State, Feds announce new conservation partnership in Wyoming

Greater Yellowstone is home to some of North America’s most diverse and abundant wildlife migrations. Elk, mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and moose range widely across large landscapes between summer and winter seasons. Their abundance sustains the ecosystem, supporting world renowned biodiversity and countless economic opportunities. But these herds face serious threats such as subdivision development, roads, fences, and invasive species. For years, GYC has worked with a wide range of people and partners to highlight the importance of sustaining these migrations. 

A mule deer herd in Wyoming. (Photo Mark Gocke)

Over the last decade, the state of Wyoming has emerged as a leader in wildlife corridor science and conservation. From the Governor’s Office and the Wyoming Migration Initiative to the staff of the Game and Fish Department working every day in the field, the state has completed dozens of projects to conserve migrations. Recently, GYC worked with the state to raise the critical funds needed for the Dry Piney Wildlife Connectivity Project, which will place wildlife underpasses along Highway 189 and create safe passage for thousands of migrating mule deer.  

We also partnered with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others to launch the Absaroka Fence Initiative. This local effort works in cooperation with willing landowners and agencies to retrofit or remove fences that hinder wildlife movement.  

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (left) and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon as they sign an agreement for the USDA to fund conservation projects in Wyoming. (Photo GYC/Scott Christensen)

As more is learned about seasonal wildlife migrations, the future of the region’s privately owned farms and ranches has come into focus. Habitat stewardship and conservation of these lands is crucial to elk, mule deer, and pronghorn, who spend most of the winter on low-elevation private lands. Fortunately, Wyoming has found a willing partner in wildlife corridor conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The federal programs and funding USDA oversees support many private land conservation tools that keep habitat intact and accessible to wildlife.  

Today, I was honored to join Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon in Washington D.C. as they formalized a new partnership to invest significant new resources and funding toward conserving habitat in the state’s most important big game migration corridors. This great example of collaboration has the potential to protect tens of thousands of acres across the state through new conservation easements and a novel habitat leasing program. It also includes increased resources for wildlife-friendly fencing and habitat restoration. 

We applaud these state and federal leaders for working together to conserve Greater Yellowstone’s magnificent wildlife migrations.  

—Scott Christensen, executive director

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.