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ENLARGE
A mule deer buck in eastern Oregon sports a four-point rack.
The long, hard winter experienced by most of the state, and its effect on Oregon’s big game herds is on the mind of many hunters as they begin thinking about their hunting plans for the upcoming season.
Surprisingly, although there are some dark spots, big game made it through those tough months better than one might have guessed. The reasons vary, from less than frigid temperatures despite deep snow to healthy winter ranges that gave the animals the refuge they needed to survive.
Although weather conditions between now and the start of hunting seasons is still a wild card that will play a major role in how the year will play out, as of this writing — with a few exceptions — most Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife field biologists are predicting big game hunting in 2008 to be as good as or better than last year. Here is their take:
Snowfall of historic levels hit the Coast Range this winter, according to ODFW assistant district wildlife biologist Dave Nuzum in Tillamook, hampering access for conducting spring deer surveys. That tended to restrict surveyors to mostly lowlands observations.
“However,” he says, “we did see decent numbers of black-tailed deer, more than you think you would see after a hard winter. Overall, the deer came through the winter better than we expected.”
Fawn ratios are stable in the Saddle Mountain, Trask and Wilson wildlife management units and buck ratios are very good as well, ranging from 23 to 100 up to 45 to 100.
“I expect the deer hunting this fall to be decent — average to better than average,” says Nuzum.
Nancy Taylor, ODFW wildlife biologist out of the Corvallis office, reports stable deer populations on the east side of the Coast Range, but notes they have been seeing some increases in deer hair loss syndrome that may be responsible for keeping the herd from growing.
Although not dealing western Oregon deer herds a fatal blow by any means, hair loss syndrome continues to be a factor with which to reckon. Down on the far south coast around Gold Beach, local ODFW biologist Curtis Edwards says, “The deer are doing fairly well, but we are still seeing a fair amount of deer hair loss.”
They also had some increased fawn mortality due to the cold, wet winter, but not an excessive amount.
Mark Vargas, wildlife biologist for the Rogue Watershed District, reports increasing numbers of deer over the past three years in his district. As far as winter survival went, the secret is habitat. “We had more snow this year than we’ve had in many years, but our deer winter range is still healthy and they fared well over the winter,” says Vargas. He expects the deer hunting outlook to be “pretty good” this season.
On a negative note, deer hair loss syndrome has arrived in Jackson County and there are concerns that if the migratory deer herds are infected they will spread it into the Cascades.
In Central Oregon, Bend-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Steven George says that mule deer on the east slope of the Cascades had good winter survival. “We also had good survival last year and I expect to see good numbers of yearling bucks and forked horns this season,” he says.
Josh Moulton, manager of the White River Wildlife Area in north central Oregon, reports that deer in his area over-wintered well, fawn survival was good and hunting opportunities should be at least as good as last year. Moulton notes that the wildlife area is seeing increasing use of off-road vehicles in restricted areas that are causing management difficulties. “We have seasonal road closures to protect wildlife,” he says. “We are having problems with cross-country travel that messes things up for hunters.”
Moving farther east, the picture gets less rosy.
“We had poor fawn recruitment this year,” says Ron Garner, ODFW district wildlife biologist in Hines. That was primarily a result of a dry summer combined with high predation by coyotes. The High Desert is experienced record low fawn numbers with about one-half of last year’s crop surviving the winter. Adult survival was fine, and although there will be somewhat less opportunity this year over last, the hunting should be at least okay.
Fawn ratios are low also on district wildlife biologist Ryan Torland’s John Day region. They are in the mid to low 30s when they really should be ten points higher.
“We had a long winter with heavy snow, but we dodged a bit of a bullet because we didn’t get the cold temperatures,” he says. That helped adult survival, but hunters shouldn’t expect to see as many little bucks running around this year.
Poor mule deer fawn survival was also the case in northeast Oregon according to Enterprise-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Vic Coggins — also the result of a very dry summer followed by a severe, heavy snow winter. Fawn ratios are down around 28 to 100, when they should be in the 40s. White-tailed deer normally fare better than mule deer in winter because they tend to occupy lower elevation agricultural lands. But with deep snow across the board, the story is the same for them. As with the John Day area, hunting will be down in the northeast, with noticeably fewer small bucks available.
