sign in sign up
<<
Home , American Bison, Chamois, Medicine Bow Peak, Pronghorn, Wyoming Range

SUMMER 2016

The Buffalo Return Project – Gardenfor Native Plants are Key Native plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife for thousands of and therefore offer the most sustainable habitat for our native wildlife. A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human WildlifeWildlife needs your help A Restoration of History introduction. Share You can make Visit WWF’s website (wyomingwildlife.org) to get ideas and see other Certified Gardens in . Check back periodically for updates, a difference… By L. Andersen, Executive Director plant lists and designs from other gardeners across the Cowboy State. whether you have a small - Resources: backyard, patio planters, a school We invite you to visit the Resources listed for more details about gar yard, a community park, or a dening for wildlife. 20-acre farm. Wildlife can be · WWF’s website: wyomingwildlife.org supported when you, your school, · How to Create or Maintain a Garden or information on any neighborhood or business create of the elements: http://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife.aspx or maintain a simple garden or a he is where the Ameri- The Wyoming Wildlife Federation in Wyoming Wildscape – How to Design, Plant, and · landscape with wildlife in mind. Maintain Landscaping to Benefit People and Wildlife. Available in hard copy at any Wyoming and Fish Join the larger movement to help Department regional office or headquarters. Or contact the wildlife through the Garden for can Indian and the once collaboration with the National Wildlife author: [email protected] Digital copy is available at Wildlife program. http://bit.ly/1Q53v5k · Native Plants: www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/About/ shared the same land. This sym- Federation are working with the Eastern Native-Plants.aspx WWF · P.O. Box · 1312 Lander, WY · 307-332-8633 · wyomingwildlife.org T bolic relationship could once again prosper Tribe of the Wind River Reserva- Garden for Wildlife with a new determination to return the tion on this important restoration project. “Pollinators in, out” – is buffalo back to its historic range and tribal A total of 25 bison – genetically reputable the theme of Garden for Wildlife, a new program by the Wyo- lands in Wyoming. In Shoshone, “Boy- and certified disease free – will be reintro- ming Wildlife Federation (WWF), zshan Bid-en” or “The Buffalo Return” duced to the this fall. geared toward Wyoming garden- could also signify our remorsefulness for a Bringing back the buffalo – a ers. From backyard gardens to historical past that included the destruction that once flourished and unified the Plains large scale landscapes, anyone can have a garden with wildlife of this iconic species and for our Native Indians – could also help mend relations in mind. Americans. (Continued on page 4)

“This program offers residents a great way to participant in wildlife conservation,” says Dot Newton, WWF outreach coordi- nator. WWF has partnered with Halladay Surbaru in to encourage gardeners to “take the pledge” and manage their garden for wildlife. Participants can certify their garden online as well as access gardening tips and resources, at http:// wyomingwildlife.org/education/ wildlife-habitat/.

Send us a photo of you in front of a public lands sign (BLM, National Forest, National Wildlife Refuge) and we will add you to our Facebook page for “keep- ing public lands public!” Email [email protected] Photo courtesy C. Torbit Photo of Stephen Red to Hoback (RD2H) Migration Initiative By Steve Kilpatrick

Wyoming’s migration routes are criti- cal to the health and survival of our mule deer herds. Research under the Wyoming Migration Initiative (WMI) utilized state-of-the-art GPS technol-

