Impacts of Range Management Practices on Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in the Rolling Plains of Texas

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Student: Katie Pennartz (PhD)

During the last several decades, white-tailed and mule deer dynamics seem to be shifting on the Matador WMA and in surrounding areas, potentially due to changing landscapes and increasing woody coverage regionally. ​On the WMA itself, livestock grazing is applied throughout, using a variety of grazing approaches, including rotational grazing, short-duration high-intensity grazing, and others. Approximately 2,000–5,000 acres are burned via prescribed fire annually, and herbicide is applied to 600–1,000 acres of mesquite annually. Chemical and mechanical treatment of shin oak, prickly pear, salt cedar and juniper have been used during the past decade. Many of these treatments were specifically focused upon altering vegetation structure and composition to improve mule deer habitat quality while simultaneously reducing white-tailed deer prevalence and abundance. No formal evaluations of mule or white-tailed deer habitat use relative to these management practices have occurred on the Matador WMA and surrounding areas.