As a Federation, a group that brings others together, WWF is constantly engaged in partnerships with various nonprofits, teamwork with multiple stakeholders, and works together with members of all backgrounds to come to positive solutions for the future of Wyoming’s wildlife, habitat and outdoor opportunities.
By coming together as an active member of task forces, the Federation lends the sporting voice to a whole cadre of conservation issues. These issues cover a wide span, from the importance of wildlife crossings with the Wyoming Wildlife and Roadways Initiative Implementation Team (WRRIIT) or the Sage Grouse Implementation Team focused on protecting the Greater Sage-Grouse by using the State of Wyoming’s Sage-Grouse Executive Order (2019-3).
Task Forces Currently Engaged In…
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission’s Wildlife Task Force
Created in 2020 to tackle some of the hunting and angling community’s biggest issues, the Wyoming Wildlife Taskforce was formed, and members appointed jointly by, the Governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president of the Senate, the president of the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and the director of the Game and Fish Department. While the Federation is not a member on the task force itself, they will be actively involved in the public process and voice concerns and solutions for the sporting community.
Sage Grouse Implementation Team (SGIT)
As a member of the Wyoming Sage-grouse Implementation Team (SGIT) since 2007, WWF helps the proactive, science-driven, locally-led conservation methods employed by the SGIT to yield the most economical and sustainable outcomes that will support Wyoming’s wildlife, economy, and way of life into the future. Currently, policy director Joy Bannon is engaged as a member of the team.
Governor Gordon is the third Wyoming Governor to sign a Sage Grouse Executive Order (2019-3). The order continues the conservation of 300 species on 25 million acres of Wyoming’s sagebrush ecosystem. The Order firms up the process for compensatory mitigation efforts, and ensures state agencies finalize their process and protocols for data collection and reporting.
Wyoming Wildlife and Roadways Initiative Implementation Team (WWRIIT)
The Wyoming Wildlife and Roadways Initiative (WWRI) is a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) to improve public safety on our highways, reduce the loss of lives and property, and reduce impacts to our wildlife heritage.
The Greater Little Mountain Coalition
The Greater Little Mountain Area (GLMA) is a unique high desert region regarded by biologists, resource managers and sportsmen, and sportswomen to contain some of the most sensitive fish and wildlife habitat in Wyoming. This habitat also presents a tremendous opportunity for hunters and anglers. The GLMA is one of the most sought-after hunting areas for mule deer and elk, and its small mountain streams hold abundant cutthroat trout. All of these opportunities take place under a backdrop of rolling aspen groves, pine forests and red-striped badlands; outdoor recreation opportunities abound. In 2008, the Greater Little Mountain Coalition (GLMC) formed to protect this region.
Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition
Each year, Wyoming Governor’s complimentary big game licenses are made available as authorized by state statute. These include five bighorn sheep, five moose, ten deer/elk/pronghorn, and five wild bison licenses. The Coalition can fund an array of non-game and sensitive species projects. Project applicants apply for Coalition funding in January of each year, with funds being awarded each spring. In a typical year, the Coalition provides funding for over 50 different projects addressing a wide range of conservation needs.
Previous Task Forces
Wyoming Chronic Wasting Disease Working Group
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director made appointments to the Chronic Wasting Disease working group, composed of 32 people from a diverse range of backgrounds, professions, and interests from across Wyoming. This group developed recommendations to revise Game and Fish’s CWD management plan to help address the always-fatal disease in deer, elk, and moose populations. The Wyoming Wildlife Federation was involved in the public process and helped voice the hunter’s concerns for disease management. The Wyoming Chronic Wasting Disease management plan was adopted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in the summer of 2020.
You can find the management plan here >>
Fish and Wildlife Resources Task Force
Governor Matt Mead appointed Steve Kilpatrick of WWF to this task force (April 2015). The goal of this task force is to recommend strategies to maximize the benefits of the state’s fish and wildlife resources. Recommendations included funding, education, vocation and outdoor recreation opportunities, as well as different ways to support the state’s resources. Governor Mead says, this task force will work to “engage everyone who enjoys wildlife, not just hunters and anglers.”
Sage Grouse Task Force (Western Governors’ Association)
This working group, chaired by former Governor Matt Mead and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, included members representing 11 western states, USFWS, BLM, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service, USGS, Department of Interior, WWF, and other conservation groups. This task force worked to identify and implement high-priority conservation actions and to integrate ongoing actions necessary to preclude the need for sage grouse to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Governor’s Task Force on Forest Health
Governor Matt Mead convened this task force, composed of stakeholders, to develop recommendations on how Wyoming can best improve the health of its forests. The task force was made up of industry, conservation groups, forest users (including WWF), and representatives of federal, state and local governments. This group provided a final report fall of 2014 to the governor after holding five public meetings in various locations around Wyoming since 2013.
The Issues Addressed
Each Program that Wyoming Wildlife Federation runs affects a variety of
different conservation Issues. Click on an Issue to find out more about it.
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Help Protect Our Way of Life
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