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migration

Field Notes


We’re working for a strong executive order to protect migration corridors — you can help

Posted on by Kristen Gunther

In late December, Gov. Mark Gordon released a draft executive order that would dictate how Wyoming designates and manages big game migration corridors. 

While the draft is an important first step and brings us closer to a long-awaited solution, it still needs revision to ensure it will include the kind of protections our migrating herds require. We’ve asked the governor to include strong, clear language protecting the most critical corridor habitat — stopover and high use corridor segments — from risky development plans, and underscore the authority of the Game and Fish Department to manage all wildlife based on science, not politics. We’ve also provided many suggestions intended to help make the implementation of the order both efficient and effective in conserving corridor habitats. 

Together with several partners, we submitted comments to the governor’s office on how the final version of the executive order could be strengthened. Other conservation groups are weighing in as well, and nearly 300 Wyomingites signed a citizen’s letter thanking Gov. Gordon for his leadership and asking for strong language protecting wildlife. 

YOUR OPINION MATTERS

There are still opportunities for you to speak up, too. The governor’s office recently announced a four-stop “listening tour” on Saturday, February 1, to discuss the executive order and answer your questions. 

  • RAWLINS | 7:30–8:30 a.m. | Carbon County Higher Ed. Center, 1650 Harshman St.
  • PINEDALE | 10–11 a.m. | Sublette BOCES, 665 N. Tyler Ave.
  • KEMMERER | 12:30–1:30 p.m. | Kemmerer Event Center, 215 Wyoming Hwy 233
  • ROCK SPRINGS | 3:15–4:15 p.m. | White Mountain Library, 2935 Sweetwater Dr.

If you get an opportunity to attend and voice your thoughts, we hope you’ll share the following:

  • Thank the governor for taking important steps to protect migration corridors. Gov. Gordon’s forthcoming executive order will mark an important step forward, and his staff and the citizens who advised him worked hard to find balance and protect critical habitat while also allowing for responsibly-sited industrial development. 
  • Express the value of big game herds and the importance of protecting their habitat. Share why you personally value your local big game herds, and what value they bring to your community. Emphasize the world-class quality of our wildlife, and the importance of conserving it for future generations. 
  • Emphasize that Wyoming people and science are in agreement: We can protect critical habitat while also developing energy resources. Gov. Gordon’s executive order will allow us to make smart decisions about where to site industrial infrastructure. By prioritizing the siting of infrastructure outside these narrow and vital corridors, we can ensure that animals can move between winter and summer range and that we protect critical habitat without diminishing the energy economy.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Research has shown us that migrating mule deer follow the same route each year, and pass on this migration knowledge from mother to fawn. Research has also shown that human development along these routes can cause disruptions, particularly at stopover points where animals pause to rest, eat, and gain strength for their long journey. Over the past three decades, we’ve seen mule deer populations decline in Wyoming by more than 30 percent, and failure to preserve the migration corridors that mule deer and other ungulates depend on as a seasonal lifeline would have lasting effects on these species. 

The future of our wildlife depends on our actions today. It’s vital that we keep working together to help establish meaningful protections for corridor habitat, because we only have one chance to get this right. That’s why we’ll keep engaging with the governor’s office until we’re satisfied the executive order offers adequate corridor protections. And we’ll fight a misguided effort in the Wyoming Legislature to undermine the entire process. 

LEGISLATIVE OVERREACH INTO WILDLIFE HABITAT 

House Bill 29, brought by the Select Federal Natural Resource Management committee, would sacrifice corridor habitat for oil and gas development, strip Game and Fish of the ability to responsibly manage big game based on science, and torpedo extensive collaborative work by stakeholders — the energy industry included.

The bill would give county commissioners, who have no authority over wildlife or the appropriate scientific expertise, the responsibility of creating migration corridor working groups. The groups would be required to consult with the Office of State Lands and Investments, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the Department of Revenue, among other agencies, but not the Game and Fish Department. The biologists and other experts who are responsible for managing our wildlife would be completely removed from the equation to create a process more friendly to oil and gas. Local working groups would even be empowered to amend the scientifically-defined boundaries of wildlife corridors!

