Deer Populations of the Puget Sound

1Two species of deer have been prevalent in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific
Northwest of the United States. The black-tailed deer, a lowland, west-side cousin of the mule deer of eastern
Washington, is now the most common. The other species, the Columbian white-tailed deer, in earlier times
was common in the open prairie country; it is now restricted to the low, marshy islands and flood plains along
the lower Columbia River.

2Nearly any kind of plant of the forest understory can be part of a deer's diet. Where the forest inhibits the
growth of grass and other meadow plants, the black-tailed deer browses on huckleberry, salal, dogwood, and
almost any other shrub or herb. But this is fair-weather feeding. What keeps the black-tailed deer alive in the
harsher seasons of plant decay and dormancy? One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in urge to
migrate. Deer may move from high-elevation browse areas in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall.
Even with snow on the ground, the high bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind bring down leafy
branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and other arboreal fodder.

3The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into Puget Sound country. The
early explorers and settlers told of abundant deer in the early 1800s and yet almost in the same breath
bemoaned the lack of this succulent game animal. Famous explorers of the north American frontier, Lewis
and Clark arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River on November 14, 1805, in nearly starved
circumstances. They had experienced great difficulty finding game west of the Rockies and not until the
second of December did they kill their first elk. To keep 40 people alive that winter, they consumed
approximately 150 elk and 20 deer. And when game moved out of the lowlands in early spring, the expedition
decided to return east rather than face possible starvation. Later on in the early years of the nineteenth
century, when Fort Vancouver became the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, deer populations
continued to fluctuate. David Douglas, Scottish botanical explorer of the 1830s, found a disturbing change in
the animal life around the fort during the period between his first visit in 1825 and his final contact with the
fort in 1832. A recent Douglas biographer states:" The deer which once picturesquely dotted the meadows
around the fort were gone [in 1832], hunted to extermination in order to protect the crops."

4Reduction in numbers of game should have boded ill for their survival in later times. A worsening of the
plight of deer was to be expected as settlers encroached on the land, logging, burning, and clearing, eventually
replacing a wilderness landscape with roads, cities, towns, and factories. No doubt the numbers of deer
declined still further. Recall the fate of the Columbian white-tailed deer, now in a protected status. But for
the black-tailed deer, human pressure has had just the opposite effect. Wildlife zoologist Helmut Buechner
(1953), in reviewing the nature of biotic changes in Washington through recorded time, says that "since the
early 1940s, the state has had more deer than at any other time in its history, the winter population fluctuating
around approximately 320,000 deer (mule and black-tailed deer), which will yield about 65,000 of either sex
and any age annually for an indefinite period."