Elk
No matter how much deer numbers increase or decline, elk seem to perpetually do just fine no matter what nature or people throw at them, and that rule of thumb remains true for 2008.
On the north coast, “the elk did pretty good,” according to Nuzum.
“The harsh winter affects elk less than deer because they are a little tougher and more robust,” he explains. “Bull ratios in the Wilson and Trask units are pretty darn good. The Trask is at 10 to 100, which is our management objective.”
Nuzum thinks that elk hunting in his region should be better than average for 2008.
“The elk population has been expanding in the lowlands,” says Vargas, who is based in Central Point. That has resulted in escalating rates of elk-related damage to agricultural crops that he would like to see hunters address. He suggests that hunters not be afraid to knock on doors and ask farmers and ranchers if they can hunt the property. Convincing them you can hunt their lands safely will go a long way in getting permission from an otherwise gun-shy landowner.
“We’ve had increasing numbers of elk and bull ratios,” says Vargas who adds the Evans Creek Wildlife Management Unit has especially high bull ratios and that the area in and around the old Biscuit Fire in the Chetco unit has produced some nice elk habitat.
Elk populations are up in the central and eastern Coast Range and central Oregon. “Elk in the (east side) Cascades are slowly increasing and should provide good hunting opportunity this year,” says Steven George.
Elk are also doing well in the Desolation, Murderer’s Creek and Northside units, according to Torland.
“We had a tremendous count of elk this spring,” he says. “We are at or above our M.O.s in Murderer’s Creek and Northside and slightly below in Desolation.” He expects good elk hunting in his area this year and notes that the Muderer’s Creek unit has very high bull ratios.
But the calf survival is down some in the northeast part of the state, a combination of hard weather and cougar predation. “The herd is still growing in spite of low calf survival,” says local biologist Coggins. Bull numbers are also good. “I expect there will be a lot of bulls available, especially in areas with limited hunter access,” he says.
Elk are faring well in the High Desert.
“We had good calf recruitment and bull survival,” says Ron Garner. “Elk hunting should be on par with the last few years.”
He notes that the best elk hunting in his region tends to be in the Silvies and north Malheur River units.
Pronghorn
Pronghorn are generally stable throughout their Oregon range, although Garner reports some reduced fawn recruitment in some areas of the High Desert.
“There will be good hunting opportunities, but there will be fewer juveniles this year,” he says. “But there are still plenty of mature bucks.”
Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn sheep status is varied this year. In far northeast Oregon there have been problems with lamb loss due to bacterial pneumonia according to Coggins. But he notes that there are some nice rams out there, so high quality hunting opportunities will be available for those few lucky enough to draw tags.
Bighorn herds on Aldrich and McClellan mountains are doing well, as are the six separate herds under Garner’s purview in southeast Oregon. Of the former group, says Torland, “We had good counts and we are seeing real nice rams in both herds. It should be good hunting as it always is.”
Garner is also seeing good numbers of rams in his herds as well and foresees another year of quality hunting opportunities. He notes that two transplants were done this year to supplement established herds on Frenchglen Rim and at Riverside Wildlife Area.
Rocky Mountain Goat
Coggins reports that Rocky Mountain goat herds are healthy, but biologists won’t know for sure how well they survived the winter until the snows melt enough to do a ground survey in the high county. He estimates that there are about 700 of the wild goats in northeast Oregon.
“We’ve come a long way since the early 1980s when we only had 25 or 30 animals,” says Coggins. His experienced guess is that the goats and goat hunting opportunities will be fine for 2008.
Black Bear
The story for black bears is largely the same — where there is good habitat there are lots of bears — with populations increasing the closer you get to the coast and the highest concentrations along the south coast.
Whether you are hunting the east side or the west side, the advice is similar. Hunt berry patches, south facing slopes and riparian areas. Look for bear scat that indicates where bears are active.
“Find fresh bear sign and concentrate there,” advises Gold Beach biologist Curtis Edwards. “People who do that will probably see bears.”
Cougar
Cougars are found throughout the state, although their abundance and huntability varies from region to region. Most are found in southwest and northeast Oregon, with the lowest populations on the north coast, where, because of the sparse population and timbered terrain, most cats taken here are usually out of pure luck. In other areas, hunters have a better chance of actively seeking them out.
