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Deer and Elk Counts and Surveys
What are they and when do we do them?

A contract helicopter used in a Division of Wildlife management study to estimate big game populations.

Deer and elk classification flights are completed in December and January. During this time, biologists and district wildlife managers use helicopters to fly winter ranges and classify, by age and sex, as many deer and elk as possible in each game management unit. They are categorized as females, young (fawn/calf), yearling males, young males and mature males.

These classifications are conducted at this time of year because the majority of harvest is complete, the young are still distinguishable in size from adults and the males have not yet shed their antlers.

This data provides very important information regarding the makeup of the herd following the annual harvest. Young to female ratios document production, a key indicator of the health of the herd and whether the herd is likely increasing or decreasing. Male

to female ratios are important to many hunters and give a snapshot of how many males are present in the population after the fall hunting season. These ratios are used to model the populations annually, to assist in setting license numbers and to document and predict trends within the populations.