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Page 1: Spatial ecology and conservation of long-distance ...€¦ · Spatial ecology and conservation of long-distance migrations of . mule deer from Grand Teton National Park . Interim
Page 2: Spatial ecology and conservation of long-distance ...€¦ · Spatial ecology and conservation of long-distance migrations of . mule deer from Grand Teton National Park . Interim

Spatial ecology and conservation of long-distance migrations of mule deer from Grand Teton National Park

Interim Report Prepared for: Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund

January 2020

Prepared by: Sarah Dewey, Wildlife Biologist, Grand Teton National Park

Justin Schwabedissen, Master of Science Student, Utah State University

The findings presented in this report are preliminary and may change due to ongoing data collection and continued analyses.

S. Dewey

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Although the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) hosts several of the longest ungulate migrations remaining in the contiguous United States, expanding development and an increasing human footprint continue to truncate migratory routes. While some migrations begin at seasonal ranges on protected lands, migration corridors frequently cross or end within other jurisdictional boundaries, including large tracts of private or multiple-use lands, with varying levels of protection. Understanding migratory behaviors as well as identifying vital habitats and potential barriers to continued movement enhances conservation planning efforts aimed at protecting wildlife populations dependent on a migratory strategy to survive. We initiated a pilot project in 2013 to capture and fit mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) summering in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) with GPS collars to document their migration patterns. By 2016, our preliminary findings had begun to describe a wide-ranging and diverse migratory network connecting GTNP with winter ranges across the southwestern extent of the GYE. Recognizing the need to increase the scale of the project to better understand this migration network and analyze a large and expanding dataset, we were able to leverage funding from the Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund from 2017 to 2019 to support continued collar deployment and quantitative data analysis. In 2019, we collared 45 additional mule deer on summer ranges throughout GTNP (n = 16) and winter ranges in eastern Idaho from which preliminary research had indicated mule deer travel into the park (n = 29). With the additional GPS data collected from these collars, we have preliminarily described seven population-level migration corridors in the Grand Teton area as well as identified important stopover sites and areas of conservation interest. Of particular interest in 2019, we increased our sample size of collared mule deer (n = 9) traveling along the western front of the Wind River Range. These individuals migrate 150 to 190 miles each season, representing the longest distances recorded during this project. Likewise, we were also able to collar four additional mule deer that migrated into the Wind River Reservation, enhancing our understanding of individuals traveling east of the Wind River Range. While many of the mule deer collared along the Teton River summer along the western front of the Teton Range, seven individuals captured in 2019 had summer ranges within GTNP or the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway (JDR). Another individual continued through the JDR to summer near Heart Lake in Yellowstone National Park. This project continues to increase our understanding of mule deer migrations in the Grand Teton region and the interconnectedness of the GYE. While we plan to deploy several additional collars in 2020 that have been repurposed from individuals that died during the study, data analysis, corridor risk assessment, and contributing to conservation initiatives has become the focus of the project. The project will then transition to disseminating our findings with ecosystem managers and stakeholders to inform discussions about long-term conservation strategies to help ensure the future of mule deer populations in GTNP and the GYE.