“In the winter you can look for tracks to determine where the animals are active and set up and do some calling,” says Vargas, whose region has some of the highest cougar numbers in the state. “Deer are a favorite prey of cougars, so find some deer winter range and there will almost certainly be cougars around. That advice is sound for just about anywhere these felines prowl.”
Surprisingly, although there are some dark spots, big game made it through those tough months better than one might have guessed. The reasons vary, from less than frigid temperatures despite deep snow to healthy winter ranges that gave the animals the refuge they needed to survive.
Although weather conditions between now and the start of hunting seasons is still a wild card that will play a major role in how the year will play out, as of this writing — with a few exceptions — most Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife field biologists are predicting big game hunting in 2008 to be as good as or better than last year. Here is their take:
Snowfall of historic levels hit the Coast Range this winter, according to ODFW assistant district wildlife biologist Dave Nuzum in Tillamook, hampering access for conducting spring deer surveys. That tended to restrict surveyors to mostly lowlands observations.
“However,” he says, “we did see decent numbers of black-tailed deer, more than you think you would see after a hard winter. Overall, the deer came through the winter better than we expected.”
Fawn ratios are stable in the Saddle Mountain, Trask and Wilson wildlife management units and buck ratios are very good as well, ranging from 23 to 100 up to 45 to 100.
“I expect the deer hunting this fall to be decent — average to better than average,” says Nuzum.
Nancy Taylor, ODFW wildlife biologist out of the Corvallis office, reports stable deer populations on the east side of the Coast Range, but notes they have been seeing some increases in deer hair loss syndrome that may be responsible for keeping the herd from growing.
Although not dealing western Oregon deer herds a fatal blow by any means, hair loss syndrome continues to be a factor with which to reckon. Down on the far south coast around Gold Beach, local ODFW biologist Curtis Edwards says, “The deer are doing fairly well, but we are still seeing a fair amount of deer hair loss.”
They also had some increased fawn mortality due to the cold, wet winter, but not an excessive amount.
Mark Vargas, wildlife biologist for the Rogue Watershed District, reports increasing numbers of deer over the past three years in his district. As far as winter survival went, the secret is habitat. “We had more snow this year than we’ve had in many years, but our deer winter range is still healthy and they fared well over the winter,” says Vargas. He expects the deer hunting outlook to be “pretty good” this season.
On a negative note, deer hair loss syndrome has arrived in Jackson County and there are concerns that if the migratory deer herds are infected they will spread it into the Cascades.
In Central Oregon, Bend-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Steven George says that mule deer on the east slope of the Cascades had good winter survival. “We also had good survival last year and I expect to see good numbers of yearling bucks and forked horns this season,” he says.
Josh Moulton, manager of the White River Wildlife Area in north central Oregon, reports that deer in his area over-wintered well, fawn survival was good and hunting opportunities should be at least as good as last year. Moulton notes that the wildlife area is seeing increasing use of off-road vehicles in restricted areas that are causing management difficulties. “We have seasonal road closures to protect wildlife,” he says. “We are having problems with cross-country travel that messes things up for hunters.”
Moving farther east, the picture gets less rosy.
“We had poor fawn recruitment this year,” says Ron Garner, ODFW district wildlife biologist in Hines. That was primarily a result of a dry summer combined with high predation by coyotes. The High Desert is experienced record low fawn numbers with about one-half of last year’s crop surviving the winter. Adult survival was fine, and although there will be somewhat less opportunity this year over last, the hunting should be at least okay.
Fawn ratios are low also on district wildlife biologist Ryan Torland’s John Day region. They are in the mid to low 30s when they really should be ten points higher.
“We had a long winter with heavy snow, but we dodged a bit of a bullet because we didn’t get the cold temperatures,” he says. That helped adult survival, but hunters shouldn’t expect to see as many little bucks running around this year.
Poor mule deer fawn survival was also the case in northeast Oregon according to Enterprise-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Vic Coggins — also the result of a very dry summer followed by a severe, heavy snow winter. Fawn ratios are down around 28 to 100, when they should be in the 40s. White-tailed deer normally fare better than mule deer in winter because they tend to occupy lower elevation agricultural lands. But with deep snow across the board, the story is the same for them. As with the John Day area, hunting will be down in the northeast, with noticeably fewer small bucks available.
Elk
No matter how much deer numbers increase or decline, elk seem to perpetually do just fine no matter what nature or people throw at them, and that rule of thumb remains true for 2008.
