Wyoming’s ‘Path of the Pronghorn’ is a signature away from protections sought for a quarter century
Conservation biologist Joel Berger has watched from afar as Wyoming’s long-running effort to designate a migration corridor used by pronghorn, which seasonally march 150 miles upstream from Interstate 80 to Grand Teton National Park.
In the early 2000s, Berger, then a Jackson Hole resident, was among them. loudest voices We urge land and wildlife managers to take steps to ensure that pronghorn can continue to move through fragmented landscapes at the front end. Pinedale Anticline and Jonah field natural gas explosion.
In 2003 Berger wrote: a paper With the provocative headline, “Is it acceptable to let a species go extinct in a national park?” HE It came at such a time then-Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal was cautious about protecting southern portions of the corridor; It’s a hesitation shared by Sublette County elected officials and the Bureau of Land Management. Protections for migrating pronghorn have been halted except for the northern portion of the corridor; here the U.S. Forest Service protected nearly 47,000 acres in 2008. Bridger-Teton National Forest plan change.
Very slowly times changed. a constant effort to preserve dangerous passages that animals encounter He overcame inertia and skepticism along a route called the Pronghorn Trail.
This week, Berger was excited to see Wyoming reach the penultimate step of the state-led process to preserve the route. Appointed by Governor Mark Gordon The working group completed its review Accepting the migration corridor’s recommendations, officials soon headed to the governor’s desk.
“Sometimes Wyoming is ahead, and sometimes Wyoming is way behind,” Berger told WyoFile. “It’s really nice to see Wyoming step up after a quarter of a century and officially declare how important immigration corridors are.”
At Pinedale, where a group of 11 stakeholders met on Friday, the audience shared their satisfaction for a process that is nearly complete.
“I know working in real time through Google Docs doesn’t feel like it, but this is actually a historic moment,” Meghan Riley, a Wyoming Outdoor Council employee, told the working group. “This is the first time the state has gone through the full designation process under executive order. And this is the first time the state has tried to do this for pronghorn.”
“I hope you can all pat yourself on the back,” he added, “and feel good about dealing with this.”
said Green River resident Bill Ames. Retired land surveyor who became the spokesman for immigrationHe was also enthusiastic. praised a plan particularly allowing development and “won’t hurt” economically but still preserves “Wyoming’s iconic breed.”
“What an accomplishment,” Ames said. “I didn’t expect it to come out this way, this quickly, and with such a diverse group. Thank you.”
The divide over determining the corridors used by the migratory-dominated Sublette Pronghorn Herd was a through line in the long process. More than seven years ago, extractive industries, counties and agriculture-focused groups united to stop It’s Game and Fish’s first attempt to protect the landscapes through which the herd migrates. Afterwards Gordon a new immigration policy was implemented through an executive order created the process with the working group.
The process culminates in a decision by Gordon or a future governor.
Sara DiRienzo, Gordon’s deputy policy adviser, explained to the working group that she would clear the final set. draft recommendations He said members were fine-tuning it on Friday and would give them another chance to catch typos and make minor changes. He said they would then be presented to the governor “for review and decision.”
There remained some resistance from industry and districts to the determination of the migration corridor until the end.
At the start of Friday’s meeting, task force member and Sublette County Commissioner Lynn Bernard said her elected body He still had reservations about the appointment route.
“We are grateful for the district’s location, but we will control our own district,” Bernard said.
However, in the end, none of the 11 working group members voted completely against the idea of determining the migration corridor.
One member, oil and gas industry representative Jasmine Allison, voted for the appointment to go ahead with “serious reservations”. Two others, agricultural industry representative Mike Henn and mining industry representative Craig Rood, voted to appoint “with reservations.” The other eight members were fully on board.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has not yet officially announced what mule deer or pronghorn migration will be next to go through the state’s designation process. Yes dozens of known, mapped routes You can choose from .
In 2019, the state agency began the process of designating landscapes used by the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Herd, but those protections were proposed. remain in an uncertain situation.
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This story was first published by . Wyo File Distributed through partnership with The Associated Press.
