Northern Forest Ecoregion

This chapter describes the Northern Forest Ecoregion, which is geographically expansive. Vegetation associations in the Northern Forests are diverse. The climate of this ecoregion is diverse, with seasonal, annual, and regional variability in temperatures and precipitation. The density of deer in the Northern Forests vary regionally and annually. Winter severity and habitat conditions vary along latitudinal and elevational gradients that influence where deer use higher elevation sites in summer with high-quality nutritional resources and use areas with decreased snowpack during winter. Predation conditions change with latitude; northern portions of the ecoregion overlap with the ranges of grizzly bears and Canada lynx. In the far northern portion of the ecoregion, deer exist in low-density semi-isolated populations that are typically resident with smaller home ranges. Favorable summer foraging conditions allow populations to exhibit high growth rates that enable populations to rebound quickly from severe-winter die-offs and corresponding nutritional stresses that periodically occur in the Northern Forests. Within the ecoregion, deer co-exist with a variety of wild ungulates, large predators, feral, and invasive species, at times competing and conflicting with deer and complicating wildlife population and habitat management. Timber harvest and fire have the greatest influence on mule deer habitat in the ecoregion.