On the north coast, “the elk did pretty good,” according to Nuzum.
“The harsh winter affects elk less than deer because they are a little tougher and more robust,” he explains. “Bull ratios in the Wilson and Trask units are pretty darn good. The Trask is at 10 to 100, which is our management objective.”
Nuzum thinks that elk hunting in his region should be better than average for 2008.
“The elk population has been expanding in the lowlands,” says Vargas, who is based in Central Point. That has resulted in escalating rates of elk-related damage to agricultural crops that he would like to see hunters address. He suggests that hunters not be afraid to knock on doors and ask farmers and ranchers if they can hunt the property. Convincing them you can hunt their lands safely will go a long way in getting permission from an otherwise gun-shy landowner.
“We’ve had increasing numbers of elk and bull ratios,” says Vargas who adds the Evans Creek Wildlife Management Unit has especially high bull ratios and that the area in and around the old Biscuit Fire in the Chetco unit has produced some nice elk habitat.
Elk populations are up in the central and eastern Coast Range and central Oregon. “Elk in the (east side) Cascades are slowly increasing and should provide good hunting opportunity this year,” says Steven George.
Elk are also doing well in the Desolation, Murderer’s Creek and Northside units, according to Torland.
“We had a tremendous count of elk this spring,” he says. “We are at or above our M.O.s in Murderer’s Creek and Northside and slightly below in Desolation.” He expects good elk hunting in his area this year and notes that the Muderer’s Creek unit has very high bull ratios.
But the calf survival is down some in the northeast part of the state, a combination of hard weather and cougar predation. “The herd is still growing in spite of low calf survival,” says local biologist Coggins. Bull numbers are also good. “I expect there will be a lot of bulls available, especially in areas with limited hunter access,” he says.
Elk are faring well in the High Desert.
“We had good calf recruitment and bull survival,” says Ron Garner. “Elk hunting should be on par with the last few years.”
He notes that the best elk hunting in his region tends to be in the Silvies and north Malheur River units.
Pronghorn
Pronghorn are generally stable throughout their Oregon range, although Garner reports some reduced fawn recruitment in some areas of the High Desert.
“There will be good hunting opportunities, but there will be fewer juveniles this year,” he says. “But there are still plenty of mature bucks.”
Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn sheep status is varied this year. In far northeast Oregon there have been problems with lamb loss due to bacterial pneumonia according to Coggins. But he notes that there are some nice rams out there, so high quality hunting opportunities will be available for those few lucky enough to draw tags.
Bighorn herds on Aldrich and McClellan mountains are doing well, as are the six separate herds under Garner’s purview in southeast Oregon. Of the former group, says Torland, “We had good counts and we are seeing real nice rams in both herds. It should be good hunting as it always is.”
Garner is also seeing good numbers of rams in his herds as well and foresees another year of quality hunting opportunities. He notes that two transplants were done this year to supplement established herds on Frenchglen Rim and at Riverside Wildlife Area.
Rocky Mountain Goat
Coggins reports that Rocky Mountain goat herds are healthy, but biologists won’t know for sure how well they survived the winter until the snows melt enough to do a ground survey in the high county. He estimates that there are about 700 of the wild goats in northeast Oregon.
“We’ve come a long way since the early 1980s when we only had 25 or 30 animals,” says Coggins. His experienced guess is that the goats and goat hunting opportunities will be fine for 2008.
Black Bear
The story for black bears is largely the same — where there is good habitat there are lots of bears — with populations increasing the closer you get to the coast and the highest concentrations along the south coast.
Whether you are hunting the east side or the west side, the advice is similar. Hunt berry patches, south facing slopes and riparian areas. Look for bear scat that indicates where bears are active.
“Find fresh bear sign and concentrate there,” advises Gold Beach biologist Curtis Edwards. “People who do that will probably see bears.”
Cougar
Cougars are found throughout the state, although their abundance and huntability varies from region to region. Most are found in southwest and northeast Oregon, with the lowest populations on the north coast, where, because of the sparse population and timbered terrain, most cats taken here are usually out of pure luck. In other areas, hunters have a better chance of actively seeking them out.