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INTRODUCTION The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) hosts several of the longest, fully intact ungulate migrations remaining in the continental United States. However, expanding development and an increasing human footprint continue to truncate migratory routes (Leu et al. 2008, Wilcove and Wikelski 2008, Harris et al. 2009, Seidler et al. 2014). While the endpoints are often a seasonal range on protected lands, these migration corridors frequently cross other jurisdictional boundaries, including large tracts of private or multiple-use lands, with varying levels of protection (Thirgood et al. 2004, McDonald et al. 2007, Shafer 2015). Thus, it is critical resource managers understand the dynamics of migratory movements to define and prioritize population-level corridors and implement appropriate conservation strategies (Berger 2004, Sawyer et al. 2009, White et al. 2010). Until recently, little was known in detail about the migration patterns of mule deer (Odocoileus heminous) summering within Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). In the early 2000s, biologists with Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) determined that several mule deer collared on wintering grounds in eastern Idaho were summering east of the Teton Range within Grand Teton National Park (GTNP; IDFG unpublished data). This was of interest due to the mountainous topography separating the seasonal ranges as well as the crossing of state boundaries and management jurisdictions. However, due to a lack of GPS technology onboard the collars, the specific routes the mule deer were traveling remained unknown. With an interest in documenting key migration corridors, we initiated a pilot project in 2013 to deploy GPS collars on summer ranges within GTNP and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway (JDR). By the end of 2016, we had obtained movement data from 18 GPS collared mule deer. The result was the discovery of an expansive network of long-distance mule deer migration routes connecting summer ranges in the park with winter ranges throughout the GYE. With this preliminary knowledge, we increased the scale of the project in 2017 and 2018 by leveraging the support of the Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund (MBRWF) with other funding sources. In 2017 and 2018, we deployed 20 additional collars within the park during the fall months. We also began a collaborative effort with IDFG to capture mule deer on winter ranges in eastern Idaho known to be connected with summer ranges in GTNP, deploying 30 collars over the two years. In addition to significantly increasing our sample size and spatial distribution, we began detailed data analysis to characterize the migratory network with the long-term goal of identifying conservation actions to ensure continued permeability. In 2019, with the continued support of the MBRWF, we were able to focus our efforts on two specific aspects of the project:

1. Deployment of additional GPS collars to improve the sample and distribution of collared mule deer within Grand Teton.

2. Continuation of spatial and temporal analyses to delineate and describe the migratory network and important stopover areas as well as identification of potential barriers to movement.

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METHODS Collar Deployment During the winter, we captured mule deer using net-gunning from a helicopter. On summer range, we captured mule deer via free-range darting to remotely deliver immobilizing drugs. We targeted adult female mule deer for all captures due to their importance in population recruitment and challenges in fitting GPS collars to adult males. We fit each individual with a GPS collar equipped with data uplink to the Iridium satellite constellation and an automatic release mechanism programmed to drop the collar in the second summer post-capture. Each collar recorded the GPS location of the individual every two hours during the generalized spring and fall migratory periods (April 1 – June 30 and October 1 – December 15, respectively). During the winter and summer months, each collar collected a GPS location every six hours to preserve battery life. By increasing the GPS collection rate during the migratory periods, we obtained a fine-scale dataset with sufficient resolution to model the daily movements of each mule deer. All handling adhered to veterinarian-approved anesthesia procedures and an approved NPS Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol. Migration Patterns To define the extent of the movement corridor and identify stopover sites, we fit a dynamic Brownian bridge movement model (dBBMM) to each individual migration sequence (Horne et al. 2007, Sawyer et al. 2009, Kranstauber et al. 2012). The dBBMM derived a utilization distribution (UD) based on the displacement and turning angle between successive GPS locations to probabilistically estimate the likelihood of where an individual travelled between consecutive GPS locations. Rather than draw straight lines between GPS points, a dBBMM provided an understanding of the relative importance of regions along each route. We defined the start of a migration sequence as the first GPS location leaving the applicable seasonal range from which the individual did not return until the following season as visualized with a net square displacement plot (Singh et al. 2016). We delineated the end of migration as the first GPS location entering the opposing range. To define population-level migration corridors, we then aggregated dBBMMs for all deer of a respective corridor by summing the cell values of all the applicable UD probabilities and rescaling the output to sum to one. The resulting probability surface provided an estimate of relative use across the landscape within each corridor. We classified stopover areas as the highest 10% quantile in the UD as evidence suggests this is representative of foraging and resting behavior in mule deer (Sawyer et al. 2009). To visualize the extent of each population-level migration corridor, we created a 99% contour from the resulting population-level UD. We analyzed the resulting population-level migration corridors in relation to land jurisdiction, land cover, vegetation, elevation, and roadway remote sensing products.

