Title: Lesson of the Kaibab

Purpose:

• to graph data on the Kaibab deer populatio of Arizona from 1905~1939
• to analyze the methods responsible for the changes in the deer population
• to propose a management plan for the Kaibab deer population

Background:

The environment may be alterd by forces within the biotic community as well as by relationships between organisms and the physical (abiotic) environment. The carrying capacity of an ecosysten is the maximum number of organisms that an area can support on a sustained or continuing basis. The population density (number of individuals per unit area) may produce such profound changes in the environment that the environment becomes unsuitable for the continued survival of that species. Humans can also interfer with natural interactions of species with their environments with either positive, negative, or neutral effects. This activity will show how these interactions affect a population of deer in Arizona.

In 1905, the deer population on the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona was estimated to be aboaut 4,000 on 300,000 hectares of range. The average carrying capacity of the range was estimated to be about 30,000 deer. On November 28, 1906, President Theodor Roosevelt created the Grad Canyon National Game Preserve to protect what he called the "finest deer herd in America."

Unfortunately, but this time, the Kaibab forest area was severly overgrazed by sheep, catttle, and horses. Most of the tall, perennial grasses had been eliminated in the area. The first step in protecting the deer was to ban all hunting in the area. Then, in 1907, the Forest Service tried to exterminate the natural predators of the deer, killing approximately 800 mountain lions, 20 wolves, 7400 coyotes, and 500 bobcats betweek 1907 anbd 1939.

Signs that the deer population was out of control began to appear as early as 1920. The most important sign was severe and rapid deterioration of range grass and abundance and quality. The forest service then reduced the number of livestock grazing permits to allow more grass for the deer. By 1923, however, the deer were reported to be near starvation and the range conditions were described as "deplorable."

A Kaibab Deer Investigation Committee recommended that all livestock not owned by local residents be immediately removed from the range and that the number of deer in the herd be reduced by 50 percent (culling) as quickly as possible. Deer hunting was reopened and during the fall of 1924, about 675 deer were killed. These deer represented only 10 percent of the number that had been born that spring!

Today, the Arizona Game Commission carefully manages the Kaibab area with regulations geared to specific local needs. Hunting permits are issued and predators are protected to keep the deer in balance with their range so that the herd size does not exceed the carrying capacity.

Materials:

• graph paper
• colored pencils
• population data

Procedure:

• Prepare a graph of dear population size (y-axis) vs. year (x-axis) using the data chart (below)
• Draw a horizontal line representing the carrying capacity
• Answer the analysis questions

Data:

Results: This will be your graph!

Analysis & Discussion: Answer the following questions

• During 1906 and 1907, which 2 methods did the Forest Service use to protect the Kaibab Deer
• Were these methods successful? Explain using data from the graph
• How many total predators were eliminated from the preserve between 1907 and 1939?
• What was the relationship of the deer herd population size and the carrying capacity of the range in
  • 1915
  • 1920
  • 1924
• Explain using NUMBERS from the data chart or graph
• Did the Forest Service program appear to be successfur between 1905 and 1924. Explain using data from the graph
• Why do you suppose the population of deer declined in 1925 despited the elimination of predators?
• Do you think any changes occurred in the carrying capacity of th range between 1900 and 1940. Describe what you think occurred.
• Why do you think the deer population size was 4000 in 1900 when the carrying capacity was actually 30,000 deer?
• If the Forest Service had not interferred (in its well-meaning way) with the deer population, what do you think would have happened to the deer population?
• List major lessons learned from the Kaibab deer experience
• Based on these lessons, suggest what YOU would have done in the following years to manage to deer herds:
  • 1915
  • 1923
  • 1939
• What future management plans would you suggest for the Kaibab deer herd?

Conclusion: A one sentence testable statement that follows from your results or analysis

Reflection: Personal thoughts on this activity

back to top

• Kaibab National Forest
• Black-Tailed Deer of the Kaibab
• Deer of the Kaibab
• Description of the Kaibab Forest
• Arizona Game and Fish:Deer
• Mule Deer in Arizona
• Effects of Wildlife Grazing
• Mule Deer Biology and Management
• Black-tailed Deer in Olympic National Park
• Mule Deer Information
• Mule Deer Photograph
• Mule Deer in the Morning
• More Mule Deer Photographs
• Even More Mule Deer Photographs
• Mule Deer Project (volunteer opportunity!)
• Draft Mule Deer Management Plan
• Deer Farming in Canada
• Status of Deer Farming in Canada
• List of Mule Deer Links
• Mule Deer Ecology Project

Background on the Kaibab Plateau:

John Wesley Powell, the famous explorer of the Colorado River, was the first in written record to apply the term "Kaibab" to the plateau. "Kaibab" is a Paiute Indian word meaning "mountain lying down." Most of the Kaibab Plateau was withdrawn from the public domain in 1893 as part of the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve. This area included lands on both sides of the Grand Canyon and essentially all of the North Kaibab. In 1908, the Forest Reserve north of the Grand Canyon, including the Game Preserve, was renamed the Kaibab National Forest. In 1919, Grand Canyon National Park was created from the Forest Service lands surrounding the Grand Canyon. In 1934, the Tusayan National Forest south of the Grand Canyon was consolidated into the Kaibab National Forest, forming the present Forest boundaries. The Forest area north of the Canyon became the North Kaibab Ranger District. The Kaibab Plateau is an "island" of forested lands surrounded by the sage and grasslands of lower elevations. The plateau, with elevations up to 9000 feet, is bordered on the south by the Grand Canyon; on the east and west by tributary canyons of the Colorado River and on the north by plains that are dissected by tiers of uplifted cliffs.