DESERT MULE DEER USE OF ALTERED VEGETATION ALONG THE HAYDEN-RHODES AQUEDUCT, ARIZONA

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) delivers Colorado River Water to Pho enix and Tucson, Arizona, via a series of canals. This canal system ha s disrupted the natural flow of water in washes that run north to sout h. We examined vegetation on the north and south sides of the CAP to d etermine vegetation changes resulting from the construction of the can al. We sampled washes with line intercept transects on the north and s outh side of the CAP and compared them to the surrounding desert. We e stimated deer activity in these areas from track plots, aerial surveys , and locations of radio-collared deer. Vegetation composition, cover, and the width of washes and associated riparian areas were higher (P < 0.05) on the north side of the CAP than on the south side. Deer use of the washes was infrequent but increased during hot dry periods.