CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) announced Monday that it has dedicated $548,000 towards sage grouse conservation efforts.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will award funding to projects that will address the primary threats to sage grouse and its habitat.
The species currently faces habitat loss due to vehicle-related disturbance and human development including roads, pipelines and power lines.
According to the WGFD, proposed projects will be evaluated based on consistency with Wyoming’s Core Area management strategy, local sage grouse conservation plan, likelihood of success, project readiness, matching funds, multiple species benefits, significance at local/state/regional level, duration of benefits and adequacy of monitoring.
Examples of past projects include:
- Habitat restoration using beaver dam analogs and zeedyk structures made of rock or wood to restore the hydrologic function of wet meadows and small streams
- Research to enhance management and understanding of sage grouse
- Fence conversion and marking
- Invasive annual grass treatments
- Spring development and fencing
- Escape ramps on stock tanks
- Conifer removal
- Lek searches using infrared flights
There is no application deadlilne. For full application details download the Project Proposal Form. Funding is awarded Feb. 1, 2024 through Jan. 31, 2025, or until it is exhausted. Submitting applications early is preferred. Groups can submit project proposals online.
Applications and questions can be submitted to Nyssa Whitford, Game and Fish sage grouse/sagebrush biologist, at nyssa.whitford@wyo.gov.
