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TRCP Lauds Interior Decision to Fund Pronghorn Corridor
7/2/08
$1 million to study Wyoming migration corridor could help address impacts of development
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today praised a decision by the Department of the Interior to allocate $1 million to study and improve an important pronghorn migration corridor in western Wyoming. The funds, which will be drawn from the Jonah Compensation Mitigation Fund and directed to the Green River Valley Land Trust, are dedicated to reviewing the impacts of and improving fencing along a 75-mile section of corridor that stretches from the Bridger-Teton National Forest to Sublette County.
Energy development in southwestern Wyoming has had significant impacts on the ability of pronghorn, as well as big-game species such as mule deer and elk, to use the ancient thoroughfare. Residential development and fences compound the problem. The funds mobilized by the Interior Department will compensate private landowners for constructing fences that pronghorns can bypass during their seasonal migrations.
"We're pleased that the Interior Department is engaging with local stakeholders on this critical issue and addressing the potential impacts of development on pronghorn," said TRCP Energy Initiative Manager Steve Belinda. "Sportsmen support the use of these mitigation funds to sustain populations of an emblematic Western game species.
"It's a fact that big game are susceptible to the presence of development in their seasonal habitat and migration routes," continued Belinda, a former federal biologist. "We must continue to collaborate to address the effects of this development on the irreplaceable natural resources found on Western public lands - and work to ensure that such development is planned responsible and sustainably from the beginning."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife.
Media Contact:
Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
7/2/08
$1 million to study Wyoming migration corridor could help address impacts of development
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today praised a decision by the Department of the Interior to allocate $1 million to study and improve an important pronghorn migration corridor in western Wyoming. The funds, which will be drawn from the Jonah Compensation Mitigation Fund and directed to the Green River Valley Land Trust, are dedicated to reviewing the impacts of and improving fencing along a 75-mile section of corridor that stretches from the Bridger-Teton National Forest to Sublette County.
Energy development in southwestern Wyoming has had significant impacts on the ability of pronghorn, as well as big-game species such as mule deer and elk, to use the ancient thoroughfare. Residential development and fences compound the problem. The funds mobilized by the Interior Department will compensate private landowners for constructing fences that pronghorns can bypass during their seasonal migrations.
"We're pleased that the Interior Department is engaging with local stakeholders on this critical issue and addressing the potential impacts of development on pronghorn," said TRCP Energy Initiative Manager Steve Belinda. "Sportsmen support the use of these mitigation funds to sustain populations of an emblematic Western game species.
"It's a fact that big game are susceptible to the presence of development in their seasonal habitat and migration routes," continued Belinda, a former federal biologist. "We must continue to collaborate to address the effects of this development on the irreplaceable natural resources found on Western public lands - and work to ensure that such development is planned responsible and sustainably from the beginning."
The TRCP believes that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife.
Media Contact:
Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
