Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Terry Cleveland remembers when mule deer populations were so high around Baggs in southern Wyoming in the 1960s, hunters sometimes enjoyed a three-deer hunting season.

The management challenge for the department back then was pretty much to ensure enough deer were harvested from the huge herds that inhabited the state.

Those days, wildlife managers admit, are long gone. In the face of dwindling habitat, predation, disease, weather and other factors, it is very unlikely that the state could ever return to the mule deer numbers that existed in the middle of the last century.

But mule deer populations in Wyoming continue to be of critical importance to the state - both for the hunters and the hunter revenue that fills the coffers of businesses and the agency.

With that in mind, Game and Fish established a mule deer working group in 1998 and pledged additional resources to address the many factors affecting the state's mule deer herds.

In February 2006, the department began developing a statewide draft mule deer management plan. A draft of that plan will be presented to the Game and Fish Commission when the board meets in Casper today.

The Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative aims to increase, or at least stabilize, mule deer populations in Wyoming by focusing on the critical aspects of mule deer management, officials involved in the effort said.

Those aspects include improved habitat management practices, predation, population management for both people and mule deer, funding and support, outreach and education, research, and public involvement.

Game and Fish managers say mule deer symbolize a lot of what Wyoming's heritage is about, but the animal is finding survival in today's world a lot more difficult than in the past.

"Mule deer in Wyoming is one of our most important species for a lot of reasons, including the fact that hunters like them and the fact that people who don't hunt them also love to see them," said Game and Fish Casper wildlife management coordinator Daryl Lutz.

"Mule deer are an indicator of what kind of condition habitats are in for a variety of species, including sage grouse and others," Lutz said in a phone interview. "They're also the bread and butter of the funding source for wildlife management in Wyoming."

Wyoming's mule deer populations are spread out in 41 deer hunt units and 154 hunt areas. The state's mule deer population has stabilized over the past decade at between 450,000 and 500,000 animals, according to Game and Fish data.

Over the past 40 years, Wyoming deer herds have experienced severe impacts during the harsh winters of 1978-79, 1983-84 and 1992-93. Deer populations were up to around 600,000 animals in 1991 before that last, really severe winter.

Lutz said the plan will be "akin" the Wyoming Sage Grouse Management Plan developed by the agency and approved by the commission in 2003. The statewide sage grouse plan called for an "adaptive management" approach to address habitat and population needs of the sage grouse through the use of smaller, local working groups.

Lutz said the plan doesn't recommend the use of local working groups like the sage grouse plan did.

"But we are going to explore options for public involvement different from what we've had in the past," he said. "Public involvement is one of the big keys to this plan."

New commissioners

In other business at today's meeting, the commission will receive an agency overview of the Legislature's action on wildlife bills. The meeting begins at 9:15 a.m. at the Game and Fish office in Casper.

Commissioners will also hear an update on chronic wasting disease surveillance and research and receive a presentation on the bison and elk management plan for the Jackson herd. The Sublette mule deer study annual report will also be presented to the commission.

The meeting marks the debut of two new commissioners, Fred Lindzey of Laramie and Ed Mignery of Sundance. The pair are replacing outgoing commissioners Linda Fleming of Baggs and Kerry Powers of Lusk, who served six-year terms.

Star-Tribune reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.