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Migratory ungulates are susceptible to effects of development along their migration corridors. For example, impermeable barriers such as tall fences preclude movements of migratory populations. Most forms of development in the West, however, represent semipermeable barriers, and their influences on migration remain unclear. This study entails using fine-scale mule deer movement data to evaluate the influence of anthropogenic barriers on the animals’ migratory behaviors. Our efforts include evaluating the rate of travel, duration of stopovers, and route fidelity of deer migrating across a gradient of development in Southwest Wyoming. In FY2014, we analyzed mule deer movement metrics and use of migration stopover...
In 2006/2007 the Adobetown Herd Management Area (HMA) was rounded up to bring the HMA to its Appropriate Management Level (AML). Given that the HMA is now at AML, a suite of projects have been identified that will improve wildhorse and livestock distribution, rangeland health, and reduce wildhorse movement outside the HMA. The majority of livestock use in this area includes winter sheep, and water development is lacking throughout the HMA. Six miles of pipeline, a number of short pipelines, troughs and supplies for several water wells are proposed. An existing network of pipelines and troughs could be rehabilitated with the purchase and installation of a large solar pump. Four spring developments and small pits...
The objective of the project is to improve the infrastructure of the Red Rim Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) as well as conduct habitat improvements. Two windmills will be upgraded to solar pumps and panels. Six and a half miles of fence will be converted from woven wire to wildlife friendly fencing and 8 miles of fence will have single strand conversion to meet BLM and WGFD wildlife standards (i.e. the bottom wire is too low or the top wire is too high). An exclosure will be erected around a riparian area to keep cattle out, sagebrush will be thinned (approx. 140 acres), weeds will be treated (approx. 200 acres) and native grasses and legumes sown (approx. 170 acres). The Red Rim WHMA is located southwest...
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This project is an ongoing cooperative project to restore 6,300 feet of Battle Creek and replace two irrigation structures which currently block seasonal fish migration. This joint project will improve native Colorado Cutthroat fish habitat, improve thermal and low flow habitat, and reduce bank erosion. Restoration will include narrowing the channel to accommodate for 590 cfs bankfull flows; excavating pools and installing fish-hook vane structures to improve low flow trout habitat; and re-establishing riparian vegetation to prevent further erosion. At a minimum, the project will include the following: installing 10 fish-hook vanes, excavating 12 pools, installing bank full benches to narrow the channel, installing...
The restoration project constructed a low level dike, headwall, and head-gate at the mouth of the irrigation ditch to move the river back into its original channel. Phase II– The Sweetwater River jumped into an existing irrigation ditch creating a shortened braided channel (3,200 ft) and dewatering the historic single thread channel of 4,958 ft. The steepened channel created a head-cut in the main channel, causing channel incision and severe bank instability throughout the project area. The restoration project constructed a low level dike, headwall, and head-gate at the mouth of the irrigation ditch to move the river back into its original channel. Project completed August 2008. Approximately 12,100 ft of channel...
A program as large and complex as the WLCI requires significant coordination and management, as well as the integration of what is learned from science with the decision-making and program-evaluation processes. For the WLCI, coordination and integration are accomplished through the WLCI Coordination Team, which is composed of one member each from the USGS, BLM, FWS, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and Wyoming Department of Agriculture. There is also a USGS member on the Science and Technical Advisory Committee. Under the direction of the WLCI Executive Committee, the Coordination Team manages the fiscal and logistical operations necessary to meet the goals and objectives of the WLCI. The Coordination Team also...
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Restoration and maintenance of aspen communities is a BLM priority in the Little Mountain Ecosystem, and the USGS has been working with the BLM and the WGFD to monitor aspen stands in that area as part of its WLCI Effectiveness Monitoring work. LANDFIRE and ReGAP maps are considered the best spatial products for representing aspen distribution at regional and landscape scales; however, these products were not designed to support decisions at localized scales, such as that of the Little Mountain Ecosystem. In 2010, this study filled a critical information gap with production of a model (fine-scale map) that delineates aspen distribution for the Little Mountain Ecosystem. To accomplish this, we used classification...
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Managing, analyzing, providing, and using data and information resources assembled or generated for the WLCI are essential for supporting WLCI goals. This project addresses those needs by providing online tools for (1) discovering and using existing data and information; (2) cataloging, preserving, and archiving those resources; and (3) making them available to WLCI researchers, decision-makers, and the public. A WLCI Data Catalog (Catalog) hosted by USGS is available at www.wlci.gov. The Catalog includes information about and access to data sets, projects, publications, and Web sites relevant to the WLCI. This Catalog is continuously maintained and enhanced to meet user needs, capitalize on technological innovations,...
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Project Synopsis: the goal of this study is to define the potential accumulation of hydrocarbons in surface waters and aquatic habitats of the New Fork River and to establish a baseline of potential toxicological effects on aquatic life.
We will identify regional and area office partners within Reclamation to use available downscaled climate projections, translate projections into biological forecasts for projected changes to populations and habitat, conduct probabilistic scenario planning, and recommend management actions. The research will also identify strategic basins to work in, find personnel to conduct the work, and locate external funding and in-kind services (e.g., non-governmental organizations, State agencies, and other Federal agencies). We will identify fisheries population and fish physiology effects as well as invasive species effects from climate change in Reclamation-managed systems. We will concentrate on effects on species of...
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This project represents a continuation and expansion from the KFO’s 2004 CCI Project #21055 - Bear River Cooperative Weed Management. This project is for spraying and biological control of all Invasive/Noxious Weeds within the Kemmerer Field Office (KFO) area within Lincoln and Uinta Counties. Funding costs includes hiring seasonal staff and a vehicle to continue inventorying and mapping of weeds within the area. In 2009, 1,000 acres of weeds will be treated on BLM lands and 1,000 treated acres will be evaluated. Efforts will first be directed to areas where the resource benefits are most important as identified by the WLCI and the KFO. Maintaining the native vegetative communities and protecting them from invading...
