{"id":29556,"date":"2024-01-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-parks-and-wildlife-carries-out-deer-collaring-with-herd-southwest-of-durango\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T06:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:58:52","slug":"colorado-parks-and-wildlife-carries-out-deer-collaring-with-herd-southwest-of-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-parks-and-wildlife-carries-out-deer-collaring-with-herd-southwest-of-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Parks and Wildlife carries out deer collaring with herd southwest of Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Parks and Wildlife collared 30 mule deer as part of research into a 5,000-member deer herd that winters southwest of Durango every year. The deer follow the same migration pattern to the countryside near Silverton every year. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Putting GPS collars on big game animals such as elk and deer helps wildlife biologists collect data about herd migration patterns they can use to gauge herd health, recognize wildlife needs and identify actions to take to mitigate human-wildlife interactions.<\/p>\n

But for Brad Weinmeister, a wildlife biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife who has done field work like deer and elk collaring for 26 years, the gathered data often raises more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

Weinmeister and his colleagues set out in mid-December for a deer-collaring project in Game Management Unit 741, a stretch of land southwest of Durango and south of Hesperus. It\u2019s a new location for research, and the mission was to collar 30 members of a deer herd with a population size of 5,000 animals.<\/p>\n

Every spring, typically in May, the herd migrates over 40 miles to summer in the countryside near Silverton. They travel the exact same route up and over the mountains every spring and return to the lower elevations of La Plata County every fall.<\/p>\n

\"This
This winter, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wildlife Biologist Brad Weinmeister took a helicopter into a game management area southwest of Durango to tag 30 deer for tracking over the next two years. Pictured, a biologist readies a net gun. (Courtesy of Brad Weinmeister, Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span>Steve Ramirez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Weinmeister said previous studies have revealed winter closures in the game management area enforced by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and CPW are important to the deer herd in question. The closures give deer acres of undisturbed natural habitat to roam all winter long.<\/p>\n

The collars deployed this winter will remain fixed to the deer around their necks for two years. A timed detachment mechanism will release, the collars will drop off and Weinmeister will track them down for recovery.<\/p>\n

Another 30 deer are planned to be collared next winter as the research continues.<\/p>\n

The deer collaring will help wildlife biologists such as Weinmeister piece together how the animals live and survive on Southwest Colorado\u2019s landscape and how they interact with people.<\/p>\n

Data is mostly collected on a monthly basis, but Weinmeister can drill down into data points collected every two hours to monitor deer movement across U.S. Highway 160. He said he can essentially narrow it down to the hour of the day an individually collared deer crossed the highway.<\/p>\n

That information helps interdepartmental mitigation efforts with entities such as the Colorado Department of Transportation to mitigate vehicle and wildlife collisions, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists use helicopters to net and subdue deer, elk and other big game species for GPS collaring efforts that contribute to research about migration patterns. This winter, CPW Wildlife Biologist Brad Weinmeister took a helicopter into a game management area southwest of Durango to tag 30 deer for tracking over the next two years. Pictured, a biologist readies a net gun. (Courtesy of Brad Weinmeister, Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Weinmeister finds it interesting the herd southwest of Durango travels the same route to Silverton year after year.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeer are very habitual in that they travel on the exact same path on these movements,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll see movements like this with most animals where they\u2019re moving on the exact same path. So there\u2019s a learned trait there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weinmeister said it would be fun to backpack through migration routes to learn more about the habitats on the ground. He hasn\u2019t taken on such an endeavor, but he has done flyovers across portions of migration routes.<\/p>\n

Collecting data across the Western Slope<\/div>\n

Aircraft are also generally an important tool for CPW\u2019s collaring efforts. CPW published a news release on Dec. 1 noting collaring flights scheduled to take place across the Western Slope.<\/p>\n

In addition to the collaring in Game Management Unit 741 and 74 in La Plata and San Juan counties, CPW scheduled work to collar 75 elk calves in December and 120 pregnant cow elk in March, focusing on the \u201cBear\u2019s Ears herd in Northwest Colorado, the Avalanche Creek herd in the Roaring Fork Valley and the Uncompahgre herd west of Montrose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research on pregnant elk calves is conducted in the early winter, which is also early in the elk\u2019s gestation period, to prevent harm to the animals involved, according to CPW.<\/p>\n

CPW Wildlife Researcher Nathanial Rayl said in the release the collected data from such efforts is critical to proactively manage elk populations.<\/p>\n

\u201cElk, moose, deer and pronghorn prefer cooler temperatures and are actually less stressed than if we were to capture in the summer when they may overheat and die,\u201d he said. \u201cThe deeper snow cushions the animal and helps prevent injuries, and they don\u2019t run as far, making capture easier and quicker. Conducting this work in the winter also allows us to gather critical information about pregnancy and body condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weinmeister said his collaring efforts in the greater Durango area also provide insight into the mortality rates of deer populations over time. After eight hours of zero movement, the biologists receive a special notification indicating an animal has likely died.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese animals are wintering, they are struggling to survive at that time,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir nutrition, their food intake, is limited and they\u2019re typically burning more calories than they\u2019re taking in. If we have a hard, wet winter, typically (deer) mortality increases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Evan
Evan Phillips, a wildlife biologist with the Montrose office of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, sits with an elk that was blindfolded so it could be fitted with a GPS tracking collar in winter 2022-23. Collaring exercises allow CPW biologists to monitor the movement of deer and elk herds, which helps them understand migration patterns and identify potential places where wildlife and humans cross paths. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
A day in the field<\/div>\n

In December, Weinmeister and other biologists relied on a helicopter to get to the herd southwest of Durango. From there, a crew member armed with a net gun would target the deer for immobilization.<\/p>\n

The helicopter would then land and deploy two biologists, who would restrain the captured deer and blindfold it before collaring and releasing it, he said.<\/p>\n

The collars are simple hardware a little smaller than a person\u2019s fist. Weinmeister said they are equipped with GPS technology, a battery pack and a storage unit on the bottom of the device.<\/p>\n

The devices are attached to collars that fit around an animal\u2019s neck. Biologists attach them so they aren\u2019t too tight and aren\u2019t loose enough to rub against the animal.<\/p>\n

Retrieving collars, which have timed automatic detachment mechanisms, can be interesting on its own because it\u2019s hard to predict where a collar might have dropped. One would be surprised at where animals have came and went, Weinmeister said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bighorn sheep that had a radio collar on it that got caught in an avalanche,\u201d he said. \u201cI went out to pick up the collar. It was about 6 feet up in a tree. Because that\u2019s just the depth of the snow when that avalanche slid.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said tracking movement patterns has reinforced the idea the animals all have unique personalities.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Evan
Evan Phillips, a wildlife biologist with the Montrose office of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, sits with an elk that was blindfolded so it could be fitted with a GPS tracking collar in winter 2022-23. Collaring exercises allow CPW biologists to monitor the movement of deer and elk herds, which helps them understand migration patterns and identify potential places where wildlife and humans cross paths. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Evan
Evan Phillips, a wildlife biologist with the Montrose office of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, sits with an elk that was blindfolded so it could be fitted with a GPS tracking collar in winter 2022-23. Collaring exercises allow CPW biologists to monitor the movement of deer and elk herds, which helps them understand migration patterns and identify potential places where wildlife and humans cross paths. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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