2018 BIG GAME PREVIEW
By Jim Yuskavitch, Oregon Hunters Association
Hard winters often play havoc with big game herds, making forage harder to find and causing deer and elk to be more vulnerable to predators as they are forced to struggle through deep snow. For
that reason, hunters often breathe a sigh of relief when winters are mild. But, surprisingly, it may not benefit big game as much as we might think. While deer may show increased survival through a
light winter, it often doesn’t make much difference to elk, which, because of their size and strength, fare about as well in harsh winters as mild ones. Deer will stick to their traditional winter range even
when conditions are poor, while pronghorns light out for new territory looking for better range during hard winters. And despite the mild winter weather, some biologists still reported decreased fawn
survival and poor calf recruitment in some areas. Nevertheless, mild winters are still better for big game than hard ones, and most predictions are for better big game hunting opportunities this fall
over last year. Here’s what a roundup of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists around the state recently had to say about big game prospects in their districts.
Deer
Elk
Mule deer in the John Day region are a mixed bag.
“The Murderers Creek unit is doing well with the
fawn-to-doe ratio at 37:100, which is good,” says
local district wildlife biologist Ryan Torland. “Fawn
ratios in the Northside and Desolation units are less
than ideal. We’re not sure why, but cat predation is
probably a factor.”
Mule deer continue to struggle in northeast
Oregon, according to Enterprise-based ODFW district
wildlife biologist Pat Matthews. “We’ve had low
fawn survival, even with the mild winter,” he explains.
One potential explanation is that fawns born after the
previous hard winter were in poor condition and did
not survive, despite the mild weather. Matthews
expects mule deer hunting to be slow this year in the
Wenaha, Sled Springs, Chesnimnus, Snake River,
Minam and Imnaha units, but to some extent, the
growing white-tailed deer population will take up
some of the slack.
In the high desert, Hines-based district wildlife
biologist Rod Klus reports that mule deer had poor
recruitment, which may be because the does were not
in very good physical shape coming out of the last
hard winter. Fawn survival, however, was better and
will result in more young bucks to harvest this fall.
“Deer numbers are pretty good,” says Tillamook-
based assistant district wildlife biologist Dave Nuzum.
“The black-tailed deer population is at benchmark on
all our units and my sense is that winter survival was
pretty good.”
The story is still the same in the Cascades and
Coast ranges with habitat conditions for ungulates
declining due to the lack of logging and clearcuts on
national forest lands, driving many animals onto
private timberlands where logging continues to create
early seral stage vegetation conditions that help grow
more deer (and elk). According ODFW district
wildlife biologist Chris Yee, in Springfield, “Our
winter didn’t have any impact, and the fawn ratios are
similar to last year.”
“I’m feeling good about our deer population,”
says district wildlife biologist Steve Niemela, who
works out of the Central Point ODFW office. “We
have a migratory deer herd, and they are doing a little
better than black-tailed deer in other parts of the state
because they migrate to good winter range.” He’s
predicting a “pretty good” upcoming season in his
region, pointing out that success rates can be as high
as 50 percent in the Rogue and Applegate units.
In the Klamath Falls area, according to district
wildlife biologist Tom Collom, fawn survival rates
were much improved over the previous winter and
that will translate into more yearling bucks available
to hunters over the previous year.
Ryan Torland says that elk are doing well in the
John Day region and are at management objective
for most units. He expects good hunting opportu-
nities this fall.
“Elk are doing really good,” says Enterprise-
based Pat Matthews, “even though we are still
having some low calf survival. I expect hunting to
be pretty normal with a good elk population and lots
of big bulls available.”
Rod Klus in Hines reports that elk are doing fine
in the High Desert Region, had good overwinter
survival, an average or better calf crop and a good,
mature bull population.
The North Coast elk population is slowly
building back up after being a little on the low side
a few years ago, according to biologist Nuzum. “We
have a healthy elk population although it is slightly
below management objective,” he says. He notes
that the bull ratios are robust on all his units, which
includes Saddle Mountain, Wilson and Trask.
Cascades elk are still suffering from the same
lack of succulent new growth on public lands due to
the significant cutback in logging over the years,
although to some extent, wildfires help make up
some of the difference. As a rule, you will find more
elk on private timberlands with active logging
operations. “Most of the elk population on industrial
forest land is good,” says Springfield-based Yee.
Further south, Niemela reports, “Elk have been
on a slow, multi-decade decline mostly because of
a decline in early seral stage habitat.” However, he
notes that Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest staff is
planning some future projects to improve elk, and
deer, habitat on the forest. “We did see a lot of bulls
on our helicopter surveys,” says Niemela. So,
despite the population being down, there are still
some nice bulls out there to be harvested. In his
district, the Chetco unit offers the best opportunities.
Tom Collom, in Klamath Falls, reports good
bull ratios, and notes that because elk are lightly
hunted in his district, there are some very big bulls
running around out there that a hunter occasionally
lucks into.
26 • GRANT COUNTY HUNTING JOURNAL 2018
Bighorn Sheep
Overall, Oregon’s desert and Rocky Mountain
bighorn sheep are doing fairly well right now. Ryan
Torland reports that there are about 150 in the Aldrich
Mountain herd near John Day and about 100 in the
McClellan Mountain herd. ODFW translocated some
additional sheep to the Aldrich herd in 2010, which
gave it a jumpstart, and the herd is now increasing.
The McClellan herd is stable to increasing.
“Bighorns are kind of hanging in there,” says Pat
Matthews, “although the Lostine herd is having
trouble with low survival and predation.” He notes
that there is a new herd in Hells Canyon that is almost
large enough to start a new hunt.
Rod Klus reports that desert bighorns in his area
are doing fine with no disease or excessive predation
issues.
Rockymountain Goat
Ryan Torland reports that goats are doing well in
the Strawberry Mountains with the current herd at
about 60 animals. There are also about 20 goats
hanging around nearby Canyon Mountain, and
ODFW biologists are trying to figure out if a new herd
is forming or if they are members of the Strawberry
herd moving back and forth.
In northeast Oregon, Pat Matthews says, “Goats
are doing really well, numbers are increasing and
success rates are high for anyone who draws a tag.”
Pronghorn
Pronghorns are doing well in the John Day area,
according to Ryan Torland, especially on the
Murderers Creek Unit. There are pronghorn hunts
on the Northside and Heppner units, but they are all
on private lands and access can be difficult.
“Pronghorn populations are having a pretty
good run,” says Rod Klus. “Last year they didn’t
have a very impressive crop of fawns but the overall
population is steady.”
Tom Collon also reports that pronghorns are
doing really well in south-central Oregon east of the
Cascade Mountains. “We have them in the eastern
part of Klamath County, and they have been
increasing over the past eight or 10 years,” says
Collom.
Bear & Cougar
There continues to be healthy, and in some areas
increasing, populations of bears and cougars. There
are good numbers of bears in the Cascades and
Coast ranges, with the population going up as you
move south. The Applegate Unit continues to be the
top bear producer in the state. Northeast and
southwest Oregon still tend to have the largest
cougar populations. Cougars have been
documented slowly expanding their populations
into the northwestern part of the state, including into
the outskirts of Portland, with the biggest increase
currently in the Alsea Unit.
Successful bear hunters take the time to locate
food sources such as berry patches, and to be there
when they ripen, because that is when the bears will
show up. While some hunters specifically target
cougars using predator calls or snow tracking, most
of these secretive cats are taken opportunistically.
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