IMAGINE THIS: It’s spring in Wyoming’s Red Desert, and daybreak unfolds around you. As the sun crests the horizon and illuminates mile upon mile of open sagebrush country, the songbirds’ dawn chorus reaches its crescendo. Sage thrashers and Brewer’s sparrows sing their hearts out. At intervals, the resonant “wups” of displaying Greater sage-grouse join in. Far in the distance, bands of mule deer amble along a well-worn game trail, browsing their way towards summer pasture as the snows recede. A pair of ferruginous hawks wheel overhead in the brightening sky.
It’s a scene that has played out largely unchanged for millenia. Whether today, 100 years ago, or 10,000 years ago, people have experienced the vastness and natural bounty of the Red Desert. These days, as wildlife and the lands they rely on are increasingly whittled into the margins, fewer and fewer places on Earth can offer the same. The Red Desert’s immense territory of sagebrush is a precious thing, supporting groups of species you can’t find many places in North America anymore. It is worth our time and toil to keep it whole and healthy for those who come after us.
Thankfully, we have a brief opportunity to make a big impact. With the revision of the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan by the Bureau of Land Management, the managers who oversee land use in the Red Desert are reassessing everything. The agency will carefully weigh public comments as it decides how best to manage these lands for decades to come. If we want to uphold the Red Desert’s extraordinary wildlife legacy, now is the time to speak up in favor of management directives that will help conserve the area’s exceptional natural resources.
Image: Ken Driese
The BLM is choosing between management actions that will make a real difference to the wildlife that depend on these lands for their survival. Whether you want to see the world’s longest mule deer migration persist, provide desert elk with safe birthing grounds, ensure better nest success for hawks and eagles, or see the most densely populated Greater sage-grouse habitat on the planet protected, your input during this process is critical. With foresight and careful management, generations of people and animals yet to come will be able to experience the Red Desert much the same as those who came before. The opportunity to make that careful, balanced management a reality is here — and it is up to us to speak to the values we hold dear on this landscape.
On December 11, the Platte Valley mule deer migration corridor working group met for the first time. The seven people appointed to the group — representing agriculture, industry, conservation and recreation — are the first corridor working group established under Gov. Mark Gordon’s migration corridor executive order. Unfortunately, the initial meeting indicated that this group will likely consider removing the Platte Valley migration corridor designation, and weakening protections for this important herd. We’ll be blunt: the governor’s office appears to be prepared to yield ground to a small, loud group of voices that oppose the designation of migration corridors. But we know that many more of you value our big game and support common sense, locally-driven conservation protections.
If the Platte Valley is a special place to you, or if you know the iconic Platte Valley mule deer herd well, we encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible. As the inaugural working group created under the governor’s order, Platte Valley will set an example for how other corridor working groups will operate in the future. And it’s important that this working group hear that the public supports science-based wildlife management that will help sustain our herds — and local wildlife economies — long into the future.
Mark your calendars for our next Conservation Cafeteria on Wednesday, January 6 — we’ll discuss the Platte Valley working group and all things migration. And if you are passionate about Platte Valley deer, please reach out to Kristen Gunther at kristen@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org.
HOBACK RV PARK RESIDENTS AT RISK
Early this month the owner of Hoback RV Park informed tenants that they can stay on site through the winter, but their water and septic connections will be cut off after December 31. Residents will have the option to hire a private company to provide septic service to their trailers. This is a slight improvement — longtime residents previously faced eviction at the end of the year — but not a workable solution for all.
The owner, Crowley Capital, faces a number of serious violations of state and county regulations stemming from an inspection of the Teton County property that was requested by the Wyoming Outdoor Council, including liquid sewage seeping up from a failed septic system, disposal of concentrated nitrate waste into an unpermitted sump on the property, discharges exceeding permitted capacity limits, and water treatment equipment that was installed without a permit.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the Teton County Commission have the authority to potentially fine the owners hundreds of thousands of dollars for the violations, some of which may date back 20 years and which left residents living in an unsanitary environment. The responsible parties, not their vulnerable tenants, should face the consequences, and the Outdoor Council has encouraged the regulatory agencies to work with the owners on a solution that is considerate of residents’ needs.