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RESULTS Summary of Accomplishments

• Deployed 45 GPS collars on adult female mule deer. o Captured 11 mule deer via helicopter net-gunning near the Sand Creek Wildlife

Management Area, Idaho in January 2019. o Captured 18 mule deer via helicopter net-gunning along the Teton River, Idaho in

January 2019. o Captured 16 mule deer via ground darting in GTNP and the JDR between September and

October 2019. • Formed a working group with federal, state, and NGO partners focused on the conservation of

mule deer migrations and winter habitats in eastern Idaho. • Shared data with the Wyoming Migration Initiative for inclusion with other research datasets to

assist in the delineation of state migration corridors in Wyoming. • Deployed remote cameras along the rim of the Teton River Canyon to examine migratory mule

deer abundance and phenological patterns as well as the use of transitional habitats. • Updated spatial and temporal analyses with data collected through 12/31/2019.

Collar Deployment and Migration Patterns In 2019, we deployed an additional 45 collars on adult female mule deer to bring the total number of collared individuals to 113 since the project’s inception. In January 2019, our IDFG partners captured and collared 29 adult female mule deer in eastern Idaho. This included the capture of 18 mule deer along the Teton River and 11 near the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area (Figures 1 and 2). We selected the capture area along the Teton River based on the movements of two deer collared within the park during the pilot phase of the project. Between September and October 2019, we captured 16 adult female mule deer by free-range darting in GTNP and the JDR (Figure 1 and 2). We focused efforts on increasing the spatial distribution of collared individuals by targeting new and less-sampled areas. Thus, we deployed four collars at Signal Mountain, one at Flagg Ranch, one at Jackson Lake Overlook, six in the Jenny Lake - String Lake area, one near Lupine Meadows, two near the Taggart Lake Trailhead, and one at Gros Ventre Campground (Figure 2). Collectively, we have recorded 192 complete migratory sequences that preliminarily described seven population-level corridors (Figure 3). The travel paths formed a far-ranging migration network spanning multiple land jurisdictions in two states. In all but one of the corridors, there were a minimum of four land jurisdictions. Four of the corridors included six jurisdictions while the routes traversing the western front of the Wind River Range crossed seven. The migration encompassed a wide variety of habitat types from sand dunes and sagebrush steppe to montane forest and alpine meadows.

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Within the corridors, elevations ranged from 5,000 feet on wintering grounds to over 10,000 within the mountainous routes. In 2018, we had recorded the highest elevation observed in the project to date at 11,496 feet along a route crossing the Absoraka Range. While no individuals in 2019 exceeded this elevation, several individuals crossed elevations of 10,500 to 11,300 feet during their journeys. Migratory distances ranged from 10 miles in several of the Jackson and Teton River routes to over 150 miles in routes traversing the western front of the Wind River Range. In fall of 2018, an individual collared near Spalding Bay traveled 190 miles south to wintering grounds northeast of Rock Springs and the Interstate 80 corridor. To date, this remains the longest movement recorded during the project. Interestingly, this particular mule deer short-stopped north of Pinedale, Wyoming in May during its spring 2019 migration. The deer spent the early summer months localized near Willow Lake before continuing its journey north in mid-August. By September, the deer was back at Spalding Bay in GTNP with two fawns. After spending less than a month in the park, the family group departed on their fall migration back towards Rock Springs. While we had documented a similar short-stop due to fawn parturition during the pilot project, this represented the first instance where the individual had continued its migration mid-summer to return to its traditional summer range. With the deployment of 59 collars on winter ranges in eastern Idaho from 2017-2019, we vastly expanded our knowledge of the routes mule deer are using to move from eastern Idaho to summer ranges on both sides of the Teton Range and the Bechler region of Yellowstone National Park (YNP). In 2019, seven of these deer entered GTNP or the JDR. An additional individual traveled through the JDR into Yellowstone National Park to summer near Heart Lake. Our analysis of stopover areas continued to indicate important transitional habitats at the base of the west slope of the Teton Range. Mule deer spent up to nearly a month in some of these areas before proceeding. Several of the mule deer collared along the Teton River migrated only short distances to summer on and near actively-farmed and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)-enrolled croplands. We documented the routine, daily movements of these individuals between open croplands and aspen “eyebrows”, which are remnants of native and woody vegetation not disrupted by plowing. Most mule deer collared in the park in 2019 migrated south to wintering ranges along the western front of the Wind River Range. While the southern portion of these routes often followed a similar trajectory to the Path of the Pronghorn, the northern extent diverged considerably west for all but one individual. Four additional mule deer migrated into the Wind River Reservation to winter near Crowheart, Wyoming. In addition, we discovered a new wintering locale for mule deer in the Jackson area when two deer collared near Jenny Lake migrated to the Twin Creek drainage near the boundary of the National Elk Refuge and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. One deer captured near Signal Mountain remained in the park until late December, enduring several snowfall events, and had just exited the park at the time of this writing.

