from the Deer Times - Fall 2005

Moving Forward on the Kaibab

By Amanda Moors

Chairman, Kaibab Committee

Many of you are aware that the Arizona Deer Association (ADA) has been working with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) to improve the management of the Kaibab deer herd.  

In March of 2004, the Arizona Game and Fish Department recommended a large number of does (1500) be harvested from the Kaibab. That figure alarmed many members of the ADA and resulted in us not only requesting that the Game and Fish Commission lower the number of tags (which they did), but also prompted us to hire a consultant to provide an independent review of the data that AGFD uses to make its hunt recommendations. That review, by our consultant Logan Simpson Design, found that better data was needed in order to justify such a large harvest of does (you can read more about that review on our website, www.azdeer.org). The ADA then asked our consultant to come up with methods to improve data collection on the Kaibab. An aerial survey method was suggested and the ADA donated funds to have AGFD fly a survey to count of the number of wintering deer on the west side of the Kaibab. The results of that survey showed there were far fewer deer than the model used by AGFD predicted. Fortunately, AGFD does not rely solely on that model to make hunt recommendations. They use an additional variety of metrics including: yearling buck weights; fawn to doe and buck to doe ratios; and the amount of browsing on cliff rose on the winter range. The large number of doe permits recommended by AGFD was largely the result of finding greater than 50% utilization of cliff rose on some of the winter range. 

In May 2005, representatives from several agencies (AGFD, USFS) and ADA members made a field trip to the Kaibab, with emphasis on the west side winter range. You can read more about that trip on our website or in the Summer 2005 edition of Deer Times. The end result of that field trip was that a working group was established, with the help of Bruce Taubert (AGFD Assistant Director of Wildlife Management) and Hayes Gilstrap (AGFD commissioner), to address some of the issues surrounding management of deer on the Kaibab. The Arizona Deer Association is very pleased to be part of the working group that was recently established by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This working group was devised to help develop a study plan to answer some of the questions sportsmen and biologists have about the Kaibab deer herd. The working group has members from the AGFD, ADA, US Forest Service (USFS), and Arizona State University, and we also anticipate participation by the Mule Deer Foundation. The research project will focus on evaluating deer body condition as well as habitat condition on the winter range on the west side of the Kaibab. The results of the research to be performed by the working group over the next three years will provide knowledge needed to make the best possible management decisions on the Kaibab, specifically the west side winter range. Chasa O’Brien is the lead research biologist for AGFD on this project. In mid-September, she distributed a draft of her research plan to the working group. All members of the working group had the opportunity to review the plan and provide comments prior to implementation. The first official meeting of the working group was held September 26, 2005 at the AGFD office in Flagstaff. During that meeting, the working group discussed specific research issues and methods to ensure that the data collected will be what is needed to answer the research questions. The main concern the ADA has is to make sure the quality of data collected is of sufficient quality (in terms of representing what is actually happening on the ground) to help biologists make better management decisions in the future. The ADA is fully supportive of this project and the working group. Our interest is purely to find ways to improve management of the Kaibab deer herd. Many sportsmen have disagreed with the way AGFD has been managing the Kaibab deer herd. That disagreement stems from a lack of data that clearly shows the current status of the herd and winter range. In general, the ADA thinks more deer can be supported on the Kaibab and AGFD is concerned that too many deer will severely impact the habitat. By gathering more data we can all learn the actual condition of the deer and the habitat. The data from this research project should help us reach more of an agreement as to the best number of deer to have on the Kaibab.  

One of the big concerns that Arizona Game and Fish has had with regard to managing the Kaibab deer herd is that they don’t want to cause irreversible damage to the winter range by having too many deer out there. In the last several years, their data has shown a high use of cliff rose (an important winter food for the deer). Because the Kaibab deer herd reproduces very well, the AGFD is concerned about a population explosion that would cause damage to the habitat before they could reduce the number of deer on the range. The ADA and AGFD both agree that we don’t want so many deer that the habitat is permanently degraded. However, there is some disagreement as to how much browsing is too much. This study will help resolve some of that disagreement by comparing the condition of plants on the winter range to the condition of the deer. Deer body condition will be measured prior to their arrival on the winter range and just after they leave the winter range. If deer continue to be in good condition, as was shown last year in a limited sample of does, then it stands to reason that more deer could be supported on the winter range.

 In addition to the research project that will be starting in the Kaibab this fall, there is a habitat improvement plan developed by AGFD and USFS biologists to improveavailability of food and water for the deer on the Kaibab. The ADA hopes that with habitat improvements such as plantings and water developments, we can spread the deer across the winter range instead of having them concentrate in one location as they seem to be doing now in areas like White Pockets. With these habitat improvements as well as the new data collected by the AGFD, we anticipate AGFD being able to manage for more deer on the Kaibab. 

The ADA is excited to be involved in the early development of this research project. We believe we can offer input that will improve the project, and can provide people and money to help implement the study. This has been a very positive process so far and this project has a high level of support from AGFD and the entities involved in the working group. We see this as an historic turning point in how the issues on the Kaibab will be resolved.  

Chasa O’Brien said it very well when she said, “The Department values the involvement of the ADA, USFS, and ASU in improving the study plan. With this much involvement so early in the project, I feel that we will end up with a high-quality study that hopefully meets the approval of interested parties. Since the 1920s, the Kaibab has regularly been a source of conflict between state agencies, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations; the scoping process for our research is one more step beyond conflict towards a mutual solution involving a science-based, adaptive management program.”  

The ADA is also ready to move beyond the conflicts of the past and find ways to support AGFD in its efforts to learn more about what is limiting the Kaibab deer herd. We areall working toward the same goal, improving the deer herd on the Kaibab, and this working group will provide some consensus on how we work toward that goal.

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