ogy to piece together the entire Red courtesyPhoto of Joe Riis Desert to Hoback (RD2H) migration corridor. This route allows Photo courtesyPhoto Justin Briggs mule deer to move from their winter to their summer range near Hoback Basin, south of Jackson. Watchable Wildlife Tour Scientists discovered the migration route, which spans 150 & Wine Event! miles, is the longest in the lower 48 states. One of the conserva- tion priorities that has come out of this research is the importance WWF, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bighorn of wildlife-friendly fencing along the corridor. Private landowners Audubon Society have teamed up for a watchable wildlife tour on are key in this effort. Saturday, August 27 in Sheridan. “This outreach effort is not only for Field Day: Amsden Creek Wildlife Habitat Management Area and Tongue River Canyon, near Dayton. G&F and WWF experts will be working with landowners on wildlife fencing but to on hand to discuss the species that inhabit the area as well as the gain their knowledge about the and habitat importance of succulent forage for big game animals. Bring your binoculars! Representatives of the Bighorn Audubon Society will considerations on their lands, which is really important provide us with some birding opportunities. Meet us at 9 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Tongue River Valley Community Center in to conserving this corridor,” says Smith Dayton (1100 US Hwy 14). Addressing fencing along private lands within this migration Wine Event: Weston Wineries has created a special vintage and corridor is an important priority of WWF and the RD2H con- wine label for this WWF fundraising event, which will include servation Partnership, which is composed of 14 nonprofits and speakers, a silent auction and live music. The party starts at 5:30 p.m., Weston Wineries, 201 Broadway St., Sheridan. academia. To help facilitate this effort, the Partnership has proposed a new position that will focus on coordinating the on-the-ground Dennis Jespersen Memorial scholarship recipients fencing work as well as help guide an outreach program to better carry out the conservation priorities. This latest effort will include University of Wyoming graduate students Lindsey working with private landowners to modify or replace approxi- Ciepiela and Alexander mately 130 miles of existing fence. A master fencing inventory George LeCheminant are and map (thanks to the work of ) in- the 2016 award recipients of cludes priority locations for the new fencing. WWF with the Part- the Dennis Jespersen Memo- nership has successfully secured over $314,000 in grant funding rial scholarship, presented for the fencing needed along the RD2H route. These funds were by WWF Executive Director generated from competitive grants through the Pinedale Anticline Chamois Andersen and UW Professor Frank Rahal. Project Office (PAPO), Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License They received $575 toward their aquatics research for the Department of Coalition, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, and and Physiology. Dennis Jespersen was a fisheries biologists who the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative. One of three died in an avalanche on in the Snowy Range. This fund fence segments has been completed on the Rolling Thunder and was created in his honor and intended for students to conduct cutthroat modifications will be initiated on the Teton Diablo. For informa- -related research. Ciepiela’s research is focused on determining the stream of origin and movement patterns of salmonids in the Upper North tion on the Partnership, log on to www.rd2h.org. Platte River basin using otolith microchemistry. LeCheminant’s research is on movement dynamics and survival of hatchery-reared River cutthroat trout post stocking.

2 Wyoming Wildlife Federation Summer 2016 Pronghorn From the Field Joy Bannon, WWF Field Director Greater Little Mountain Coalition Washington, D.C. Fly-In! Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Also while in D.C., members of the Greater Little Mountain Coalition met with CEQ regarding the Rock Springs Re- source Management Plan, GLMA, and Master Leasing Plans. CEQ is a division of the Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal environmental efforts. The Coalition asked for the support of the CEQ and acknowledged the positive relationship the Coalition has with the local and state BLM offices. Associate Deputy Chief Brian Ferebee of the National Forest Service received an in-person thank you from WWF, Trout Chris Steffen, Green River Chief of Police, Tasha Sorensen, Trout Unlimited, Sen. John Barrasso, Joy Bannon, WWF, and Wally John- Unlimited, Muley Fanatic Foundation, and the Sportsmen son, Sweetwater County Commission. for the Wyoming Range, for their April 8th recommenda- tion not to lease 39,490 acres within the Wyoming Range of Rock Springs Resource Management Plan the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Much of our conservation advocacy work for 3.6 million acres in southwest Wyoming is conducted here in Wyoming. This involves communicating and working toward management so- Volunteer Field Days lutions with local and state agency personnel, elected officials, – Fencing for Wildlife! sportsmen and sportswomen, wildlife watchers, non-profit organizations, and neighboring communities. These large- In June, WWF scale management plan revisions also involve working with held the 8th federal leadership in Washington, D.C. This month a handful annual Wildlife of Greater Little Mountain Coalition representatives traveled Habitat Enhance- to D.C. to meet with our delegation (Senators Enzi and Bar- ment Project in rasso and Rep. Lummis) as well as agency members (Bureau Fremont County, of Land Management and U.S. Department of Interior and which resulted in CEQ). We discussed resource plans as well as the importance WWF President Shane Cross and Field 35 volunteers who of our public lands. Those included in the D.C. fly-in were Director Joy Bannon coiling old fencing. cut, rolled and Sweetwater County Commission Chairman Wally Johnson, tied more than Green River Chief of Police and Muley Fanatic Foundation 2 miles of old barbed-wire fence in the Shoshone National volunteer Chris Steffen, Tasha Sorensen of Trout Unlimited, Forest on South Pass, near Atlantic City, Wyo. Partners for and Bannon. this project included the Rocky Mountain Foundation, Red Canyon Riverton chapters, Lander Art Center, and Greater sage- Bowhunters of Wyoming, Wyoming Game and Fish Depart- While at the nation’s capital, Field Director Joy Bannon ment, and the . met with Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim Lyons of the U.S. In May, members of WWF also volunteered for a Fence Department of Interior on continued recovery efforts for the Removal Day in Albany County. More than 40 volunteers Greater sage-grouse. Since last fall, when the Bureau of Land came out for the day to help remove the fourth wire along Management and U.S. Forest Service released their manage- several miles of fencing so deer and elk can more easily ment plans for the bird, Wyoming’s Sage Grouse Implemen- jump over the fence. Elk calves were particularly vulnerable tation Team has been focused on how these federal plans will as many were observed getting caught in the fencing. This be implemented in Wyoming. Bannon has requested federal project was in collaboration with the Wyoming Conserva- land managers provide a schedule for the one-the-ground tion Corps, USFWS, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and conservation efforts, including expectations and priorities. UW’s sudent chapter of the Wildlife Society.