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Idaho Working Group Formation In spring 2019, representatives from GTNP, IDFG, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Legacy Works Group, Teton Regional Land Trust, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) formed a working group focused on protecting mule deer migrations from the Sand Creek and Teton River areas to points east. The objective of the working group is to identify, prioritize, and implement pragmatic conservation actions, such as land acquisitions, conservation easements, habitat restorations, and wildlife-friendly crop plantings, in this region of eastern Idaho for the benefit of mule deer and other wildlife species. In August 2019, the working group conducted a field visit to tour federal and private lands along the Teton River Canyon to identify challenges and consider solutions. Several local landowners also attended to learn more about our project and provide their perspectives. Using movement data from the project, IDFG knowledge, and anecdotal accounts, we tailored the field visit to emphasize mule deer migratory routes and winter habitats. We identified sites for potential conservation action, such as a concentrated crossing area along Highway 32, less-than-ideal monocultures on CRP lands, and derelict fencing. The working group continued to meet regularly throughout fall 2019 and began conversations with local landowners on parcels considered to be high priority for mule deer conservation. We also provided letters of support on behalf of the BLM’s Sands Desert project area, which encompasses the Teton River Canyon, and associated application for additional funding to help support future land acquisitions. Remote Camera Monitoring In October 2019, IDFG and NPS personnel deployed five remote cameras on private lands along the rim of the Teton River Canyon in eastern Idaho. The objective was to document mule deer movements and the associated use of transitional habitats as individuals migrated into the Teton River area from their respective summer ranges. We placed two of the cameras along the edge of cropland enrolled in the CRP, which the landowner had planted with a new wildlife-friendly seed mix during the summer. We retrieved the cameras in late December, and we plan to catalog and asses all resulting photos and videos in 2020. A preliminary review suggests that mule deer were readily utilizing the new planting, which provides valuable nutrition for migrating individuals. In addition, we assessed the abundance and timing of mule deer movements through a natural bottleneck on the west side of Jackson Lake in the park. The park deployed cameras in this area to monitor elk migration patterns, but the resulting images have also been useful in examining mule deer movements. One collared mule deer (GT64) migrated through the bottleneck with two fawns in fall 2018 (Figure 4) and again without the fawns in spring 2019 (Figure 5). Although the fall 2019 images will not be available until 2020, based on the locations recorded from her GPS collar, GT64 navigated the same bottleneck in fall 2019. Our research continues to provide evidence that mule deer exhibit high fidelity to their respective migratory route.

