Conservation collaboration leads to new, more accurate modeling approach for winter deer habitat

September 24, 2021

ALASKA – A new modeling approach using remote light detection and ranging now predicts winter deer habitat with 94% accuracy — an increase of 10% from earlier models.

This improvement will help the Forest Service prioritize where to focus restoration efforts on thousands of acres on Prince of Wales Island.

A team of scientists from The Nature Conservancy, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the University of Idaho, and the USDA Forest Service collaborated to make it happen.

The new model was tested with three years of data employing GPS collars to track deer habitat selection in winter — a season proven to be the most vital and challenging time for deer in the region.

“Deer are the most important hunted food resource for Southeast Alaskan communities,” said Bonnie Bennetsen, co-author and wildlife program manager for the Tongass National Forest. “This model will help prioritize restoration of critical winter habitat, benefiting deer by focusing work where it is most needed.”

Two Sitka black-tailed deer — *Sitka black-tailed deer fawn with sibling and mother on the Tongass National Forest. USDA Forest Service photo by Ben Limle.*

The beauty of this LiDAR modeling approach is that it allows incorporation of some of the key forest and understory structural variables known to be important for wintering deer, along with critical topographic-type variables.

“When we first started this project, we didn’t know if it was going to work,” said Colin Shanley, the lead author from The Nature Conservancy. “And as it turns out, we were able to use the LiDAR to map deer habitat at an unprecedented scale and accuracy using real deer movement patterns collected from GPS collars.”

The Nature Conservancy and Forest Service plan to continue collaborating using this model in upcoming forest restoration projects in hopes of sustaining or increasing the deer population over time.

“This collaboration between agencies shows promise for future research,” said co-author Dan Eacker, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “Partnerships like this one only benefit efforts toward wildlife conservation and helping to ensure wildlife populations thrive for generations to come.”

Learn more about the new method in a recently published article in Forest Ecology and Management.