Understanding Mule Deer Habitat

Habitat, habitat, habitat!  How many times have you heard about “habitat” with regard to Mule deer?  Probably once or twice I reckon!  But in all seriousness, how often do we talk about habitat from a hunter’s perspective? How often do we consider what we need to be thinking about while we’re out scouting and hunting? How do we take “habitat” from a general sense, and make it a practical—and beneficial component of our scouting and hunting efforts? In this article, I’ll share some of my thoughts as a “hunter/habitat” guy.

First things first: Are we talking high country muleys above timberline, brush country bucks in lower, drier elevations, or something in between? While there are generalities across each of those areas that are somewhat universal, they all have their specific habitat components that are sufficiently different enough from one another especially within the context of maximizing our success in the field. Therefore, I'll talk about them separately.

The Generalities:

All things being equal, the more diverse the habitat is, and the “younger” the habitat is, the better it is for mule deer. While mule deer generally prefer more “open” habitats, diversity is the key. Meaning, if you find areas that have a lot of different plant types in it, those plants are of different heights, they’re patchy, and many to most of the plant types are “young” with vigorous growth, the more deer you’ll likely find. When you hear land managers, habitat managers, and biologists talking about “edge effect,” or “patchiness,” or “knocking back succession” with regard to habitat, that’s what they mean. Those folks are trying to increase the quality of food, the quantity of food, and the spaces and places within which deer and other critters can live, hide, and eat.

A Fecon head in action as it chews through trees and brush to open up pinion-juniper and sagebrush to create edge, patchiness, and improve overall habitat quality and diversity on the Battlement Mesa Habitat Improvement Project.

These “generalities” hold true when trying to find the places that hold either the highest numbers of deer, or hold deer most consistently from year to year. Now, obviously hunting pressure, natural predators, human disturbance, and seasonal changes like the rut can all affect where mule deer can be found from time to time (and that’s especially true for big bucks), but when allowed to follow their natural preferences, muleys will seek out the best habitat within the region they reside.; Knowing that comes in quite handy as we move into the specifics of different regions…

Tips for Evaluating High Country Habitats:

If you’re a big high country mule deer fan, you probably know that sub-alpine willows are a huge component of a muley’s diet in the high country.; If you’re not, well…now you do. But what do we need to know about willows up in the alpine?

Classic high country mule deer habitat.  Note the short, sub-alpine willows below the rocks and along the bottom of the basin; these are the areas to look for big high country bucks!

First, not all willows are created equal. Although deer like most willow species, the ones that attract the most deer, the most consistently, are those willows that are generally below the top of their head and which have the most new growth on them.

When you look across an alpine basin, take note of the type of willows. Are they taller willows, up against the creek drainages and river bottoms, or are they short clumps of willows scattered across the basin? The willows along the creek bottoms and drainages can be good food for deer, but only if the deer can reach the tips of the branches where the best forage quality is. Often, more muleys are found scattered out in the clumps of short willows (sub-alpine willow) found in the more “upland” areas of the basin, rather than along drainage bottoms.

But even sub-alpine willows aren’t all created equal. Look to see if there are any places where willows are growing in or along avalanche chutes. Often, these willows get pummeled by snow and rocks on an annual basis, resulting in portions of the shrub breaking off, which stimulates the plant to send up new shoots to replace the broken pieces. These new shoots are younger and hence of higher quality than other parts of the plant, and even other willows in the surrounding area. So, many times you’ll find muleys camped out in these willows.

As I said earlier, the more diversity the habitat has in the way of structure and age class, the more likely it is that you’ll find deer—the high county is no different. When looking at an alpine basin, the areas that have the most “patchiness” and the greater variety of plants, will be the areas that are more likely to hold deer. So…if you find an alpine basin that has:

• Good amounts of sub-alpine willow in it;
• The willows are roughly three feet tall or shorter;
• The willows are patchy and scattered in clumps across the basin;
• The patches include small clumps of pine trees, alpine tundra, and grasses; and
• The patches of vegetation are broken up by rock outcrops and avalanche chutes

be sure to spend some time behind your optics!!!! These areas are prime areas for muleys–especially big bucks!

My 2011 high country muley. The buck was found with three others in a basin full of sub-alpine willow, rock outcrops, avalanche chutes, and small clumps of trees. You can watch the exciting hunt at www.roehuntingresources.com.