Pronghorn SUMMER 2016 Wyoming Wildlife Federation 3 Buffalo Return Project, continued from page 1 with the tribes on the Wind River Res- ervation. The timing is apropos. In May, President Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law, officially making the America bison the national of the . The Shoshone, led by Jason Bal- des, are championing this project for ecosystem health and cultural reasons. Baldes says, “Bringing back the buffalo is important to our ecosystem and to our cultural heritage.” Baldes has Project leader Jason Baldes at the buffalo release site. degrees in land resources and environ- mental science from State University, and as a member of the Sho- where historically hundreds of thousands steps necessary to bring back buffalo shone tribe he has made it his personal of buffalo roamed. and the landscape that once supported goal to bring back the buffalo for the “The idea that the symbiotic re- them. “Together, we can do this and benefit of not only his people but for all lationship between the buffalo and re-establish the buffalo and the cul- Americans. our Native American culture could tural and historical connections Native In the 1500s, more than 30 million be preserved with this project is really Americans have with this iconic spe- bison inhabited . By the important with this endeavor,” Baldes cies,” Baldes says. late 19th century, less than 1,000 could says. “The buffalo was a gift from the be found on the continent, with only a Creator. It provided for tribal people Boy-zshan Bid-en – plans for handful of wild bison left in the Ameri- economically, spiritually, culturally, and the future can West. In the early 1900s, fewer socially. The buffalo gave the people life. than 100 remained in the wild. Bison The buffalo is life.” • Install wildlife-friendly fencing were killed for food and their hides. Historically, the around the existing 300-acre prop- After the Civil War, mass herds were played an essential role in shaping the erty of bison habitat on the Wind killed to make way for the pioneers and ecology of the Great Plains. River Reservation settlers of the Great Plains, and to help The animals graze heavily on na- • Release 25 bison to Wind River support trade in both North America tive grasses and disturb the soil with Reservation and . Army commanders who their , allowing many plant and • Conduct outreach and fundraising operated in the West often attempted species to flourish. The lives of for this project to drive the Native Americans off of the Native Americans centered on the • Hire a buffalo manager for the Wind desired lands by killing the buffalo as a buffalo’s epic migration across the vast River tribes way to deprive them of their supplies. plains of North America – from • Create an eco-tourism program with By October 2016, through Boy-zshan to , the Pacific Northwest to a Visitor’s Center and bison educa- Bid-en, the buffalo will have been initial- the Appalachian Mountains. The buf- tion tours for the public ly released on an enclosed small parcel, falo served as the lifeline of the Plains and soon after will have access to 300 Indians. And ever since, Native Ameri- For information on Boy-zshan Bid-en, acres – prime bison habitat – located on cans have had a symbiotic relationship please contact Jason Baldes or Garrit Vog- the Wind River Reservation. The setting with them, and have always honored gesser with NWF. of this release – a coming home of sorts the mighty beasts for the many blessings Jason Baldes for the buffalo – is itself iconic. You can they have provided. The buffalo was Wind River Native Advocacy Center see for miles rolling and grassland, used in ceremonies, their hides for [email protected] the occasional narrow river or stream, covers, and for utensils, shields Garrit Voggesser and the snow-capped peaks of the Wind and weapons. National Director, Tribal Partnerships, River Range towering to the west. The Today, with this project and other National Wildlife Federation buffalo relocation site falls within 2.2 small comebacks in wild bison in scat- [email protected] million acres of tribal lands, a landscape tered places, we can take the ecological