If you want to chip in, you can help support residents of the park with a donation through their GoFundMe page. The funds will help tenants pay for alternative septic services or the cost of moving their trailers.
RENEWABLES SITING GROUP BEGINS WORK
The Outdoor Council is taking part in the Wyoming Renewable Energy Siting Collaborative, an effort organized by the University of Wyoming to study issues related to utility-scale wind and solar energy development. Members of the group represent a wide range of interests and will be working together on policy recommendations that would minimize conflicts with wildlife, viewsheds, and other resources.
With sunny skies, plenty of wind, and a skilled workforce, Wyoming has great potential for renewable energy. But like all types of energy development, renewables projects can have unintended consequences if not sited in appropriate locations. A proactive approach to siting will help ensure future development is done right.
This winter, Gov. Mark Gordon signed an executive order detailing how mule deer and pronghorn migration corridors will be identified and managed in the state. The Wyoming Outdoor Council was heavily involved in the advocacy, collaboration, and negotiations that led to this order, and we were pleased the governor took this important step. But what does this new policy mean? It means now the real work begins.
The governor’s order affirmed the designation of three corridors that had gone through the Game and Fish Department’s analysis and public process: the Sublette mule deer corridor (also known as the Red Desert to Hoback) and the Baggs and Platte Valley mule deer corridors. While the Sublette corridor has already gone through a risk assessment to evaluate landscape-level challenges affecting this herd and habitat, neither the Baggs nor the Platte Valley have.
We anticipate new information on these assessments in the near future, and have communicated with Game and Fish staff about our suggestions for best conducting these analyses. When these assessments are completed, they will be released as drafts for public feedback and discussed in public meetings before being finalized. After designation, the executive order prescribes the formation of local working groups for each corridor to discuss ongoing management challenges and opportunities.
When the executive order was signed, two corridors were in draft status (i.e. not yet formally designated): the Sublette antelope corridor (the Path of the Pronghorn) and the Wyoming Range mule deer corridor. These corridors will be the first to move through the entirety of the new designation process. We anticipate seeing the Path of the Pronghorn discussed at a Game and Fish Commission meeting later this year, and will continue to advocate for designation.
The Game and Fish Department will also continue to identify other migration corridors around the state. Though the governor’s order only applies to mule deer and pronghorn, the department will continue its work to identify and manage elk migration corridors. We will continue to advocate for a formal corridor designation process for other ungulate species. Stay tuned for new developments.
While the governor’s order puts the weight of law behind the value of wildlife migration corridors, the future of our big game herds depends on us. Advocacy from Wyoming people about the value of our large, migratory herds was critical in getting us to this point, and will continue to be necessary in the long term.
Please watch for updates about the next opportunities to be involved in corridor advocacy, and reach out to us if you have interest in any of the specific migration corridors currently being studied.
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 officeon 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.
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!
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?
Onelegislative 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.
Many wildlife photographers will say that “perfect” shots involve luck and being in the right place at the right time. The real trick, said Debbie Tubridy, is observing and interpreting the animals and their signs. It’s a skill she used to capture the foraging mule deer buck that we featured in our 2019 calendar. As an avid and longtime wildlife photographer, Turbidy knew this shot was special.
“Usually animals put their heads up and look right at you, but this guy just continued to reach his head right up to get those leaves,” she said, “as if I weren’t even there.”
The autumn morning the image was taken, Debbie was out on a drive with her husband and a friend. They were just leaving Grand Teton National Park when they came upon the buck.
“It had just finished raining,” she remembered, “and we had gone out to see what we could find. This was one of the last shots I took that day, and it’s the type of scene that brought me out West.”
Although Debbie closely follows the guidelines for wildlife photography — using cars as blinds, approaching cautiously, always giving animals adequate space — her underlying ethic is not to disturb animals.
“They shouldn’t change their behavior because I’m there,” she said. “I want them to act as they are. A lot of my shots are not the close-ups of their faces, but catching them in their natural state and environment. That’s part of the story, and you need to show that.”
Her philosophy is similar to the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s approach to wildlife advocacy — especially around mule deer migration corridors. Science shows that disturbance inside corridors isn’t good for mule deer herds. It’s an issue Turbidy has been following as an Outdoor Council member. She said she wishes more people took responsibility for the impact their decisions have on wildlife.
“That’s why I like to photograph wildlife, because I can help tell the animals’ story, and help show people that we’re all connected. I like to think I’m helping increase people’s awareness and appreciation for animals with my images.”
There is just something special about stopping and sharing a moment with an animal, she said.
“It’s like all time stands still for me. It’s super cool. And I just wish other people could have this same experience — could go and see, touch, feel, understand nature. And then think about the decisions we make regarding wildlife and the environment.”
Debbie and her husband moved to Fruita, Colorado, from southern Florida two years ago after years of traveling West. “I did the math,” Turbidy laughed, “and Fruita was the spot because it was within a day’s drive of all of the places we loved to visit — Wyoming included.”
“There’s a certain amount of truth here,” she said of the West. “People stand up for their values — for the wildlife and landscapes. And, being from populated southern Florida, we love the solitude of the wilderness we find here. The unspoiled beauty that remains in these varied terrains.”
“I just think, if we’re good stewards of the environment, everything else — flora and fauna — also falls into place.”
Join Debbie and other photographers by submitting your own shot of Wyoming for the Outdoor Council’s 2020 Calendar Contest. You can enter your photos via Instagram or email. To submit your photo(s) via Instagram, you must have a public Instagram account so that we’re able to view your submission. Upload your photo(s) and add the hashtag #MyWyoming.
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.
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.
Wyoming has been in the world spotlight since the discovery of the longest known mule deer migration, which runs 150 miles between the northern Red Desert and the Upper Hoback. That such an ancient migration still exists — despite roads, fences, housing, energy development, and other human activities — is amazing.
And new science is conclusive on two points: mule deer avoid development, and once a route is impeded, the deer don’t adapt. Unfortunately, under the new energy dominance policy, the BLM is offering oil and gas leases inside this corridor and other crucial wildlife habitat. And unless they hear from state wildlife managers, they’ll continue to do so.
The existence of the longest known mule deer migration is something Wyoming can no longer leave to chance. If we allow oil and gas activity here, the loss of this unique pathway will be on us.
Wyoming Game & Fish Department must step up
Wyoming’s wildlife is a tremendous part of our outdoor culture and a driver of our statewide economy. Big game hunting alone brings in about $300 million annually. According to a recent poll from Public Opinion Strategies, an overwhelming majority of all Wyoming voters — 89 percent — agree with Gov. Mark Gordon that protecting wildlife corridors does not have to be at odds with Wyoming’s energy industry.
Even former Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke understood the importance and popularity of protecting big game herds for westerners. Last year, he signed an executive order “to enhance and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on Federal lands.”
Yet the BLM continues to sell leases inside these habitats.
The thing is, states have the power to push back. When western states have asked the feds to pull oil and gas leases that have been offered in vital big game habitat, we’ve seen the BLM respond. Last year, the agency pulled more than a quarter of a million acres in Colorado from oil and gas lease sales at the request of state leaders.
And on the few occasions when the WGFD has asked the BLM to defer leasing parcels that fall entirely within a designated migration corridor — a very small percentage of the total number of oil and gas leases being offered in corridors — the BLM has granted its request.
This should be good news. But a state has to believe that the science matters, and then it must have the will to speak up. Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re seeing in Wyoming. Right now, the WGFD is operating under the flawed premise that if only a portion of a particular lease parcel falls within a wildlife migration corridor, there’s no threat to our wildlife. But that isn’t the case.
The WGFD has developed a “strategy” that endorses leasing inside migration corridors so long as at least 10 percent of a parcel falls outside the corridor. The rationale — which the WGFD admits is not rooted in science — is based on the hope that energy operators will “do the right thing,” and locate infrastructure in the portion of the lease parcel that’s outside the designated migration corridor. Unfortunately, operators are not legally bound to do so.
Crossing our fingers that private energy companies will do what’s best for our wildlife is no way to manage one of Wyoming’s most important resources. But unless the WGFD finds the will to ask the BLM to pull these leases, blind hope is all we’ve got for now, because there’s no legal way to ensure that energy operators will limit development to outside corridor boundaries.
Even more troubling, when pressed, both the WGFD and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission — the bodies charged with protecting Wyoming’s wildlife — have said they can’t ask to defer leasing in this tiny portion of Wyoming’s most important big game habitat for fear of retribution from the legislature and the oil and gas industry. This is despite an overwhelming and bipartisan majority of Wyoming voters agreeing that protecting wildlife corridors does not have to be at odds with energy development.
The bottom line is that there is no need to offer oil and gas leases in Wyoming’s migration corridors. Even if every lease that abutted the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer corridor were made off limits tomorrow, millions of acres of public lands are still available to lease — and develop. Wyoming is not so poor that (for as little as $1.50 per acre — less than a slice of pizza or a cheap cup of coffee) we should give away to energy companies our most crucial big game habitats and the very future of our big game herds.
Working to save Wyoming’s muleys — and how you can help
We’ll continue to review every BLM oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming and file protests when the agency ignores our concerns. We’ll keep testifying at Game and Fish Commission meetings, respectfully urging this body, charged with protecting Wyoming’s wildlife, to heed the science and take a stronger stand. We’ll keep meeting with WGFD leaders — and with the governor and his policy staff — to pore over maps and advocate better strategies. We’ll work with with partners, sportsmen and women, and citizens around the state to get the word out.
And we will continue to weigh all our options, including filing a legal challenge. That’s not a step we’d take lightly, but it’s one we’ll consider if it means protecting the future of Wyoming’s mule deer.
Wildlife and the vast open lands they need to survive define us in Wyoming. The Wyoming Outdoor Council is more committed than ever to work on behalf of Wyomingites to defend these irreplaceable resources and protect the state’s migration corridors for future generations.
These past few months, we’ve been asking the state to urge the Bureau of Land Management to take a more precautionary approach to oil and gas leasing in migration corridors until legally binding wildlife protections can be put into place. New and existing science clearly shows that drilling in migration corridors is bad for mule deer herds, and we want to know that any leases offered will have the stipulations in place that will protect Wyoming’s wildlife.
And thanks to you, the BLM is hearing a loud and clear message from the public. More than 260 of you signed our petition — which we submitted as formal comments — asking the BLM to defer leasing in Wyoming’s mule deer migration corridors and crucial winter ranges. To learn more about this issue, you can read our fourth quarter sale fact sheet.
In September, too, a west-wide court ruling forced the BLM to temporarily withdraw hundreds of thousands of acres of Greater sage-grouse habitat from its oil and gas lease auction scheduled for December, in order to allow for more public participation. The court found the BLM’s attempts to shorten public participation periods are likely in violation of several federal laws. As a result, just three parcels will go up for auction in Wyoming in December while the remaining 584 parcels spanning 790,462 acres will go on the auction block in February.
It’s the biggest lease sale in the state’s recent history, and it’s an indication of what the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” mandate continues to mean for Wyoming — a state where nearly half our lands are public. We’re letting the BLM know that we won’t stand for leasing in our most vital wildlife habitat.
We submitted a second round of comments listing several concerns regarding the BLM’s failure to consider a more measured approach. We continue to ask the BLM to defer leases that overlap big game migration corridors and crucial winter range until science-based and legally-enforceable stipulations are put into place to protect these habitats.
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.
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.
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 tojoin us in giving Gov. Mead all the support he needs to stand up against this federal top-down actionfrom 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.