If HB 29 is passed, not only will it undermine all the good faith work that stakeholders have invested in the governor’s executive order process, it will also virtually guarantee that no migration corridor can be designated in the future. That’s why we’ll be working hard during this year’s legislative session to defeat this toxic bill. And we need your help! 

CONCERNED ABOUT THE BILL? HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Attend one of our upcoming Beers & Bills events to learn more about this bill and other conservation legislation as we approach the Legislature’s 2020 budget session. 

Sign up for our email alerts to receive updates on this and other key conservation issues in Wyoming, and to learn how and when you can take action. 

Field Notes


Wyoming poised to safeguard big game migrations

Posted on by Kristen Gunther

DECEMBER 2019 UPDATE: We eagerly await the draft of the Governor’s executive order, and we anticipate that it will arrive this month. In the meantime, we’ve continued our advocacy to support the three officially designated mule deer migration corridors in the state (Baggs, Sublette, and Platte Valley), as well as turning our attention to the two corridors next in line for designation (the Sublette pronghorn, or “Path of the Pronghorn,” and the Wyoming Range mule deer). The coming year will hold many opportunities for Wyomingites to get involved in the management of and advocacy for migration corridors, so if you’re interested in mule deer, pronghorn, and/or elk, we’d love to hear from you!

Nobody knows the value of Wyoming’s wildlife more than the people who live here. It was Wyoming residents and leaders — across the spectrum — who initiated the West-wide stakeholder plan to protect the Greater sage-grouse, and now Wyoming is poised to do the same for big game migrations.

This summer, Governor Mark Gordon convened the Wildlife Migration Corridor Advisory Group made up of citizens who represented oil and gas, mining, agriculture, conservation, recreation and hunters, as well as a county commissioner and a Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioner. The Wyoming Outdoor Council contributed extensively to the discussion and made recommendations on behalf of the conservation community.

The Outdoor Council’s recommendations to the advisory group

Among our recommendations, which were grounded in the best-available science and sought to establish balance, we suggested that the group protect corridors through legally-binding oil and gas lease stipulations to guide development on public lands. We also supported efforts to create collaborative, voluntary approaches to conservation for landowners, investments in wildlife-friendly infrastructure, and to reaffirm the independence of the Game and Fish Department as the authority managing wildlife for the people of Wyoming.

Safeguarding our migrating herds requires stronger coordination between public and private stakeholders, among state agencies, and between the state and federal government. We echoed what the Wyoming public overwhelmingly believes: we can have responsible energy development without sacrificing our wildlife.

We echoed what the Wyoming public overwhelmingly believes: we can have responsible energy development without sacrificing our wildlife.

– WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL

The group’s consensus: a state-level solution for development

We were impressed and heartened by the depth of engagement on this committee, and appreciated a frank, ongoing discussion with the citizen stakeholders charged with creating recommendations. While ultimately the group did not choose to recommend oil and gas lease stipulations, the group’s recommendations chart a new path forward to achieve balance. After lengthy negotiations, the group recommended a state-level process that would empower Wyoming decision-makers to shape on-the-ground development, ideally allowing our state to ensure that migrating herds are not harmed by development and other forms of habitat fragmentation. 

The stakeholder consensus was not to manage habitat at the federal level, but to ask Governor Gordon to develop an Executive Order — patterned after the sage-grouse executive order — that gives Wyoming clear legal authority to site development outside of sensitive habitats. In this framework (like the sage-grouse framework), the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission would work with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to manage siting of proposed oil and gas development projects, and ensure they are placed in areas that do not impede corridor functionality or connectivity. 

The recommendation language reflects the group’s understanding of the best available migration science, and the group’s recommendations are very clear that migration corridors—especially the most sensitive portions such as stopover and high use—are vital  habitat. Therefore, the group recommended that the state should operate under the presumption that development will not occur in these particularly critical areas unless sound evidence suggests that development could be accomplished in a manner that will not harm wildlife habitat. 

