In 1967 there were so few Columbian white-tailed deer still alive in Oregon and Washington, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put them on the list of endangered species.
At that time, the small population could be found in small mainland area of the state of Washington and on islands along the lower Columbia River.
While white-tailed deer are common throughout the Eastern United States, the Columbian white-tailed deer lives in the Pacific Northwest. It is one of 16 unique whitetail subpopulations in the United States.
It is also the only subspecies (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) of white-tailed deer found west of the Cascade mountain range.
Many things had accounted for the decline in Columbian white-tailed deer population including habitat loss, farming and logging, as well as commercial and residential development.
Of the two small populations of Columbian white-tailed deer observed during the late 1960s, the Lower Columbia River population was found in Wahkiakum, Cowlitz and Clark counties in Washington, and Clatsop and Columbia counties in Oregon.
Now, the subspecies’ status has been downlisted to threatened, and its numbers have grown from about 450 deer to more than 900 deer today.
The increase is the result of the combined efforts between the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the states of Washington and Oregon, various conservation groups, volunteers and the USFWS to reduce threats and secure the populations of deer.
The first signs of success occurred in 2003, when the Douglas County population in the Umpqua River Basin of Oregon was removed from the endangered species after its remarkable recovery. That was made possible by the creation of the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge in 1971.
The refuge, located in southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon, was established to protect and manage the endangered deer. Now, three viable subpopulations can be found at or near the refuge’s Tenasillahe Island, on Westport and Wallace Islands, and on private land on Puget Island.
When a risk of a levee failure threatened to put portions of the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge under water, refuge partners, volunteers and staff moved 88 Columbian white-tailed deer over a three-year period to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. These translocated deer are expected to thrive and become a viable and secure subpopulation.
Along with the new listing, the USFWS is working on a new rule to gives states and private landowners some management flexibility without reducing conservation actions or recovery of the species.
For more information about Columbian white-tailed deer and to view the reclassification, click here.
--From the United Stated Fish and Wildlife Service