Good report, thanks!
I would agree a lot depends upon how far deep snow moves the majority of antelope. The same can be true during drought summers with lack of water. There have been a few years when reservoirs and water sources totally dried up and moved antelope long distance. Combine that with severe winters and it's not a good situation!
For the most part there was open windswept hilltops across the landscape in the majority of the Red Desert this winter so I doubt antelope moved as far as years with deep snow in the same areas. Your guess is as good as mine how long it takes antelope to move or return to past home ranges. Some may never return?
I've noticed that with severe winter and summer drought conditions sometimes antelope stay where they end up and may not return to their more typical ranges. That same exact thing has happened in NW Colorado where drought and lack of water moved antelope totally out of historic areas. Obviously if they find food and water more desirable somewhere else...why return?
With that said, there are still miles and miles without antelope numbers like there were around 6 or 8 years ago. It is definitely a good sign that a few animals are returning! There still is plenty of potential antelope country with few critters. With decent moisture and fewer animals across the landscape it ought to help some of the browse recover for future years. Believe me, the browse in the Red Desert has been in horrible shape the past 15+ years.
On a brighter note, it's been a relatively mild winter through most of Wyoming so hopefully things green up and there are lots of fawns in the coming months!
