Habitat & Water Improvements

Discover boots-on-the-ground projects to get involved with in Wyoming

Outdoor opportunities would mean nothing without clean water and intact landscapes. Our vision is a Wyoming with clean water and healthy habitat to help support the wildlife and fish species that depend on them. We work for policy and management initiatives that benefit the species, habitats, and people of Wyoming through protecting the land and water resources that are the foundations to healthy wildlife populations and a strong, sustainable economy.

The Federation has doubled down on landscape connectivity by putting boots on the ground directly to benefit wildlife. This work includes fence pulls and modifications, beaver dam analog projects, feral horse exclosures, fishing access area improvements, and much more.

The Wyoming Wildlife Federation is looking for suggested projects to improve habitat for wildlife and our members along the eastern half of Wyoming, as well. If you or someone you know has an idea for a project, please contact the Wyoming Wildlife Federation at info@wyomingwildlife.org

Upcoming Habitat Projects

Grizzly WHMA Volunteer Fence Day | June 15, 2024

The final year of the Grizzly WHMA volunteer fence project is June 15, 2024!
This project will have replaced 17 miles of old woven wire and other dilapidated fences in the Baggs Mule Deer Migration Corridor with a wildlife-friendly alternative.

We always need extra hands with this project because it's so far from any major towns in Wyoming. The plan will be to meet at the Grizzly WHMA headquarters at 8:00 am, which is about 40 miles south of Rawlins and 40 miles NE of Baggs.

Camping will be allowed on the unit for the sole purpose of working on this project, and we will have porta-potties set up for people to use. WWF will bring lunches on the workday, but if folks wish to camp out with us, they are responsible for their breakfast and supper.

Please email info@wyomingwildlife.org if you would like to RSVP and would like more information!

Thanks to the good folks at Rocky Mountain Power and the Laura Jane Musser Fund for making this project possible.

Buck Brush Seed Collection Day | July 24, 2024

PRESENTED BY:

 

There's a need for habitat improvement projects in critical mule deer habitat near Lander, and we need your help!

Step one in this process is collecting bitterbrush seeds from local thriving bitterbrush plants to provide seeds for future planting projects to improve mule deer forage. 

Join us on July 24, 2024 at 5 pm south of Lander to bust brush and collect seeds for future projects!

Partners at the Bureau of Land Management will identify the elevational gradient that will be ideal for seed collection for the day of the event to put volunteers and staff on top of the best possible collection site. These sites are near Weiser Knoll, near the Red Canyon Lookout, and at the pull-out above the Red Canyon WHMA between 14 and 21 miles south of Lander on Highway 28. 

WWF staff will have tailgate burgers and beverages to thank volunteers for attending the event after work in the middle of the work week.

Wyoming Range Migration Corridor Fence Project | TBD

Throughout the summer of 2023, contractors converted 6.5 fences along Fontanelle Creek to a wildlife-friendly fence that allows Wyoming Range Mule Deer to migrate across the landscape more easily. There is also a forthcoming volunteer fence-building day in 2024 to construct buck rail fences over rocky sections of the fence line.

RSVP via email at info@wyomingwildlife.org.

Support for this project is also provided by Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others.

Green River Access Project  | IN PROGRESS

Since access is currently limited to a few points of entry, fishermen and guide services congest and heavily impact the area, leading to waste pollution due to a lack of outhouses, soil erosion from boats and vehicles, dense human presence that drives wildlife away from the area, and acute over-fishing. Improving access in these areas is good for the fishery and riparian area that’s so important in this part of Wyoming.

Completed Habitat Projects

Jackson Ramsay and Nick Walrath

Trout Creek Beaver Dam Analogs

Little Mountain, WY | May 12-14, 2022

Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) are crucial in fighting bank erosion, fast run-off during drought years, improve riparian vegetation, and help promote more beaver to build deeper pools of water that are good for native cutthroat trout. Over 60 people built 40 BDAs to help the flows of the Trout Creek near Little Mountain with this project.

Photo of author, and WWF Executive Director, Joy Bannon removing staples after climbing the woven wire.

Shoshone National Forest Fence Removal

Dubois, WY | July 24, 2022

This was a joint project with our partners at Red Canyon Chapter of RMEF, Bowhunters of Wyoming, Shoshone National Forest, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

For this project, volunteers climbed the lower rungs of the woven wire to remove the top wires of the 8-foot fence (you can see our ED Joy doing this), and then worked their way down to pull all 21 staples from each post. This old fence is a major hinderance for critters getting around, no more!

Working Green River Access

Green River Access Project

Green River, WY | October 2022

Since access is currently limited to a few points of entry, fishermen and guide services congest and heavily impact the area, leading to waste pollution due to a lack of outhouses, soil erosion from boats and vehicles, dense human presence that drives wildlife away from the area, and acute over-fishing. WWF began installing two access points while working with a contractor in the area to improve this habitat and access.

Fence Posts Stack

Arlington Fence Removal

Pinedale, WY | June 12, 2021

Located on the northern end of the Snowy Range, this project included taking down a mile of woven sheep fence with another four strands of barb wire on top of the woven wire, as well as taking out all posts and poles to improve movement for wildlife in the area.

Installing Let Down Fencing

Jonah Field Fence Improvement

Pinedale, WY | August 6, 2021

The Federation teamed up with the folks from Jonah Energy for a field day on August 6, 2021 to add clips to the existing fences in the area. This project modified four miles of the non-wildlife friendly fence into a wildlife-friendly fence. The lower wire can now be lifted higher off the ground in times when the allotments are not in use to make it easier for the Sublette pronghorn herd to get across the landscape for migration.

UTV_Dog_Fence

La Barge Let-down Fence Project

La Barge, WY | July 18, 2020

The Wyoming Wildlife Federation joined with local landowners at the Diamond H, and members of SOS Well Services to install let-down fencing on the La Barge livestock common allotment. The fencing is laid down to improve migration movements for deer and elk.

Latest Related News

Volunteer For Mule Deer: Final Grizzly WHMA Volunteer Fence Day 2024

By Jaden Bales | April 11, 2024

Volunteer For Mule Deer: FInal Grizzly WHMA Volunteer Fence Day RSVP & COMPLETE LIABILITY WAIVER HERE The Grizzly WHMA Volunteer Fence Day, set for June 15, 2024, marks a significant milestone in wildlife conservation efforts within the Baggs Mule Deer Migration Corridor. This …

Volunteer For Mule Deer: Final Grizzly WHMA Volunteer Fence Day 2024 Read More »

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