Visitor Counter

hitwebcounter web counter
Visitors Since Blog Created in March 2010

Click Below to:

Add Blog to Favorites

Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions. This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization. Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Subscribe via email to get updates

Enter your email address:

Receive New Posting Alerts

(A Maximum of One Alert Per Day)

Friday, March 15, 2013

The PATH OF THE PRONGHORN---the 93 mile migration route between Teton Park and the Green River basin got a $20,000 grant from the Orvis Fishing folks for use by the Wildlife Conservation Society to study the effectiveness of the under and overpasses that assist the "antelopes" in their annual back and forth movements along the corridor

Contact: Scott Smith
ssmith@wcs.org
Wildlife Conservation Society 

More good news for pronghorn

Orvis Company, Inc. supports Wildlife Conservation Society's 'Path of the Pronghorn' efforts

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today announced a $20,000 grant from Orvis Company, Inc. that will help fund the WCS North America Program's continued conservation efforts along the "Path of the Pronghorn."












For more than a decade, WCS has studied the approximate 93-mile (150 km) migration of pronghorn along the path between wintering grounds in the Upper Green River Basin and summering grounds in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). This led to collaboration with GTNP and Bridger Teton National Forest to bring about the designation of the Path of the Pronghorn as the first and only federally designated migration corridor in the United States.

As part of their research, WCS scientists used GPS tracking collars to collect information over the course of five years on the location and timing of pronghorn movements and impediments to migration such as fences, roadways, pipelines, and other energy development infrastructure.

The grant will be used to continue WCS efforts to understand the effectiveness of two overpass structures and six underpass structures recently constructed to enhance habitat connectivity for pronghorn along the designated migration corridor. This information will be used to inform similar efforts for migrating pronghorn and other species in other regions of the US.

WCS Conservation Scientist Jon Beckmann said, "Funding like this is critical to Path of the Pronghorn research and to turning that research into action. Continued conservation efforts coupled with partnerships among government officials, land and transportation planners, and others will ensure that the Grand Teton National Park's ecosystem remains ecologically intact and that this 6,000 year-old migration—the longest overland migration in the contiguous United States— remains a part of our national heritage."





















Last fall, the newly constructed overpasses provided safe passage for thousands of migrating pronghorn over U.S. Highway 191 in Trapper's Point, Wyoming, and surrounding areas. The event marked the beginning of a new era of reduced risk of wildlife/vehicular collisions in the area.

The locations of the structures were informed by data collected by WCS, National Park Service, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department that identified the pronghorn's preferred migration routes and highway crossing points. Using this information, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) was able to locate and build two overpass and six underpass crossing structures as part of an effort to protect motorists and provide safe passage for migrating pronghorn and other wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

"How and where we choose to live and develop lands affects wildlife, and we are responsible for minimizing adverse impacts wherever possible," said David Perkins, Vice Chairman for the Orvis Company. "The Path of the Pronghorn is an excellent example of where we can make a real difference. Seeing migrating pronghorn make immediate use of a newly constructed highway overpass confirms the wildlife return on investment and the value in supporting such efforts. I cannot think of a better place for Orvis and you to invest your money."
WCS North America Program Director Jodi Hilty said, "We are very grateful to Orvis for their support and pleased to work with donors and partners who understand the significance of this migration and the importance of preserving it in perpetuity."

Pronghorn are North America's fastest land animals. They numbered an estimated 35 million in the early 19th century. Today, about 700,000 remain and more than half of those live in Wyoming. The animals migrate to find food, mating opportunities, suitable habitat, and other resources they need to survive.

No comments: