on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.
Contributed $10,000 to help launch another energy- impact study in the Piceance Basin.
Volunteer trapping of deer at Rocky Mountain Arsenal for a chronic wasting disease study.
The list goes on, a cook’s broth of endeavor that collectively adds up to healthier deer herds and a more exciting hunt.
Meulengracht laments that the Colorado success story does not extend uniformly across the West.
“Deer still are suffering in parts of Nevada,” Meulengracht said. “Fires decimated much of the West. Utah has some problems, and Wyoming has been impacted by oil and gas.”
But for now, deer are prospering mightily in Colorado, and that’s no accident.
You can contact MDF locally at 303-384-0101 or the national office at 888-375-3337, .
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