“In the winter you can look for tracks to determine where the animals are active and set up and do some calling,” says Vargas, whose region has some of the highest cougar numbers in the state. “Deer are a favorite prey of cougars, so find some deer winter range and there will almost certainly be cougars around. That advice is sound for just about anywhere these felines prowl.”
Deer
Snowfall of historic levels hit the Coast Range this winter, according to ODFW assistant district wildlife biologist Dave Nuzum in Tillamook, hampering access for conducting spring deer surveys. That tended to restrict surveyors to mostly lowlands observations. “However,” he says, “we did see decent numbers of black-tailed deer, more than you think you would see after a hard winter. Overall, the deer came through the winter better than we expected.”
Fawn ratios are stable in the Saddle Mountain, Trask and Wilson wildlife management units and buck ratios are very good as well, ranging from 23 to 100 up to 45 to 100.
“I expect the deer hunting this fall to be decent — average to better than average,” says Nuzum.
Nancy Taylor, ODFW wildlife biologist out of the Corvallis office, reports stable deer populations on the east side of the Coast Range, but notes they have been seeing some increases in deer hair loss syndrome that may be responsible for keeping the herd from growing.
Although not dealing western Oregon deer herds a fatal blow by any means, hair loss syndrome continues to be a factor with which to reckon. Down on the far south coast around Gold Beach, local ODFW biologist Curtis Edwards says, “The deer are doing fairly well, but we are still seeing a fair amount of deer hair loss.”
They also had some increased fawn mortality due to the cold, wet winter, but not an excessive amount.
Mark Vargas, wildlife biologist for the Rogue Watershed District, reports increasing numbers of deer over the past three years in his district. As far as winter survival went, the secret is habitat. “We had more snow this year than we’ve had in many years, but our deer winter range is still healthy and they fared well over the winter,” says Vargas. He expects the deer hunting outlook to be “pretty good” this season.
On a negative note, deer hair loss syndrome has arrived in Jackson County and there are concerns that if the migratory deer herds are infected they will spread it into the Cascades.
In Central Oregon, Bend-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Steven George says that mule deer on the east slope of the Cascades had good winter survival. “We also had good survival last year and I expect to see good numbers of yearling bucks and forked horns this season,” he says.
Josh Moulton, manager of the White River Wildlife Area in north central Oregon, reports that deer in his area over-wintered well, fawn survival was good and hunting opportunities should be at least as good as last year. Moulton notes that the wildlife area is seeing increasing use of off-road vehicles in restricted areas that are causing management difficulties. “We have seasonal road closures to protect wildlife,” he says. “We are having problems with cross-country travel that messes things up for hunters.”
Moving farther east, the picture gets less rosy.
“We had poor fawn recruitment this year,” says Ron Garner, ODFW district wildlife biologist in Hines. That was primarily a result of a dry summer combined with high predation by coyotes. The High Desert is experienced record low fawn numbers with about one-half of last year’s crop surviving the winter. Adult survival was fine, and although there will be somewhat less opportunity this year over last, the hunting should be at least okay.
Fawn ratios are low also on district wildlife biologist Ryan Torland’s John Day region. They are in the mid to low 30s when they really should be ten points higher.
“We had a long winter with heavy snow, but we dodged a bit of a bullet because we didn’t get the cold temperatures,” he says. That helped adult survival, but hunters shouldn’t expect to see as many little bucks running around this year.
Poor mule deer fawn survival was also the case in northeast Oregon according to Enterprise-based ODFW district wildlife biologist Vic Coggins — also the result of a very dry summer followed by a severe, heavy snow winter. Fawn ratios are down around 28 to 100, when they should be in the 40s. White-tailed deer normally fare better than mule deer in winter because they tend to occupy lower elevation agricultural lands. But with deep snow across the board, the story is the same for them. As with the John Day area, hunting will be down in the northeast, with noticeably fewer small bucks available.
Elk
No matter how much deer numbers increase or decline, elk seem to perpetually do just fine no matter what nature or people throw at them, and that rule of thumb remains true for 2008.On the north coast, “the elk did pretty good,” according to Nuzum.
“The harsh winter affects elk less than deer because they are a little tougher and more robust,” he explains. “Bull ratios in the Wilson and Trask units are pretty darn good. The Trask is at 10 to 100, which is our management objective.”
Nuzum thinks that elk hunting in his region should be better than average for 2008.