Pronghorn SUMMER 2016 Wyoming Wildlife Federation 4 New Executive Committee Wyoming Public Lands Initiative members as of July 2016 By Jessi Johnson, Public Lands Coordinator Board of Directors Shane Cross he Wyoming Public Lands Initia- This process will be long with a lot of data Douglas (President) tive (WPLI) is off and running. introduced and stakeholders’ interests dis- Dave Moody TThis county-led process is intend- cussed. Facilitation is important to ensure Lander (Treasurer) ed to culminate in a statewide recommen- a sound process and a fair outcome. The dation for congressional legislation that advisory committees will be examining Phoebe Stoner will include 45 Wilderness Study Areas large amounts of data and complex stake- Jackson (Secretary) (WSA) within that Wyoming. Three out holder interests. They should be provided Bill Alldredge of 8 counties that have opted in have with professional assistance to enable the Thermopolis begun their stakeholder process: Fremont, public to feel confident in the outcome. Blake Balzan Park, and Sublette County. Each commit- The WPLI is an opportunity for us to tee includes the following representatives: band together to protect public lands. Wheatland sportsmen, conservation, motorized, non- Other news on WPLI: The WWF has Chuck Butterfield motorized, energy, agriculture, general partnered with UW’s Department of Ag- Alpine public, and a county commissioner. ricultural and Applied Economics and the Brianna Jones Wyoming Game and Fish Department on studies for the economic impacts of Laramie and for each participating county. Janet Marschner WWF is also collaborating with the Cheyenne Wyoming Outdoor Council and The Wil- Richard Oblak derness Society on a GIS website project, Cheyenne which will serve as a clearing-house of information for all the maps that will be Reg Rothwell discussed and utilized for the WPLI (big Cheyenne game migration routes/map, oil and gas Siva Sundaresan WWF and the Wyoming Sportsmen development sites/map, etc.). Jackson Alliance (WYSA) have joined forces for the The WPLI is an opportunity for us to WPLI in an effort to ensure a sportsman ban together to protect our public lands. or sportswoman is at the table on every ad- The loss of our core values (wildlife, Staff/Coordinators visory committee. WWF will also provide habitat and access) carries with it a much Chamois Andersen the sportsmen representatives with a host larger consequence then just the dis- Executive Director of resources for the meetings, such as maps satisfaction of sportsmen. WWF and its Joy Bannon showing critical range for deer and elk and WYSA partners are working to make sure Field Director hunting access. that each county sportsmen seat has all Steve Kilpatrick The sportsmen representative will the tools and support they need to make Field Scientist focus on promoting protection of wildlife this process a success. Stay up-to-date and Dot Newton habitat and hunting and fishing access involved! You can follow this process on Administration as core values we want to see in the final the WWF website and via my blog on Manager and recommendations. WY Public Lands, at http://wyoming- Outreach Specialist The WPLI process has all the makings wildlife.org/category/wpli-blog/. Jessi Johnson to be a positive effort for public lands in Public Lands Coordinator Wyoming as long as the focus is transpar- Lisa Hillmer ent, fair and has balanced input by the Membership stakeholders. UW’s Ruckelshaus Institute has offered their services in facilitation.

5 Wyoming Wildlife Federation SUMMER 2016 Pronghorn WORKING FOR WILDLIFE & SPORTSMEN SINCE 1937 P.O. Box 1312 Lander, WY 82520 wyomingwildlife.org

Donate now! Help us work on your behalf to conserve wildlife and maintain our outdoor heritage.

❑ $35 ❑ $100 ❑ $500 Name ❑ $50 ❑ $200 ❑ $1,000 Email ❑ Other $ Donations of $100 or MORE will Address receive a WWF public lands t-shirt. Circle size: S M L XL XXL City State/Zip Method of payment: WWF ❑ Check (Make check payable to,Wyoming P.0. Box 1312 Wildlife Federation and return with this form.) Lander, WY 82520 Phone

Credit Card: ❑ ❑ ❑

Card # ______ZIP ______Exp. date ______CVV code ______Or give online at www.wyomingwildlife.org