5The causes of this population rebound are consequences of other human actions. First, the major predators
of deer: wolves, cougar, and lynx-have been greatly reduced in numbers. Second, conservation has been
insured by limiting times for and types of hunting. But the most profound reason for the restoration of high
population numbers has been the fate of the forests. Great tracts of lowland country deforested by logging,
fire, or both have become ideal feeding grounds of deer. In addition to finding an increase of suitable
browse, like huckleberry and vine maple, Arthur Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific
Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to be substantially more nutritive. The protein
content of shade-grown vegetation, for example, was much lower than that for plants grown in clearings.
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1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the white-tailed deer of Puget Sound?
(A) It is native to lowlands and marshes.
(B) It is more closely related to the mule deer of eastern Washington than to other types of deer.
(C) It has replaced the black-tailed deer in the open prairie.
(D) It no longer lives in a particular type of habitat that it once occupied.
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2. It can be inferred from the discussion in paragraph 2 that winter conditions…
(A) cause some deer to hibernate
(B) make food unavailable in the highlands for deer
(C) make it easier for deer to locate understory plants
(D)prevent deer from migrating during the winter
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3. In paragraph 2 the term "inhibits" is nearest in meaning to:
(A) consists of (B) combines (C) restricts (D) establishes
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4. The phrase "in the same breath" in paragraph 3 more than likely means?
(A) impatiently (B) humorously (C) continuously (D) immediately
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5. The author tells the story of the explorers Lewis and Clark in paragraph 3 to illustrate what point?
(A) The number of deer within the Puget Sound region has varied over time.
(B) Most of the explorers who came to the Puget Sound area were primarily interested in hunting game.
(C) There was more game for hunting in the East of the United States than in the West.
(D) Individual explorers were not as successful at locating games as were the trading companies.
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6. Paragraph 3: How had Fort Vancouver changed at the time of David Douglas return in 1832?
(A) The fort had become the headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company.
(B) Deer had begun populating the meadows around the fort.
(C) Deer populations near the fort had been destroyed.
(D) Crop yields in the area around the fort had decreased.
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7. In paragraph 4, why does the author ask readers to recall "the fate of the Columbian white-tailed
deer" in the discussion of changes in the wilderness landscape?
(A) To provide support for the idea that habitat destruction would lead to population decline.
(B) To compare how two species of deer caused biotic changes in the wilderness environment.
(C) To provide an example of a species of deer that has successfully adapted to human settlement.
(D) To argue that some deer species must be given a protected status.
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8. The phrase "indefinite period" from paragraph 4 is nearest in meaning to a period:
(A) whose end has not been determined
(B) that does not begin when expected
(C) that lasts only briefly
(D) whose importance remains unknown
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9. Which statement about deer populations is supported by the information in paragraph 4?
(A) Deer populations reached their highest point during the 1940s and then began to decline.
(B) Activities of settlers contributed in unexpected ways to growth of some deer populations in later times.
(C) Clearing of land for construction caused changes from which black-tailed deer have never recovered.
(D) Since the 1940s the winter populations of deer have fluctuated more than the summer populations have.
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10. From paragraph 5, "rebound" most closely could be defined as:
(A) decline (B) recovery (C) exchange (D) removing
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11. Which best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 5?
In addition to finding an increase of suitable browse, like huckleberry and vine maple, Arthur
Einarsen, longtime game biologist in the Pacific Northwest, found quality of browse in the open areas to
be substantially more nutritive
(A) Arthur Einarsen's longtime family with the Pacific Northwest helped him discover areas where deer had
an increase in suitable browse.
(B) Arthur Einarsen found that deforested feeding grounds provided deer with more and better food.
(C) Biologists also believe it’s important to find additional open areas with suitable browse for deer to inhabit.
(D) According to Einarsen, huckleberry and vine maple are examples of vegetation that may someday
improve the nutrition of deer in the open areas of the Pacific Northwest.
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12. Which is NOT mentioned in paragraph 5 as a factor that has increased deer populations?
(A) A reduction in the number of predators
(B) Restrictions on hunting
(C) The effects of logging and fire
(D) Laws that protected feeding grounds of deer
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13. Of [ABCD] Which is the best fit for the sentence below to be added to paragraph 2 and 3?

There food is available and accessible throughout the winter.

One compensation for not hibernating is the built-in urge to migrate. [A] Deer may move from high-elevation
browse areas in summer down to the lowland areas in late fall. [B] Even with snow on the ground, the high
bushy understory is exposed; also snow and wind bring down leafy branches of cedar, hemlock, red alder, and
other arboreal fodder. [C]The numbers of deer have fluctuated markedly since the entry of Europeans into
Puget Sound country. [D]
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14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a summary of the passage is below. Select THREE
answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Deer in the Puget Sound area eat a wide variety of foods and migrate seasonally to find food.

(A) The balance of deer species in the Puget Sound region has changed over time, with the Columbian white-
tailed deer now outnumbering other types of deer.
(B) Deer populations naturally fluctuate, but early settlers in the Puget Sound environment caused an overall
decline in the deer populations of the areas at that time.
(C) Although it was believed that human settlement of the American West would cause the total number of
deer to decrease permanently, the opposite has occurred for certain types of deer.
(D) In the long term, black-tailed deer in the Puget Sound area have benefitted from human activities through
the elimination of their natural predators, and more and better food in deforested areas.
(E) Because Puget Sound deer migrate, it was and still remains difficult to determine accurately how many
deer are living at any one time in the western United States.
(F) Wildlife biologists have long been concerned that loss of forests create nutritional deficiencies for deer.
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ANSWERS:
1.D 2.C 3.C 4.D 5.A 6.C 7.A 8.A 9.B 10.B 11.B 12.D 13.B 14.BCE