Spatial Extent of Data
USGS Data Source
USGS Thesaurus Keywords
ISO 19115 Topic Category
Place Keywords
California Mule Deer Manache Routes
The Manache mule deer herd contains both California mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus californicus) and Inyo mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus inyoensis). The herd predominantly covers the east slopes and crest of the Sierra Nevada. Elevation stretches from 3,200 ft on the Owens Valley winter range, to above 11,000 ft on the summer ranges in Sequoia National Park. The Manache herd migrates from winter ranges just west of U.S. Route 395 on the steep slopes and valleys of the Sierra Nevada near Dunmovin and Haiwee east to some of the highest elevations in the continental United States in Inyo and Sequoia National Forests. Deer numbers were very low by 1900, attributed largely to extreme overgrazing by domestic sheep and cattle, and the subsequent denuding of much of the herd’s summer range. Under the U.S. Forest Service’s jurisdiction, livestock allotments decreased and timber harvest improved range conditions with a resulting increase in deer numbers. Herd size peaked at approximately 7,000 animals in 1950. Following that peak, plant succession, more efficient fire suppression, and livestock competition contributed to a decline in herd size. The 1970s witnessed a reversal of this decline, with a dramatic increase to nearly 7,000 deer, but the current population size is unknown. These mapping layers show the location of the migration routes for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Manache population in California. They were developed from 97 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 39 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.
Author(s) |
Matthew J Kauffman |
Publication Date | 2022-12-15 |
Beginning Date of Data | 2020 |
Ending Date of Data | 2021 |
Data Contact | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LSKEZQ |
Citation | Kauffman, M.J., Lowrey, B.H., Berg, J., Bergen, S., Brimeyer, D., Burke, P., Cufaude, T., Cain, J.W., Cole, J.C., Courtemanch, A.B., Cowardin, M., Cunningham, J., DeVivo, M., Diamond, J., Duvuvuei, O., Fattebert, J., Ennis, J., Finley, D., Fort, J., Fralick, G., Freeman, E., Gagnon, J., Garcia, J., Gelzer, E., Graham, M., Gray, J.T., Greenspan, E., Hall, L.E., Hendricks, C., Holland, A., Holmes, B., Huggler, K., Hurley, M., Jeffreys, E., Johnson, A., Knox, L., Krasnow, K., Lockyer, Z., Manninen, H., McDonald, M., McKee, J.A., Meacham, J., Merkle, J.A., Moore, B., Mong, T.W., Nielsen, C., Oates, B., Olsen, K., Olson, D., Olson, L., Pieron, M., Powell, J., Prince, A., Proffitt, K.M., Reddell, C., Riginos, C., Ritson, R., Robatcek, S., Roberts, S., Sawyer, H., Schroeder, C., Shapiro, J., Simpson, N., Sprague, S., Steingisser, A., Tatman, N., Turnock, B., Wallace, C., and Aldrich-Wolfe, L., 2022, California Mule Deer Manache Routes: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LSKEZQ. |
Metadata Contact | |
Metadata Date | 2023-10-04 |
Related Publication | Loading... |
Citations of these data | Loading https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225088 |
Access | public |
License | http://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/ |
Harvest Date: 2023-10-06T04:35:30.815Z