Other recommendations

The group created a wealth of recommendations about many land use and management challenges distinct from oil and gas development. These include: 

  • Establishment of local working groups to provide insight, feedback, and access to local knowledge associated with identified corridors;
  • More proactive engagement from landowners;
  • A change to Wyoming law requiring commercial-electrical generation solar and wind power projects be reviewed by the Industrial Siting Council to ensure they do not impact the functionality of corridors;
  • Requests for funding for wildlife-friendly infrastructure and habitat work (e.g. invasive species); and
  • Consensus to prevent recreational infrastructure within corridor habitat.

Will this approach work?

Migration routes cross multiple types of landscapes with multiple governing authorities, and therefore cannot be conserved with a single overarching action. Rather, conservation requires ongoing collaboration and dialogue — the kind embodied by the advisory group’s negotiations. We believe the committee’s recommended approach, if executed well, puts Wyoming in the driver’s seat. That means we have the chance to achieve the real balance that Wyomingites overwhelmingly wish to see: protection of migratory herds and vital habitat alongside responsibly-conceived and sited development projects. The future of our big game herds — and our outdoor heritage —  relies on getting this right.

And we think that Wyoming is well-positioned to get this right. But not everyone is on board with the group’s recommendations for a path forward.

Migration legislation: an end-run around citizen consensus?

One legislative committee, prompted by industry interests who are dissatisfied with what the citizen stakeholder group recommended, is currently considering a bill that would hamper science-based wildlife migration corridor management. This committee’s approach seeks to remove the Game and Fish Department’s authority to identify corridors, and could open the door to higher levels of development within corridors, contrary to what the stakeholder group recommended. 

The Outdoor Council is  tracking these efforts and working with partners to oppose this approach. We support the Governor’s citizen advisory group and their recommendation for a sensible, balanced, and science-based approach. In the coming weeks, we will share further information about how to engage with this committee to oppose this bill, which will be considered in late October. 

Finally, it’s important to remember that the solution that the Governor’s group recommended to address oil and gas impacts is implemented at the development stage, after a lease has been sold and a proponent wishes to drill. We think that’s a workable solution to manage habitat, and an executive order should give the state more leverage to ensure that federal management actions will dovetail with our state-level plan. In this time of widespread leasing, however, we will also continue to work at the federal level to fight back against leasing in these habitats in the first place. As Wyomingites, we know that some things simply aren’t for sale. 

If we wish to secure a future that conserves large, intact landscapes and robust migratory big game herds, Wyoming must ensure that development happens on our terms. We believe that it’s not only possible to create a balance between conservation needs and energy development, but that it’s critical. The implementation of this advisory group’s recommendations will be a l turning point, and a key step in defining our state’s future. Once we lose migration corridors, that’s it — they’re gone. We must get this right. 

Stay tuned for more information about opportunities to support conservation of corridors.

Field Notes


We’re on the move to support our migratory mule deer

Posted on by Kristen Gunther

Migration is hard work for Wyoming’s mule deer, especially for the thousands that move 150 miles each way between their winter range in the Red Desert and their summer range in the slopes of the Hoback. Muleys have to contend with weather, disease, predators, fencelines, and human traffic across an increasingly fragmented landscape. One thing they don’t need more of? Challenges that pose a life-or-death threat by closing off or destroying critical habitat — especially when mule deer populations statewide have declined by more than 30 percent in recent decades.

That’s why the staff of the Wyoming Outdoor Council has been on the move this spring and summer, too, working to support these selective critters by advocating good wildlife policy that defends their future. 

SURFING THE GREEN WAVE INTO SUMMER

During late spring and early summer, we joined friends in Lander, Rock Springs, Laramie, and Casper to “Surf the Green Wave” into summer. We were thrilled to see so many of you at these events! Together, we explored the latest science, chatted policy and land management challenges faced by our deer, and talked about how you can take action to support Wyoming’s muley herds (which you did!). We also replicated a mule deer migration by “pub crawling” to various “stopovers” — those places along migration routes harboring the highest quality green “groceries” — and celebrated with our version of high-quality summer forage: a special beer brewed by our friends at Square State Brewing in Rock Springs! 

Thanks to the many, many volunteers, hosts, donors, and members who made these events possible, including Pedal House in Laramie and Backwards Distilling in Casper.

ADVOCACY UPDATE: GOV. GORDON’S MIGRATION ADVISORY GROUP

Your commitment to learn about and take action for mule deer has been essential as we’ve engaged with Gov. Gordon’s Wildlife Migration Advisory Group, which began meeting at the end of June. This eight-person citizen group, comprised of Wyomingites from a range of backgrounds, has been hard at work this summer. The group is considering scientific, conservation, policy, and economic data as it crafts a recommendation for the governor about how Wyoming should manage migration corridors. 

The Outdoor Council had the opportunity to present to the group on July 8 on behalf of the conservation community, and we worked diligently to represent the hopes and concerns you’ve shared with us about the state’s mule deer. I was honored to be able to talk about our conservation priorities for migration corridors and our recommendations for protecting migrating big game — especially mule deer. The committee’s conversations afterward were thoughtful, and I came away encouraged about the prospect of a strong, Wyoming-based solution for our migratory big game.

TAKING ACTION TO SUPPORT OUR MULE DEER

The committee’s final meeting will be held in Pinedale on August 12 and 13. If you are able to attend, we would love to see you there. Watch your inbox for information about the meeting and how to participate. 

Also, the state offered several oil and gas leases in migration corridors this month — including some in critical stopover habitat. We’d like to ask that these leases be canceled until stronger rules — already in development through the Governor’s task force — are in place to make sure that mule deer corridors aren’t harmed. Join us in asking the State Board of Land Commissioners (a group which includes Gov. Gordon) not to approve the sale of seven leases in corridor and stopover habitat.

Speak Up For Mule Deer

FINALLY: Do you want to get your hands dirty and help support the world’s longest mule deer migration?

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Rock Springs Bureau of Land Management are organizing a habitat improvement project on Saturday, August 10. Volunteers are needed to help replace fence. It’s a big job with some heavy lifting involved, and will help migrating mule deer access a key stopover in the Red Desert to Hoback corridor. If you’re interested in joining WOC staff to volunteer, please email me: kristen@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org. We’ll provide a WOC t-shirt or hat to anyone who volunteers, and will help arrange carpools to Farson! More details about the volunteer day can be found at this link. 

Thank you for being a passionate advocate for Wyoming’s mule deer and other big game! Your voice is making a difference as we strive to negotiate a permanent conservation solution for our iconic migratory herds.

Field Notes


Help protect North America’s longest mule deer migration corridor

Posted on by Dan Heilig

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We urgently need your help to protect the world’s longest mule deer migration corridor, which is found right here in Wyoming.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is set to auction several mineral lease parcels inside the corridor for oil and gas drilling, first in September and again in December. If these parcels are not deferred from leasing, they will be sold to the highest bidder, setting the stage for drilling inside this critical and sensitive corridor. The migration corridor is a lifeline for mule deer and provides important habitat for dozens of other iconic Wyoming species. 

The most powerful action you can take is to join us, first, to thank Gov. Matt Mead for his initial steps to protect the 150-mile Red Desert to Hoback migration route. Then you can ask him to stand strong by opposing the proposed sale of federal and state oil and gas lease parcels in this critical habitat.

In addition to writing to Gov. Mead, you can also email the Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioners. Please encourage them to continue to defend this corridor — and all migration corridors in Wyoming — as vital habitat that warrants the highest levels of protection.

Lisa McGee, our executive director, recently thanked the governor for his support of the corridor and asked him to take additional steps to protect it from oil and gas leasing. You can read her letter here.

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THIS MIGRATION CORRIDOR NEEDS YOUR HELP

Ongoing research has revealed that mule deer traverse a particular route each year, moving north from low-lying wintering grounds in the Red Desert to the higher elevations of Hoback Basin in the summer, then back again in the fall. It’s the longest annual migration by a land animal in the Lower 48. The migration corridor includes critical stop-over habitats, where the ungulates “recharge” in quiet and nutritious habitats before continuing on across a patchwork of public and private lands.

