The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission rejected a plan that would have taken away proposed protections for part of an iconic pronghorn migration corridor in the state.
The decision comes after hunters, wildlife advocates, and retired biologists came out against a recommendation by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to remove two segments from the proposed Sublette Antelope Migration Corridor, also known as the Path of the Pronghorn. The proposed migration corridor consists of 10 segments, and extends roughly 160 miles from Grand Teton National Park to Rock Springs.
Energy development was a popular topic for proponents of the migration corridor. “I know how fast these developments can occur and what damage they do to the landscape,” said Bruce Lawson, 69, a lifelong resident of Casper who worked in bentonite and uranium mining for 40 years. “Even if we reclaim them, we never reclaim them back to what they were.”
The commission voted unanimously to recommend all 10 segments of the proposed migration corridor for designation by Governor Mark Gordon.
Ryan Busse on how billionaires are locking up land in Montana
On the latest episode of The Landscape podcast, Kate and Aaron talk to former Montana gubernatorial candidate, public lands hunter, and Substack author Ryan Busse about how billionaires are cutting off access to the outdoors in Montana and a whole lot more. We also briefly touch on the news that the Trump administration is repealing the Public Lands Rule and give an update on the Roadless Rule repeal comment period.
Quick hits
How free-roaming bison are reshaping Yellowstone’s grasslands
Wyoming wildlife commission seeks to protect full ‘Path of the Pronghorn’
WyoFile | Jackson Hole News & Guide | Cowboy State Daily
Opinion: One year after dams were torn down, an Indigenous writer sees a healing Klamath River
Trump agencies push ahead to repeal roadless rule, halt public lands conservation
Rescinding the Roadless Rule threatens these 13 climbing areas
Climate activists cite health hazards in bid to stop Trump from ‘unleashing’ fossil fuels
New Mexico lawmakers call on Forest Service to explain how agency is buying out 5,000 employees
EPA official wants to loosen cleanup standards at Superfund sites
Quote of the day
We used a nature-based solution to heal an ecosystem, and by doing so, you not only heal ecosystems, but you heal people, you heal culture and you heal economies.”
—Amy Bowers Cordalis, a Yurok Tribe member, lawyer, author, and environmental advocate, Los Angeles Times
Picture This
Behold: the majestic chonky loaf.
Bears aren’t the only ones fattening up for hibernation. Yellow-bellied marmots spend summer and early fall building fat reserves to last them through nearly 200 days of hibernation.
Nicknamed “whistle pigs” for their sharp alarm calls, yellow-bellied marmots are rodents about the size of a house cat. They live in colonies across the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and other western landscapes, where they forage on plants until it’s time to snooze.
Photo by Ashton Hooker