“The elk population has been expanding in the lowlands,” says Vargas, who is based in Central Point. That has resulted in escalating rates of elk-related damage to agricultural crops that he would like to see hunters address. He suggests that hunters not be afraid to knock on doors and ask farmers and ranchers if they can hunt the property. Convincing them you can hunt their lands safely will go a long way in getting permission from an otherwise gun-shy landowner.
“We’ve had increasing numbers of elk and bull ratios,” says Vargas who adds the Evans Creek Wildlife Management Unit has especially high bull ratios and that the area in and around the old Biscuit Fire in the Chetco unit has produced some nice elk habitat.
Elk populations are up in the central and eastern Coast Range and central Oregon. “Elk in the (east side) Cascades are slowly increasing and should provide good hunting opportunity this year,” says Steven George.
Elk are also doing well in the Desolation, Murderer’s Creek and Northside units, according to Torland.
“We had a tremendous count of elk this spring,” he says. “We are at or above our M.O.s in Murderer’s Creek and Northside and slightly below in Desolation.” He expects good elk hunting in his area this year and notes that the Muderer’s Creek unit has very high bull ratios.
But the calf survival is down some in the northeast part of the state, a combination of hard weather and cougar predation. “The herd is still growing in spite of low calf survival,” says local biologist Coggins. Bull numbers are also good. “I expect there will be a lot of bulls available, especially in areas with limited hunter access,” he says.
Elk are faring well in the High Desert.
“We had good calf recruitment and bull survival,” says Ron Garner. “Elk hunting should be on par with the last few years.”
He notes that the best elk hunting in his region tends to be in the Silvies and north Malheur River units.
Pronghorn
Pronghorn are generally stable throughout their Oregon range, although Garner reports some reduced fawn recruitment in some areas of the High Desert.
“There will be good hunting opportunities, but there will be fewer juveniles this year,” he says. “But there are still plenty of mature bucks.”
Pronghorn are generally stable throughout their Oregon range, although Garner reports some reduced fawn recruitment in some areas of the High Desert.
“There will be good hunting opportunities, but there will be fewer juveniles this year,” he says. “But there are still plenty of mature bucks.”
Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn sheep status is varied this year. In far northeast Oregon there have been problems with lamb loss due to bacterial pneumonia according to Coggins. But he notes that there are some nice rams out there, so high quality hunting opportunities will be available for those few lucky enough to draw tags.Bighorn herds on Aldrich and McClellan mountains are doing well, as are the six separate herds under Garner’s purview in southeast Oregon. Of the former group, says Torland, “We had good counts and we are seeing real nice rams in both herds. It should be good hunting as it always is.”
Garner is also seeing good numbers of rams in his herds as well and foresees another year of quality hunting opportunities. He notes that two transplants were done this year to supplement established herds on Frenchglen Rim and at Riverside Wildlife Area.
Rocky Mountain Goat
Coggins reports that Rocky Mountain goat herds are healthy, but biologists won’t know for sure how well they survived the winter until the snows melt enough to do a ground survey in the high county. He estimates that there are about 700 of the wild goats in northeast Oregon. “We’ve come a long way since the early 1980s when we only had 25 or 30 animals,” says Coggins. His experienced guess is that the goats and goat hunting opportunities will be fine for 2008.
Black Bear
The story for black bears is largely the same — where there is good habitat there are lots of bears — with populations increasing the closer you get to the coast and the highest concentrations along the south coast.Whether you are hunting the east side or the west side, the advice is similar. Hunt berry patches, south facing slopes and riparian areas. Look for bear scat that indicates where bears are active.
“Find fresh bear sign and concentrate there,” advises Gold Beach biologist Curtis Edwards. “People who do that will probably see bears.”
Cougar
Cougars are found throughout the state, although their abundance and huntability varies from region to region. Most are found in southwest and northeast Oregon, with the lowest populations on the north coast, where, because of the sparse population and timbered terrain, most cats taken here are usually out of pure luck. In other areas, hunters have a better chance of actively seeking them out.“In the winter you can look for tracks to determine where the animals are active and set up and do some calling,” says Vargas, whose region has some of the highest cougar numbers in the state. “Deer are a favorite prey of cougars, so find some deer winter range and there will almost certainly be cougars around. That advice is sound for just about anywhere these felines prowl.”
(This article appears in the September edition of Umpqua Adventures)
