Monitoring White-tailed Deer in the Columbia Mountains

This project will evaluate factors influencing White-tailed Deer populations in the Columbia Mountains. This data will be used to evaluate the efficacy of White-tailed Deer reductions. The vast majority of caribou herds in western Canada are declining. Intense human intervention has been successful in stabilizing three herds, yet only one has shown growth. Understanding and monitoring additional limiting factors that may be preventing population growth is critical for effective adaptive management and recovery.

Update: Deer collared for conservation data

Eleven white-tailed deer and three mule deer in the Columbia Mountains have been outfitted with GPS collars as part of a multi-year project with Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. The data collected will shed light on why populations are declining, which is critical to effective management and recovery actions. This project also saw a white-tailed fawn and three mule deer fawns equipped with expandable VHF (very high frequency) collars—thanks to Revelstoke’s Caribou Rearing in the Wild for donating those collars!