Oh, and if you find large numbers of elk in the basin on a regular basis—especially if they’re routinely scattered throughout the willows—keep looking. In most cases, mule deer will avoid areas that are heavily used by elk. Look for muleys in the steep avalanche chutes adjacent to the basins with elk in them, in nearby basins, or… look for muleys to show up once the elk have moved out of the area. Sometimes this can be early in the summer as the elk move from their calving areas to their summer areas and are just passing through a particular alpine basin. Other times it’s in September after the elk have left the high country and drop down into the timber and lower elevation areas.

Tips for Evaluating Lower Elevation Habitats:

When talking about “lower elevation habitats,” we could cover everything from Ponderosa Pine and Aspen forests, to Pinion-Juniper/Sagebrush flats, to Pine and Oak brush areas, to hills covered with Mountain Mahogany and Bitterbrush. How in the world do we wrap our mind around all those areas without writing a book on each of them? Well…in two ways:

1. By focusing on three little words, “Find the Water”; and
2. By really embracing the “generalities” I talked about earlier in this article.

A classic example of “low-elevation” mule deer habitat. Note the diversity of vegetation and structure in this picture; plenty of food, hiding cover, and escape cover for muleys that want to grow big and old!

Find the Water!

In many low elevation habitats, water is the key. Find the water, and—all other things being equal—you’ll find the deer…as well as every other wildlife critter in the region! In some areas, this could mean focusing on the areas along prominent rivers and streams that have water flowing in them year-round. In other areas, it means trying to find the tiny, isolated pockets of water that might come in the form of a tiny seep on the side of a canyon, or a sheltered pocket in dry creek bed that happens to still have water in it from that last storm or could be from the spring run-off. Wherever it might be, when you’re in lower elevation, drier habitats, water is often the key to finding deer.

When scanning the landscape trying to find these pockets of water, look for subtle differences in the color and varying height of the vegetation. Often, areas that have water nearby look slightly brighter green or will have taller vegetation than the surrounding vegetation. If you’re in cattle country, don’t overlook stock ponds, and stock tanks. Water is water in many areas, regardless if it’s from a natural source or a man-made one!

I snapped this picture right before dark as these two bucks, and several others, made their way down to water in some highly diverse, highly productive low-elevation habitat.

Embrace the Generalities!

Once you’ve found the water, the next step is to start trying to piece together as many pieces of the “general” habitat considerations as you can. Start trying to find the most “diverse” areas near water. Look for areas that have the best young or “new” growth on the shrubs and other plants that are somewhat near water. Again—all things being equal—these areas will hold more deer than areas with little to no diversity and that have “older” plants and shrubs with little to no “new” growth, or all of the new growth is too high for the deer to reach.

In low elevation areas, there are a couple of shrubs in particular you should keep an eye out for.

• In “wetter” areas (those areas along creeks, streams, and shady “wet” areas), chokecherry and Rocky Mountain maple are important shrubs that deer will often seek out.
• In “drier” areas, mountain mahogany and bitterbrush are two important, and highly preferred, deer forages that can be found in a variety of elevations, and that are great for deer year-round.
• Lastly, for hunters hunting during the late seasons, when deer are on their winter ranges, sagebrush can be an important winter forage for deer.

With all of these shrubs, diversity of habitat and water are still the key, but if you can find these mixed in along with everything else, the odds of finding deer will go way up!

Chokecherry during early summer. Berries turn dark purplish-black in fall. Inset shows leaf detail and the two “bumps” at the base of leaf used to identify chokecherry from similar shrubs.

Rocky Mountain Maple

Mature mountain mahogany. Shrubs of this size may have slightly reduced food quality for deer to a certain extent, but are beneficial for providing hiding cover as well as escape cover.

Bitterbrush mixed in with Ponderosa Pine. Inset shows leaf detail.

About the Author:
Chris Roe is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, behavioral ecologist, a wildlife behavior and vocalization specialist, and a passionate deer, elk and turkey hunter based out of north-central Colorado. Chris operates Roe Hunting Resources where he offers advanced online educational resources for hunters interested in learning more about the animals they’re after. Concepts discussed in this article and many others can be found in Roe Hunting Resources’ Elk Module, Deer Module, Turkey Module or Annual Subscriptions. If you are interested in tips and tricks for bowhunting for elk this fall, check out our Elk Hunter's Strategy App available through the App Store or the Android Market.