Wildlife Inventory Update

Project Overview and Current Phase

The Planning Division is initiating the process to update the Goal 5 inventory for mule deer winter range.

March 2023: For the current phase of this project, please visit www.deschutes.org/muledeer

July 2022: The mule deer inventory project has been postponed by several months to accommodate other time-sensitive long range planning projects. Staff will return to the Board of County Commissioners in early March with a public outreach schedule and draft concepts, amendments, and findings.

May 2022: Staff has been working over the winter to coordinate with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Land Conservation and Development to prepare draft documents in anticipation of the forthcoming public process. Staff will check in with the Board of County Commissioners this month before beginning community conversations concerning the mule deer winter range inventory update.

November 2021: Based on the results of Phase 1 (see below for details) the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to initiate a pilot project updating the proposed new inventory for mule deer winter range. Staff anticipates this project (including public meetings, open houses, crafting of documents, and the legislative amendment adoption process) will take approximately 9 to 12 months. Stay tuned to this page for project updates and opportunities to participate, or join the project mailing list below.

Project History and Background

Phase 1: Summer 2020 to Summer 2021

Thanks to a Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) Technical Assistance Grant, Deschutes County initiated the process of considering updates to three of its Goal 5 wildlife inventories: mule deer winter range, elk winter range, and sensitive bird (bald and golden eagle) habitat. Collaborating with and Interagency Working Group (IWG) of wildlife biologists from state agencies as well as a consultant, the IWG collected and vetted new data for each of the three existing inventories, and shared these proposed new inventories with the public to determine interest in potential updates.

This first phase of the project represented the data collection stage only -- no changes to County zoning or other regulations were proposed.

See the Data: Deschutes County Wildlife StoryMap and Survey

An interactive StoryMap web feature provides background information about the project, the project team, proposed new inventory maps, data collection methodology, and potential next steps, and provides the public with opportunities to weigh in on the value of pursuing this project. The survey, which is found at the end of the StoryMap, was open for responses until May 6, 2021. The results are summarized in the Public Outreach Report below.

Wildlife Inventory Update StoryMap

Open Houses

During Phase 1, the project team along with the Deschutes County Planning Commission conducted two virtual open houses to gauge community interest regarding potential updates to its wildlife inventories.

Please go to "Supporting Documents" at the bottom of this page for a summary of questions and answers from each open house.

Click here to view the video of the April 15 open house (Spanish translation)

Click here to view the video of the April 29 open house (Spanish translation)

Phase 1 Conclusion

Planning staff concluded the initial phase described above in the summer of 2021. For a summary report of the first phase of the project, please refer to the link at the bottom of the page.

Staff met with the Board of County Commissioners on September 29 to begin discussing next steps. Click on the date for meeting materials outlining options to move forward.
On November 1, the Board directed staff to update the mule deer winter range inventory as Phase 2 of this project. Click on the date for meeting materials.