A Million Bucks

What is A Million Bucks? Million Bucks, originally conceived in 1989, is a partnership program that emphasizes management of National Forests and Grasslands to benefit deer and people’s enjoyment of deer. The basis of this program is the collaboration between the Forest Service and several partners, including the Mule Deer Foundation, Whitetails Unlimited, state agencies and other conservation groups towards conserving and restoring deer habitats to support healthy deer populations as well as recreational opportunities for the public. Photograph by Dave Herr

Why is the Forest Service interested in A Million Bucks?

Millions of acres of deer habitat fall on National Forest System lands across North America. Although management of deer populations is the responsibility of the state fish and game agencies, the Forest Service contributes to deer conservation by managing the habitats upon which these deer depend. This contribution, primarily in the form of habitat restoration and conservation education, is significant due to the economic, recreational (e.g., hunting and viewing), and ecological roles deer play in our society and in environmental communities.

News

Tangible results from partnership with Mule Deer Foundation and other partners. The deer is near a pinion-juniper thinning and wildlife water development on the Lincoln National Forest that was funded by several partners.

How Can You Help?

You can help by supporting management of habitats for deer and other wildlife that depend upon the National Forests and Grasslands. This can be done by providing funds to our partners supporting projects and programs that will directly benefit deer and their habitats, volunteering time on such projects, and expressing support for these activities and efforts in your community and more broadly.

MOUs/MOAs

• MOU/MOA main page
  
  
• Mule Deer Foundation (MOU) PDF 471 KB
  
  
• Quality Deer Management (MOU) PDF 129 KB

General Biology and Species Information

Two species of deer, native to North America, live on National Forests and Grasslands: mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Within each species, there are regional variants that exhibit sufficient variability to warrant subspecies designation. These relatives include the Pacific coastal (or Columbian) blacktail (O. h. columbianus) and Sitka blacktail of Alaska (O. h. sitkensis) for mule deer and the southwestern Coues deer (O .v. covesi) and Florida Key deer (O. v. clavium) for whitetail deer. Read the book The Deer of North America or visit Whitetail.com for more information on the different deer species.

Deer Management Mule deer news and information network North American Mule Deer Conservation Plan Ecoregional Habitat Guidelines Colorado Plateau Shrubland and Forest (PDF 6.01 MB) California Woodland and Chaparral (PDF 4.51 MB) Southwest Deserts (PDF 6.82 MB) WAFWA Mule Deer Working Group Publications Research Northern Yellowstone mule deer ecology and demographics The Starkey Project Demographics and physiology of Columbian black-tailed deer in Olympic National Park Mule Deer Mapping Project Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Key Deer research project

Photograph by Kreig Rasmussen

Interest Groups

The Mule Deer Foundation

MDF Project Proposal Process

Whitetails Unlimited

Colorado Mule Deer Association

National Whitetail Deer Federation

Quality Deer Management Association

A Million Bucks Coordinator for the Forest Service

George C. Garcia - Acting Coordinator USDA-Forest Service Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest/Spanish Fork Ranger District 44 West 400 North Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Phone: 801-342-5261

Photograph by Kreig Rasmussen