Protections for big game species moving between seasonal ranges were reworked at the behest of industry in 2019. The process has been at a standstill since, leaving dozens of migration routes undesignated.
A Wyoming policy held up as the national gold standard for protecting big game migration corridors is gathering dust nearly three years into its existence, frustrating wildlife advocates who fear critical habitat is being degraded and lost.
Conservationists worry the governor is playing favorites with the energy industry, and slow-rolling a protective designation that is warranted by the policy, but would be problematic for a $17 billion gas field. Wildlife officials and advisors for the governor say there’s no one reason for the delay.
From 2016 to 2018 migration corridor protections had momentum. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department designated migration paths on its own, recognizing and safeguarding routes used by mule deer in the Green River basin, Platte Valley and the Baggs area. But in the spring of 2019, the state agency pumped the brakes.
Action on its fourth planned designation, a path used by pronghorn that dwell in and pass through several Sublette County gas fields, including one that’s under development and being litigated, was put on hold. The delay came after industry groups, from oil and gas to sheepherders, expressed concerns in a letter.
‘Path of the Pronghorn’ protections delayed as development proceeds - WyoFile
A Wyoming policy held up as the national gold standard for protecting big game migration corridors is gathering dust nearly three years into its existence, frustrating wildlife advocates who fear critical habitat is being degraded and lost.
Conservationists worry the governor is playing favorites with the energy industry, and slow-rolling a protective designation that is warranted by the policy, but would be problematic for a $17 billion gas field. Wildlife officials and advisors for the governor say there’s no one reason for the delay.
From 2016 to 2018 migration corridor protections had momentum. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department designated migration paths on its own, recognizing and safeguarding routes used by mule deer in the Green River basin, Platte Valley and the Baggs area. But in the spring of 2019, the state agency pumped the brakes.
Action on its fourth planned designation, a path used by pronghorn that dwell in and pass through several Sublette County gas fields, including one that’s under development and being litigated, was put on hold. The delay came after industry groups, from oil and gas to sheepherders, expressed concerns in a letter.
‘Path of the Pronghorn’ protections delayed as development proceeds - WyoFile