Mule Deer and Predator Control

Recently Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that they would be embarking on a $4.5 million predator control experiment aimed at reviving the state’s declining mule deer population.  The experiment calls for mountain lions and bears to be euthanized to help reduce predation of mule deer.  The plan has sparked controversy, however, over animal rights and over the question of whether the dwindling mule deer population is a result of human over-development, not predators.   You can read about the plan at CPW’s Mule Deer Strategy webpage, which includes numerous publications on the topic.

For background information on mule deer and other resources, see these publications available from our library.  Publications without hyperlinks can be checked out in print.

• Black Bears of West-Central Colorado (1991)
• Colorado Mountain Lion Management (2007)
• Declining Mule Deer Populations in Colorado, Reasons and Responses:  A Report to the Colorado Legislature (1999) 
• Developing with Wildlife in Mind (2000) 
• Mitigation of Impacts to Mule Deer and Elk from Energy Development in Northwest Colorado (1984)
• North American Mule Deer Conservation Plan (2004) 
• Public Opinions and Perceptions of Mountain Lion Issues (2006)
• A Regional Ecosystem Framework for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Along the I-70 Mountain Corridor in Colorado (Colorado Department of Transportation, 2011) 
• Rocky Mountain Mammals (2008)
• Some Factors to Consider when Evaluating, Improving, or Mitigating Losses of Front Range Deer Habitat (1988)