These stunning discoveries demonstrate an ancient lifeline that still exists today, not only for big game animals in western Wyoming, but for dozens of other species, as well. In turn, these species, and the habitats they depend on, are central to Wyoming’s outdoor heritage and our growing economy.

Learn about wildlife migrations in Wyoming here.

Data collected and analyzed by Wyoming biologists also demonstrate the fragile nature of this corridor system. Mule deer typically avoid human disturbance; too much human activity can cause the deer to rush through valuable stop-over areas, leaving them in poor condition for winter or the fawning season. Both scenarios threaten their survival.

POLICY YOU CAN INFLUENCE

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a secretarial order to “enhance and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on Federal lands.” He deservedly earned accolades from a broad cross-section of western sportsmen and Wyomingites who asked for this protection.

Yet the BLM, one of the agencies Secretary Zinke oversees, now appears intent on undermining the order by offering to sell oil and gas lease parcels in the Red Desert to Hoback corridor in September and December. This makes no sense.

Western governors can influence the BLM when proposals to drill in critical wildlife habitat go too far or stray from Western values.

That’s why we’re asking you to join us in giving Gov. Mead all the support he needs to stand up against this federal top-down action from the U.S. Department of Interior.

THE UNTOLD STORY

Protecting the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor from leasing and subsequent development will not harm the oil and gas industry.

Today this industry has 5,881 authorized permits to drill in Wyoming, and 9,000 pending applications for permits to drill here. The BLM is scheduled to greenlight more than 20,000 more wells throughout the state in the next 10 years. The few dozen federal oil and gas lease parcels scheduled for sale in the migration corridor are unnecessary to Wyoming’s robust oil and gas economy. If sold, the development of these parcels threaten to permanently sever this migration lifeline for wildlife — along with a massive sector of Wyoming’s hunting and outdoor recreation economy.

Please contact Gov. Mead and let him know you appreciate his support for the world’s longest mule deer migration. Then ask him to oppose the BLM’s upcoming lease sales in the corridor.

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Field Notes


Sec. Zinke can’t protect critical wildlife pathways while drilling inside them

Posted on by Dustin Bleizeffer

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In a recent letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, we are asking him to make good on his promise to implement his own executive order to protect wildlife migration habitat by deferring oil and gas lease parcels inside a critical big game migration corridor.

A Wyoming Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sale scheduled for December 2018 includes several parcels in the Red Desert to Hoback big game migration corridor — the longest known mule deer migration corridor in North America. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department considers the corridor “one of the most critical mule deer migration routes in the West,” and “internationally-significant.”

Leasing inside this critical migration pathway runs counter to the very stated purposes of Secretary Zinke’s Executive Order #3362, signed February 9, 2018, which are “to enhance and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on Federal lands . . . ”

“We applaud Secretary Zinke’s focus on protecting migration corridors,”Outdoor Council Executive Director Lisa McGee said. “To ensure his executive order serves its purpose, at a minimum, oil and gas leases should not be offered within Wyoming’s Red Desert to Hoback corridor. Making sure habitat remains intact is critical.”

We join dozens of sportsmen groups in supporting Secretary Zinke’s executive order to protect migration corridors because it recognizes that “robust and sustainable elk, deer and pronghorn populations contribute greatly to the economy and well-being of communities across the West.”

In our letter to Secretary Zinke, McGee stated, “This is especially true in Wyoming where our residents know that migrations support life for thousands of animals. Without these intact pathways, our herds would be substantially smaller; corridors such as the Red Desert to Hoback allow deer to take advantage of seasonal forage and move away from areas with harsh winters.”

We earlier shared a letter with BLM Director Mary Jo Rugwell, outlining the science and protections that are needed as a minimum to protect these corridors.

McGee added, “The public land acres contained in these proposed lease parcels are small in scale compared to all the other potential BLM lands open for leasing in Wyoming; but they are large in importance for the health of this herd, and for Wyoming’s cultural and economic heritage.”

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