GSCO’s “Boots on the Ground” Initiative Kicks Off with Mt. Taylor Mule Deer Project

By Darren Tucker, Directer of Conservation

Grand Slam Club/Ovis (GSCO) has officially launched its “Boots on the Ground” conservation initiative, partnering with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) to undertake the Mt. Taylor Mule Deer Project. This effort aims to capture up to 25 mule deer and equip them with GPS collars to track movement and habitat use over the next two years.

The GPS collars will collect multiple location points per day, allowing biologists to monitor the deer remotely and use the data for landscape planning and habitat restoration efforts. Key conservation strategies include pinyon and juniper mastication to improve habitat quality, prescribed burns to rejuvenate browse plants, enhancing travel corridors and winter range, modifying fences to facilitate migration, targeted license allocations to maintain sustainable populations, and implementing mitigation strategies to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Because the project takes place within New Mexico’s largest Wildlife Management Area, biologists have more flexibility to implement management actions with fewer restrictions than on adjacent federal land.

Adapting to Challenges

Initial capture efforts using nets resulted in only two deer being collared, as unusually dry winter conditions kept mule deer at higher elevations in mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests. To adapt, biologists will shift their approach, incorporating chemical immobilization (dart guns) and aerial capture methods to improve success rates.

A New Era for GSCO Conservation

While wildlife collaring is not new, this project marks a major milestone as the first of many conservation efforts directly funded and implemented by GSCO. Moving forward, GSCO will collaborate with wildlife agencies, universities, and conservation organizations to identify and support high-impact projects that contribute meaningful advancements in wildlife conservation.

Through membership donations, GSCO has provided $70,000 for the purchase of GPS collars and helicopter costs, allowing NMDGF to expand its research into an additional area, likely the famed Gila National Forest.

Looking Ahead

GSCO’s “Boots on the Ground” conservation initiative is just getting started, with several additional projects already in the pipeline. The next major effort will focus on desert bighorn sheep in southern Nevada. This project will be carried out in partnership with Kuiu’s Conservation Direct, and further details will be announced soon.

GSCO’s “Boots on the Ground” Conservation, sustaining today…saving tomorrow.