Wildlife populations across the West are under threat
The American West is home to sprawling landscapes and ecosystems where wildlife roams. Diverse and healthy wildlife populations support biodiversity, are more resilient to climate change, and are crucial to Western livelihoods and culture. The presence of wildlife helps drive Western economies, and supports hunting and fishing. Migration corridors, which connect landscapes across the West, are key to promoting robust wildlife populations. However, wildlife habitat is threatened across the West by oil and gas development, loss of natural habitat, climate change, and decreasing ecosystem connectivity.
Research shows that the habitat for sage-grouse–an indicator species whose populations are used to monitor the health of the sagebrush ecosystem–is diminishing rapidly due to climate change and climate-related impacts like wildfire and the spread of invasive species. Sage grouse populations have also been negatively impacted by oil and gas development on public land, which further exacerbates climate change.
Big game species like elk, pronghorn, and mule deer traverse hundreds of miles between their summer and winter ranges each year, navigating by instinct and memory. The areas that these species use to traverse the West are known as migration corridors, and they are in desperate need of protection. These migration routes connect Western landscapes, crossing private, state, and federal land, creating a unique challenge and opportunity. As climate change causes species to shift their ranges, it is increasingly important to protect connected landscapes in order to preserve migration corridors.
But energy development and climate change are disrupting these critical corridors before they can be mapped and adequately protected. One study analyzed mule deer migration near active oil and gas development in Wyoming and found that the new wells resulted in a 39 percent reduction in migration. There was no evidence that mule deer acclimatized to the development, and both small and large-scale projects impacted their migration in a similar way.
During his time in office, President Joe Biden made significant progress toward protecting public lands for wildlife and supporting biodiversity. He created six new national wildlife refuges, reinstated protections for animals listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and protected millions of acres of public land that wildlife rely on for habitat. He also approved the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary in California—the third-largest marine sanctuary in the U.S. and the first to be requested by Indigenous people.
Now in his second term, President Donald Trump has launched several attacks on wildlife and the public lands it depends on. The administration is taking aim at the ESA by attempting to redefine the word ‘harm’ to exclude the destruction of habitat. Its goal of rolling back protections for public lands to rapidly expand oil and gas development and mining and defund vital climate research puts wildlife at risk of habitat destruction from reckless development and the worsening effects of human-driven climate change.