Hey All,
I am headed out tomorrow for a final scouting trip for blacktail bucks out in B3 section on Mendocino NF. It has been pretty hot around here with the many recent heat waves (3 in the past month, and Record heat this past weekend), so I'm a bit worried about the area we have been scouting, which contains a small creek running at the base of the main drainage.
This valley I have been scouting contains a rugged peak with a main drainage at the base of the mountain, which contains many finger ridges and smaller valleys branching out from the main creek. This area is very dry, but there is a lot of tree cover in the valleys and along north facing slopes of mixed pine and acorn bearing oaks among old burns from the 2018 fires (which seem to be growing back well). That means this area generally marks the boxes for food, water, shelter.
What are your experiences with blacktail and how far they will generally bed from water, and how long or far they tend to relocate if water becomes more scarce? I'm worried that if this creek slows down to a tiny trickle, it would reduce the water quality enough that they would venture off to find other sources of water and other locations to bed, leading to a population shift in this ideal place I've been scouting for most of the summer.
I am headed out tomorrow for a final scouting trip for blacktail bucks out in B3 section on Mendocino NF. It has been pretty hot around here with the many recent heat waves (3 in the past month, and Record heat this past weekend), so I'm a bit worried about the area we have been scouting, which contains a small creek running at the base of the main drainage.
This valley I have been scouting contains a rugged peak with a main drainage at the base of the mountain, which contains many finger ridges and smaller valleys branching out from the main creek. This area is very dry, but there is a lot of tree cover in the valleys and along north facing slopes of mixed pine and acorn bearing oaks among old burns from the 2018 fires (which seem to be growing back well). That means this area generally marks the boxes for food, water, shelter.
What are your experiences with blacktail and how far they will generally bed from water, and how long or far they tend to relocate if water becomes more scarce? I'm worried that if this creek slows down to a tiny trickle, it would reduce the water quality enough that they would venture off to find other sources of water and other locations to bed, leading to a population shift in this ideal place I've been scouting for most of the summer.