Protecting Our Precious Wildlife

Migration Corridors & Connectivity

The wildlife migration paths stitching sagebrush plains to high summer range throughout the Upper Green River country sustain some of the largest mule deer and pronghorn populations in the Western US.  While these corridors provide access up and down most drainages in the valley, some are more valuable than others in providing assured travel between summer forage and deep winter snows.

In 2002, working with a local rancher and the Wyoming Game & Fish Dept., our staff halted the BLM’s oil and gas lease sale at the Trapper’s Point migration corridor bottleneck (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1834012/figure/fig2/), a narrow and difficult traverse for pronghorn antelope and mule deer that provides access to the second-longest terrestrial migration route in the Western hemisphere.

Considered high-priority and invariant by wildlife researchers (http://www.wcs.org/saving-wildlife/hoofed-mammals/pronghorn.aspx), this migration bottleneck has funneled pronghorn passage from the Upper Green to Grand Teton National Park for approximately 6800 years.

See a simulated flyover of the Path of the Pronghorn here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n992EofYEX4.

While some parts of the migration corridor have enjoyed recent recognition and preservation efforts, other high-priority sections continue to be threatened by industrial development.  Using the most recent scientific research, we will work to preserve passage for pronghorn all the way to crucial winter range.

To see how you can help protect the Path of the Pronghorn all the way to crucial winter range, go to the next page and click on "Path of the Pronghorn."