Develop cooperative management agreements with BLM, USFS, Solutions or actions: State Land Board, private landowners, and other interested parties to maintain open spaces and healthy ecosystem functions. This may include grazing strategies, timber management, travel management plans, county land use plans, prescribed fire, etc., that benefit wildlife habitat. Promote and implement practices that enhance or restore big game crucial and transition habitat functionality such as conifer removal, prescribed thinning, prescribed fire, prescribed livestock grazing, water development and cross fencing to facilitate grazing management, noxious and invasive weed control, brush management, planting and establishment of wildlife forage species, riparian restoration, and reduction of disturbance (i.e. removal of roads, travel restrictions). Seek conservation easements with willing private landowners. Continuing the work with conservation groups (e.g. TNC and RMEF) to pursue and accept development-limited easements from willing landowners on these crucial habitats is a primary strategy for protecting these habitats. The WGFD and RMEF could also purchase development-limited easements on important State of Wyoming lands. Optimize forage resources on the Kerns, Amsden Creek, Bud Love and Ed O. Taylor Wildlife Habitat Management Areas for elk and other big game species Additional Successional changes resulting from heavy ungulate grazing Information: accompanied by reductions in fire frequency have produced vegetative composition and structural changes and a dominance of late seral community types. Some changes have benefited elk and mule deer, like greater conifer cover and increased occurrence of limited browse resources like big sagebrush and curlleaf mountain mahogany. Conversely, other changes such as the expansion of less palatable browse and forage species, less vegetative diversity and unhealthy conifer stands have also occurred, which can negatively impact elk and mule deer. Land ownership and (Automatically generated) surface area:
Solutions or actions: Develop cooperative management agreements with BLM, USFS, State Land Board, private landowners, and other interested parties to maintain open spaces and healthy ecosystem functions. This may include grazing strategies, timber management, travel management plans, county land use plans, prescribed fire, etc., that benefit wildlife habitat. Promote and implement practices that enhance or restore big game crucial and transition habitat functionality such as conifer removal, prescribed thinning, prescribed fire, prescribed livestock grazing, water development and cross fencing to facilitate grazing management, noxious and invasive weed control, brush management, planting and establishment of wildlife forage species, riparian restoration, and reduction of disturbance (i.e. removal of roads, travel restrictions). Seek conservation easements with willing private landowners. Continuing the work with conservation groups (e.g. TNC and RMEF) to pursue and accept development-limited easements from willing landowners on these crucial habitats is a primary strategy for protecting these habitats. The WGFD and RMEF could also purchase development-limited easements on important State of Wyoming lands. Optimize forage resources on the Kerns, Amsden Creek, Bud Love and Ed O. Taylor Wildlife Habitat Management Areas for elk and other big game species Additional Information: Successional changes resulting from heavy ungulate grazing accompanied by reductions in fire frequency have produced vegetative composition and structural changes and a dominance of late seral community types. Some changes have benefited elk and mule deer, like greater conifer cover and increased occurrence of limited browse resources like big sagebrush and curlleaf mountain mahogany. Conversely, other changes such as the expansion of less palatable browse and forage species, less vegetative diversity and unhealthy conifer stands have also occurred, which can negatively impact elk and mule deer. Land ownership and surface area: (Automatically generated)
SN_G1_T_Crucial-Big-Game-Areas.docx