DUBOIS, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) will hold a public meeting in Jackson on Monday, July 8 at 5 p.m. in the Teton County Library to seek input on the proposed identification of the Upper Wind River Mule Deer Migration Corridor.
The Upper Wind River Mule Deer Migration Corridor is primarily used by the Dubois mule deer herd, but also provides vital passage for mule deer from the Sublette herd and Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.
This wildlife crossing project will include the construction of three new underpasses, one overpass and the improvement of three existing underpasses.
According to the WGFD, these crossings will reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and maintain habitat connectivity for mule deer and a variety of other species. The Upper Wind River, which serves as a major deer migration route between summer and winter ranges, follows the same route as US26. This highway is a key access route for people traveling to national parks and Jackson Hole. The close proximity of deer and vehicle migration routes results in frequent wildlife-vehicle collisions, particularly in the spring and fall migrations when hundreds of mule deer cross the road.
The WGFD says that the Dubois herd has declined over the past 20 years, but not to the degree of statewide declines. This could be partly due to the long-standing use of intact migration routes. Mule deer in this herd migrate from five to 90 miles between their high-elevation summer ranges in the Wind River, Absaroka, Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges and their low-elevation winter ranges on the eastern Wind River front.
“Moving forward in the process is an important step in managing vital mule deer habitat in Wyoming,” WGFD Deputy Chief of Wildlife Doug Brimeyer said in the announcement. “With the identification of the corridor, additional funding opportunities become available for conservation-based projects on private and public lands to treat invasive annual grasses, improve range fences to wildlife-friendly standards and other proactive management actions.”
The WGFD specifically aims to gain approval of the migration corridor maps and the draft threat evaluation.
Identifying the migration corridor and developing the threat evaluation is the first step outlined in the Governor’s Executive Order and is open to public comment. The deadline to submit comments is 5 p.m. on Friday, August 9. Written comments and the department’s recommendation will be presented to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission before its September meeting in Douglas.
A Dubois public meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 9 at 6 p.m. in the Dennison Lodge.
