Message from the CEO
March/April 2008
Colorado DOW Director Tom Remington (center)
accepted
a check for $8,500 from MDF President/
CEO Miles Moretti (left) and Chairman of the Board
Stan Lueck (right) at a recent banquet in Colorado.
MDF signed a National Memorandum of
Understanding
(MOU) at the North American Wildlife Conference.
Pictured above is MDF's Miles
Moretti (center) with
Sally Collins, Assoc. Chief of
the US Forest Service
(left) and Jim Caswell, Director,
Bureau of Land
Management (right).
Call to Action!
Spring has finally arrived and although summer is just ahead, we must take some time to reflect on the winter of 2007-2008. Having experienced almost ten years of dry winters, these past several months should serve as a wake-up call to all of us that love mule deer and black-tailed deer. Deep snows and cold temperatures have persisted longer than normal and wildlife biologists will soon be assessing the winter-kill during their annual range condition assessments. Feeding operations in Colorado’s Gunnison Basin ran into April and early word is that because of the winter mortality rate, the deer tags in the Basin will be cut in half. Utah has also reduced their general season deer permits and the same is expected in Idaho and Wyoming.
Over the past ten years, deer have arrived at their winter ranges to find more houses, more highways, more shopping malls, and more oil and gas fields. In addition, their loss of crucial habitat is not just confined to human activity. Because of a decade worth of drought, thousands of acres of critical winter ranges have seen large die-offs of sagebrush stands; most of which have been replaced by cheatgrass, medusa head grass, pinyon-juniper, greasewood, and other undesirable plants. Many people say, “Let’s just feed the deer every year.” We should all be reminded that this year alone, Colorado expects their feeding program to cost over $1.75 million dollars. And although Colorado is to be commended for their quick reaction to the winter conditions and implementing their feeding program, feeding should be used in emergency situations only.
So what can you do to help mule deer? I encourage you to attend a local MDF fundraising event, become an MDF volunteer on a local project, form or join a local MDF chapter and, of course, give financially. The new MDF National Endowment Fund allows you the opportunity to make your donation last forever. Check out the details HERE. If you are not a member, please join MDF and help us in conserving mule deer and their habitat. MDF has committed to funding a record amount of habitat projects in 2008 and beyond. We must become extremely aggressive in stopping habitat loss, improving the remaining habitat, work with state agencies on predator control, and reducing highway mortality.
MDF recently signed a National Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States Forest Service and United States Bureau of Land Management at the recent North American Wildlife Conference in Phoenix. This national MOU commits MDF, BLM and the USFS to work on projects that benefit mule deer and black-tailed deer. Much of the deer habitat in the west is on either BLM or USFS lands. Both these federal agencies have been great partners with MDF and, by signing the National MOU we see even a stronger partnership as we go forward.
State wildlife agencies are also making mule deer a high priority. We have seen an increase in funding for mule deer initiatives and habitat projects. We are pleased to see oil and gas companies in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah step up to put money back on the ground to help mule deer. In Utah, MDF was the only conservation organization that stepped up to help rehabilitate the devastating wild fires last summer. MDF was able to give $250,000 from the sale of Utah Conservation Tags toward this effort.
To ensure the future of mule deer we must act today! Mule deer didn’t decline overnight and even though there is no silver bullet to fix mule deer populations or habitat, we must commit to working for mule deer in the long term! Together we can accomplish more than we can as individuals. That is also why it is critical to partner with other conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, and private landowners to accomplish MDF’s mission.
Together we can ensure the future of mule deer and black-tailed deer. We can also ensure that the tradition of hunting with family and friends continues and that we can all make memories that last a lifetime.
Miles Moretti