Grant County biologists notice impacts to deer health due to wildfire
By Logan Bagett on Thursday, April 10th, 2025 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – ODFW John Day District Assistant Wildlife Biologist Ryan Platte was recently in KJDY studios discussing 2025 big game numbers. Platte said the mule deer are “looking pretty rough” due to last year’s fire season, and we may begin to see a local decline in population numbers:
“The elk are looking about normal. The deer are actually in pretty poor shape… They came into winter in pretty poor shape as well due to the fires, and, also, about four-and-a-half weeks of hundred degree heat we had baked out the feed.”
Over 315,000 acres of land within Grant County burned during the 2024 fire season. Platte also reminded the public that the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area closure has been extended until May 1st.
Listen to the full podcast below:
