A report published last week focuses on data-driven efforts to conserve big-game migration in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. Sportsmen’s organizations hope their findings can help guide decision-making as the U.S. Forest Service prepares to revise its 31-year-old management plan. Joy Bannon of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation says GPS technology has made it easier to track these animals’ migration patterns and make suggestions on improvements to habitat conservation.
“Is there a fence, for example, that isn’t wildlife-friendly, that we can make wildlife-friendly? Timber harvesting is utilized as a benefit and certain breaks for these animals as well. There’s a lot of interesting pieces to this assessment that will help not only the users of the land but also the land managers putting that management onto the ground.”
Another solution proposed in the report includes creating timing restrictions for vehicles to avoid disturbing migrating wildlife. The Forest Service recently announced the management plan revision process will start in Fiscal Year 2023.
