Migration Corridors of Mule Deer in the Kaibab North Herd in Arizona

Mule deer of the Kaibab North herd on the Kaibab Plateau are treasured for their historic and contemporary significance in North America. They are the densest population of mule deer in Arizona, with an estimate of 10,200 individuals in 2019. This report compiles two research efforts, the first completed by Arizona Game and Fish Department in 2014, and the second from Utah Division of Wildlife’s ongoing research started in 2017. The Kaibab Plateau is bound on the east, south, and west by vertical canyon walls which run along the Colorado River and Kanab Creek. The Kaibab North Deer herd winters among pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, and cliffrose landscapes along the west, east, and northern extents of the plateau. Portions of the Kaibab North herd in Arizona and the Paunsaugunt Plateau herd in Utah share a common winter range along the Arizona and Utah border. Their summer range consists of habitat dominated by ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and aspen. There are currently few impediments to mule deer migration on the Kaibab Plateau. Water availability throughout seasonal ranges may be the limiting factor for this population. These data provide the location of migration routes for Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Kaibab North Herd in Arizona. They were developed using 96 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 41 adult mule deer comprising GPS locations collected every 2-6 hours.