This project involves both biological and herbicide control of tamarix (salt cedar). Biological control agents (beetles) will be introduced into the tamarix stands. Chemical controls will also be used to ensure stand removal. This project controls invasive species in riparian areas to reduce economic and ecological impacts. These impacts are especially acute in riparian ecosystems. This collaborative effort with Sweetwater County leverages available resources. 2008 Update: Four hundred (400) acres of weed treatments were applied, including the tamarisk and perennial pepperweed treatment along Little Bitter Creek and Red Creek. 2009 Update: The beetles for the biological control of the tamarix in the Bitter Creek...
This project is intended to provide a source of native seed and plant material for BLM’s Wyoming field office programs and projects. The intent of this proposal is to develop and maintain a supply of native plant seed, vegetative propagules, and native seed reserves for use on BLM projects primarily within the Green River Basin, SW Wyoming. This project would assist in providing native plant material and seed for watershed restoration projects on federal lands. The project is in compliance with National BLM native plant policies and goals. Currently, Wyoming BLM does not have native species under cultivation. The native plant program will provide seed and seedlings for field office’s programs, principally wildfire...
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This project improves the age class and diversity of plant communities. Improving transitional range will help hold the antelope and deer in this area, saving crucial winter areas for use later in the season. Other wildlife benefitting from this treatment are small mammals and a variety of birds, including sage grouse. Quality, quantity, and availability of forage in this transitional-migratory area will be improved. The units of accomplishments for this project, 10,000 acres (JM), are shared with multiple funding sources; due to the timing of the project; some units will carry over into FY 08. Some of the included acres are within the Wildland Urban Interface (JW).
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The proposed action is to conduct several different forms of forest and rangeland health treatments to improve and restore good health conditions in aspen woodlands and rangelenads on roughly between 700,000-750,000 acres of public lands. The goal is to implement a combination of treatments (mechanical removal of conifer encroachment in aspen stands, prescribed burning, hazardous fuels reduction and mechanical brush beating) within identified areas of forest and rangelands to improve aspen stands, rangeland vegetation, and riparian ecosystem health; improve livestock grazing and wildlife habitat conditions; and reduce hazardous fire fuel build up within juniper woodlands. This is an effort to improve the overall...
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Since 1990, more than 2 million dollars has been spent on habitat-restoration and enhancement projects in the Little Mountain Ecosystem. Many of these efforts have focused on restoring aspen communities to maintain or improve water quality and to enhance ungulate habitat. During 2009, biologists from the WGFD Green River Regional Office established long-term monitoring plots on Little Mountain to evaluate whether the increased number of ungulates using those stands is in balance with targets set for aspen regeneration. The WGFD is collecting data for developing an index of live to dead trees. The USGS is supporting this effort by measuring stand composition to study herbivory patterns at locations associated with...
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The shrub-steppe system that dominates the WLCI region separates the northern and southern Rocky Mountains; thus, forested areas in the WLCI region are limited. In the Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming, riparian and aspen woodlands comprise only a small fraction of the landscape, but many agencies perceive them as priority habitats because they make important contributions to landscape connectivity and biodiversity at local, regional, and geographic scales. Not only do aspen communities support a unique and diverse suite of species in the WLCI region, they provide important forage and cover for ungulates, help maintain headwater stream function, and they may serve as stepping stones for migratory forest birds...
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Russian olive and tamarisk are two invasive species that have established along the Green River. These two species are poor riparian plants and are outcompeting the native vegetation. Native vegetation is well suited to stabilize stream banks and capture sediment, thereby improving water quality. Currently the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has funded the Teton Science School to conduct an assessment from Fontenelle Dam to the southern end of Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and the City of Green River is treating Russian olive and Tamarisk on their properties. There is a need to complete an assessment from the southern boundary of Seedskadee NWR to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, initiate control measures...
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Partners and stakeholders of the WLCI have expressed the need to access descriptive information and locations of (1) "on-the-ground" habitat conservation projects managed by the WLCI Coordination Team and (2) science projects being conducted by USGS and other science-agency partners. In response to this need, WLCI project information is documented in the Clearinghouse and available on the WLCI Web site (www.wlci.gov). The Clearinghouse provides an interactive map environment enabling users to click on geospatially referenced points, view project information, link to additional resources (including data), and use search and filter capabilities to constrain the information returned. Project information is entered...
Energy and other forms of development can have significant effects on ranching and farming communities. Jobes (1987) characterizes these communities as small, isolated, stable, interdependent, and independent of outsiders, and argues that energy development can devastate such communities because the informal institutions that hold them together (for example, community meetings) are disrupted and replaced by formal institutions. Many people may begin to feel like outsiders in their own communities as the population grows and changes rapidly. This causes some people to feel less satisfaction with their lives and move away. The lack of current research on how energy development affects ranching communities provides...
map background search result map search result map Green River Russian Olive - Tamarisk Lincoln and Uinta County Invasives Native Seed Development in Wyoming Red Canyon/Elk Mountain Prescribed Burn LSCD - Little Snake Aspen Work Adobetown Range Area Improvements Red Rim Wildlife Habitat Management Area Improvements Battle Creek Restoration Bitter Creek Tamarix Removal Sweetwater River Restoration (Phase II) New Fork River Infiltration of Trace Organics Green River Russian Olive - Tamarisk Battle Creek Restoration Red Canyon/Elk Mountain Prescribed Burn LSCD - Little Snake Aspen Work New Fork River Infiltration of Trace Organics Lincoln and Uinta County Invasives