Deer Make Comeback

Wildlife conservation

Columbian white-tailed deer, once thought to be extinct, have come back in such strong numbers, state and federal officials are considering removing them from endangered species lists.

“We have a success story on our hands,” said David Klinger, assistant regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland.

In the 1930s, wildlife managers believed the deer were all gone.

Remnant populations, however, later were discovered along the lower Columbia River. They were labeled rare and endangered by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967, and were included on the first federal Endangered Species Act.

Oregon declared the deer to be endangered in 1975.

Today, between 2,000 and 3,000 deer live near Roseburg, Ore. Another 750 range over the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge northwest of Cathlamet, Wash., which was created in 1972 to help protect the deer.

Decision to remove the deer from state and federal endangered lists could come later this year.