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DISCUSSION Our work in 2019 reinforced previous conclusions that Grand Teton is at the center of a complex network of migration routes for mule deer. The deployment of 45 additional GPS radio collars on summer ranges in the park and winter ranges in eastern Idaho further expanded our study area to include the western and southwestern expanse of the GYE as we continued to document additional migrations. As our project progresses, we continue to uncover great diversity within this migratory network. With continued collar deployment, distances traveled continue to increase as well as maximum elevations and the number of land jurisdictions crossed. While such diversity is inherently fascinating, it presents complex challenges for future protection efforts. We continue to fill the knowledge gap of mule deer migrations in this part of the GYE to provide the background necessary to inform ecosystem managers as they identify and prioritize long-term conservation goals. Using the dBBMM methodology, we continue to identify important stopover sites within each corridor. In the spring, many of largest and longest-used stopover sites occur on private lands at the base of foothills prior to trajectories into mountainous terrain. We continue to identify areas along U.S. Highways 20 and 32 in eastern Idaho where collared mule deer are crossing during their migratory movements. Continued identification of crossing areas will provide managers with increased insight into specific highway segments where crossing mitigations may be applicable. Contributions from the MBRWF and other funding partners have allowed this project to grow significantly and forge new partnerships between agencies. Our new working group composed of federal, state, and NGO representatives continues to identify and implement pragmatic conservation strategies to protect mule deer winter ranges and migration routes in the Teton River and Sand Creek regions of eastern Idaho. This project continues to provide the data and analysis necessary to help inform efforts within this working group. While the working group resulted largely due to the findings of our mule deer migration project, the outcome will be improved habitat conditions and additional protected lands for the benefit of all wildlife species. In November 2018, a deceased mule deer in southern GTNP sampled positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). While no further detections occurred in the park during 2019, park managers realize it is only a matter of time before the next detection occurs. Therefore, it remains imperative we continue to identify movement corridors to better understand and model how CWD and other diseases may precipitate into new areas as host individuals make their biannual migrations. While we continue to elucidate an ever-expanding migration network, the unfortunate reality is that such corridors may also act as pipelines to transmit disease into formerly disease-free regions. We continue to provide data to managers and other researchers working to assess risk and create management strategies. Our findings to date confirm the existence of a complex and diverse mule deer migration network in the Grand Teton area. While we plan to deploy several repurposed collars in 2020 to fill gaps in our spatial distribution, our focus in 2020 will shift from data collection to final data analysis, corridor risk assessment (i.e. identify potential barriers to movement or other possible threats along “high-use”

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portions of migration corridors, public outreach, and conservation actions. Specifically, we plan to work with partners and stakeholder in Idaho to identify, prioritize, and support implementation of conservation actions (e.g. conservation easements, land acquisitions, habitat restorations, and wildlife friendly crop plantings and practice) along migration routes or within important transitional and winter habitats. We also plan to update data analyses, prepare manuscripts, and contribute data products to conservation initiatives using the entire data set and work with a science communications specialist to develop media products aimed at advancing public understanding and appreciation for the migrations of Grand Teton mule deer and their conservation needs. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are especially grateful to the Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund for their continued support of this project. Other project funding sources included the: Charles Engelhard Foundation, Cross Charitable Foundation, Grand Teton National Park Foundation, Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Knobloch Family Foundation, Snake River Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation, and U.S. National Park Service. Steve Cain conceived of and initiated this project while the Senior Wildlife Biologist at GTNP. We thank him for setting the course with this research and for his continued support of the project. We appreciate Jarod Merkle of the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit for his assistance with the R script for creating dBBMMs. We also thank the following Grand Teton National Park employees and volunteers for assistance with fall captures: B. Apel, C. Butler, M.K. Clark, J. Erwin, C. Flaherty, D. Gustine, T. Hayden, K. Harrigan, J. Majkowski, J. Mohr, P. Mumford, W. Scherer, J. Stephenson, K. Szcodronski, L. Templin, L. Watkins, L. White, B. Wold, and K. Wilmot. We would also like to thank IDFG personnel, including P. Atwood, R. Cavallaro, C. Hendrix, I. Hull, M. Hurley, M. Pfander, B. Porter, S. Roberts, and J. Rydalch in addition to other IDFG staff and volunteers who assisted with winter captures in Idaho, investigated mortalities, or provided support to this effort. G. Butler, S. Butler, M. Conrad, B. Franklin, P. Hnilicka, S. Kilpatrick, D. McWhirter, J. Mohr, T. Mong, P. Pace, S. Schwabedissen, the Siggin family, B. Tatu, C. White, J. White, A. Willemain, and S. Withers helped recover GPS collars. We thank C. Atchley, R. Pearson, and T. Stotts for private property access to retrieve radio collars or deploy remote cameras and J. O. Kaufman for assistance deploying cameras. LITERATURE CITED Berger, J. 2004. The last mile: how to sustain long-distance migration in mammals. Conservation

Biology 18:320-331. Harris, G., S. Thirgood, J. G. C. Hopcraft, J. P. G. M. Cromsigt, and J. Berger. 2009. Global decline in

aggregated migrations of large terrestrial mammals. Endangered Species Research 7:55-76.

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Horne, J. S., E. O. Garton, S. M. Krone, and J. S. Lewis. 2007. Analyzing animal movements using Brownian bridges. Ecology 88:2354-2363.

Kranstauber, B., R. Kays, S. D. LaPoint, M. Wikelski, and K. Safi. 2012. A dynamic Brownian bridge movement model to estimate utilization distributions for heterogeneous animal movement. Journal of Animal Ecology 81:738-746.

Leu, M., S. E. Hanser, and S. T. Knick. 2008. The human footprint in the west: a large-scale analysis of anthropogenic impacts. Ecological Applications 18:1119-1139.

McDonald, R. I., C. Yuan-Farrell, C. Fievet, M. Moeller, P. Kareiva, D. Foster, T. Gragson, A. Kinzig, L. Kuby, and C. Redman. 2007. Estimating the effect of protected lands on the development and conservation of their surroundings. Conservation Biology 21:1526-1536.

Sawyer, H., M. J. Kauffman, R. M. Nielson, and J. S. Horne. 2009. Identifying and prioritizing ungulate migration routes for landscape-level conservation. Ecological Applications 19:2016-2025.

Seidler, R. G., R. A. Long, J. Berger, S. Bergen, and J. P. Beckmann. 2014. Identifying impediments to long-distance mammal migrations. Conservation Biology 29:99-109.

Shafer, C. L. 2015. Land use planning: a potential force for retaining habitat connectivity in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and beyond. Global Ecology and Conservation 3:256-278.

Singh, N. J., A. M. Allen, and G. Ericsson. 2016. Quantifying migration behaviour using net squared displacement approach: clarifications and caveats. PLoS ONE 11:e0149594.

Thirgood, S., A. Mosser, S. Tham, G. Hopcraft, E. Mwangomo, T. Mlengeya, M. Kilewo, J. Fryxell, A. R. E. Sinclair, and M. Borner. 2004. Can parks protect migratory ungulates? The case of the Serengeti wildebeest. Animal Conservation 7:113-120.

White, P. J., K. M. Proffitt, L. D. Mech, S. B. Evans, J. A. Cunningham, and K. L. Hamlin. 2010. Migration of northern Yellowstone elk: implications of spatial structuring. Journal of Mammalogy 91:827-837.

Wilcove, D. S., and M. Wikelski. 2008. Going, going, gone: is animal migration disappearing? PLoS Biology 6:1361-1364.

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Figure 1. Capture area overview. Summer mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) captures focused on Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway in western Wyoming. Winter captures targeted the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area and Teton River Canyon in eastern Idaho.

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Figure 2. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) capture locations. (A) Winter capture locations (n = 21) within and adjacent to the Sand Creek Wildlife Management Area, Idaho, 2018 - 2019. (B) Winter capture locations (n = 38) along the Teton River Canyon, Idaho, 2018 - 2019. (C) Summer captures (n = 54) in Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, Wyoming, 2013 - 2019. Capture locations from 2019 are highlighted in blue (winter) and red (summer).

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Figure 3. Travel paths of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; n = 113) migrating seasonally from Grand Teton National Park and the Teton Range. Migratory paths cross a diversity of land jurisdictions within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

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Figure 4. GT64, a collared mule deer, and her two fawns crossing a geographical bottleneck during their fall migration from the Flagg Ranch area of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway to winter range north of Farson, Wyoming, a distance of over 150 miles, fall 2018.

Figure 5. GT64, a collared mule deer (also shown in Figure 4), negotiates a geographical bottleneck on her return to the Flagg Ranch area of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, spring 2019.