Mule Deer Use of Seral Stage and Habitat Type in Bitterbrush Communities

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Abstract
We quantified mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) use of seral stage, habitat type, and shrub canopy cover in bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) communities in the Columbia River canyon of north-central Washington during 1984-85. Use of seral stage could be evaluated only in the bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) habitat type (PTAS) where use varied with availability; mid-seral communities were used at availabilities of 1.3 and 81.2 and avoided at 95.5% availability. Mule deer used the xeric bitterbrush-needle-and-thread (Stipa comata) (PTSC) habitat type and avoided intermediate PTAS and mesic bitterbrush-Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) (PTFI) habitat types. Stands with highest bitterbrush canopy cover (20%) were consistently used. Preservation of existing higher seral PTAS communities, and maintenance of PTSC and high bitterbrush canopy cover communities, should be stressed in mule deer habitat management.