Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Try the next-generation Data Catalog at catalog-beta.data.gov and help shape it with your feedback.

California Mule Deer Manache Routes

Metadata Updated: January 21, 2026

The Manache mule deer herd contains both California mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus californicus) and Inyo mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus inyoensis). The herd predominantly covers the east slopes and crest of the Sierra Nevada. Elevation stretches from 3,200 ft on the Owens Valley winter range, to above 11,000 ft on the summer ranges in Sequoia National Park. The Manache herd migrates from winter ranges just west of U.S. Route 395 on the steep slopes and valleys of the Sierra Nevada near Dunmovin and Haiwee east to some of the highest elevations in the continental United States in Inyo and Sequoia National Forests. Deer numbers were very low by 1900, attributed largely to extreme overgrazing by domestic sheep and cattle, and the subsequent denuding of much of the herd’s summer range. Under the U.S. Forest Service’s jurisdiction, livestock allotments decreased and timber harvest improved range conditions with a resulting increase in deer numbers. Herd size peaked at approximately 7,000 animals in 1950. Following that peak, plant succession, more efficient fire suppression, and livestock competition contributed to a decline in herd size. The 1970s witnessed a reversal of this decline, with a dramatic increase to nearly 7,000 deer, but the current population size is unknown. These mapping layers show the location of the migration routes for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Manache population in California. They were developed from 97 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 39 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_63650be4d34ebe442507ce89
Data Last Modified 2023-10-04T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20260121062710
Harvest Object Id 4595be27-2f41-4d64-95a6-5bd5d18dafe0
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -118.5965, 35.9623, -118.5965, 36.4530, -117.9668, 36.4530, -117.9668, 35.9623, -118.5965, 35.9623}
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 813f17b8f07f4eaf3c32d24c550c165a134e287ecf2d6d0c10220317defa6b3b
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -118.5965, 35.9623, -118.5965, 36.4530, -117.9668, 36.4530, -117.9668, 35.9623, -118.5965, 35.9623}

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.