May 2020 - The WYldlife Fund

Access YES expanded

The WYldlife Fund is pleased to report that a gift of $10,000.00 has been made by the Williams Foundation to benefit the Access YES Program in Wyoming. The WYldlife Fund is pleased to provide these funds to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to expand the Access YES Program.

As stated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the goal of the Access Yes Program is to enhance and/or maintain public hunting and fishing access onto Wyoming private and landlocked public lands. This is accomplished by enrolling private landowners into one of the access programs (Hunter Management Area, Walk-in Hunting, and/or Walk-in Fishing). The landowner and Department personnel negotiate the terms of an agreement including: agreement length (one to five years), the species that can be harvested, the geographic location, dates access will be allowed, and any other specific rules or stipulations. In return for access, landowners benefit in several ways including:

A modest monetary payment based on the number of acres or stream length enrolled;
Increased law enforcement presence;
Increased wildlife management (population control and damage prevention); and,
Management of sportsmen, alleviating phone calls and other disruptions to landowners (access maps, hunter instruction on ranch rules, etc.).

We are incredibly pleased to concur with the Williams Foundation’s wishes to provide these dollars in the hopes of positively influencing the Access YES Program.

The WYldlife Fund is committed to working towards creating further access to private and landlocked public lands to all individuals who enjoy exploring the great outdoors.

Success for the Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management Area

The Williams Foundation has made a generous contribution of $10,000 to The WYldlife Fund. This gift is being used to issue our first grant which will be used to install wildlife friendly fencing at the Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management Area.

The Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management (WHMA) Area is located 38 miles south of Rawlins, WY and consists of 38,218 acres of Commission owned land, Office of State Lands and Investment as well as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. As a patchwork of property, the WHMA is managed by both the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the BLM who work cooperatively to maintain and enhance habitat and continue livestock grazing. The WHMA transitions fluidly from riparian meadows to sprawling sagebrush uplands that interweaves with tangles of mountain shrubs and lush aspen stands. The WHMA is particularly important to the mule deer, elk, and antelope that make Red Rim-Grizzly their home. They spend the spring, summer, and fall months using the area to raise their fawns and calves as well as find forage to restore their fat reserves needed for winter. Black bears also frequent the thick serviceberry stands, readying for winter; while sage grouse meander through the riparian meadows and neighboring sagebrush in summer and early fall months when brooding and rearing their chicks. The many streams that feed this bustling habitat are home to the Colorado Cutthroat Trout and native non-game fish.

There are approximately eighty-eight (88) miles of fence surrounding and within the unit that facilitate active grazing management. Of these eighty-eight (88) miles, there are roughly thirty-five (35) miles of non-wildlife friendly fencing of either six-strand wire or woven wire sheep fence. This fencing poses significant hazard to wildlife and restricts wildlife movement across a vital landscape that provides critical seasonal and life stage habitats. Converting these fences not only ensures access and movement across this landscape, but also assists in the implementation of the WHMA’s grazing management plan by keeping livestock in appropriate pastures during the grazing season. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department along with its partners actively strive to convert two (2) to five (5) miles of fence each year through contracts, grazing cooperator agreements, volunteers, and employees. All fences are converted to a four strand (three-barbed one smooth) wildlife friendly specification unless terrain or other factors dictate otherwise. When terrain demands such changes, another wildlife friendly option will be used. The generous gift of $10,000 from The Williams Foundation to The WYldlife Fund will be used towards these valuable and needed fence conversions.

Success for the Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management Area

The Williams Foundation has made a generous contribution of $10,000 to The WYldlife Fund. This gift is being used to issue our first grant which will be used to install wildlife friendly fencing at the Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management Area.

The Red Rim-Grizzly Wildlife Habitat Management (WHMA) Area is located 38 miles south of Rawlins, WY and consists of 38,218 acres of Commission owned land, Office of State Lands and Investment as well as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. As a patchwork of property, the WHMA is managed by both the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the BLM who work cooperatively to maintain and enhance habitat and continue livestock grazing. The WHMA transitions fluidly from riparian meadows to sprawling sagebrush uplands that interweaves with tangles of mountain shrubs and lush aspen stands. The WHMA is particularly important to the mule deer, elk, and antelope that make Red Rim-Grizzly their home. They spend the spring, summer, and fall months using the area to raise their fawns and calves as well as find forage to restore their fat reserves needed for winter. Black bears also frequent the thick serviceberry stands, readying for winter; while sage grouse meander through the riparian meadows and neighboring sagebrush in summer and early fall months when brooding and rearing their chicks. The many streams that feed this bustling habitat are home to the Colorado Cutthroat Trout and native non-game fish.

There are approximately eighty-eight (88) miles of fence surrounding and within the unit that facilitate active grazing management. Of these eighty-eight (88) miles, there are roughly thirty-five (35) miles of non-wildlife friendly fencing of either six-strand wire or woven wire sheep fence. This fencing poses significant hazard to wildlife and restricts wildlife movement across a vital landscape that provides critical seasonal and life stage habitats. Converting these fences not only ensures access and movement across this landscape, but also assists in the implementation of the WHMA’s grazing management plan by keeping livestock in appropriate pastures during the grazing season. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department along with its partners actively strive to convert two (2) to five (5) miles of fence each year through contracts, grazing cooperator agreements, volunteers, and employees. All fences are converted to a four strand (three-barbed one smooth) wildlife friendly specification unless terrain or other factors dictate otherwise. When terrain demands such changes, another wildlife friendly option will be used. The generous gift of $10,000 from The Williams Foundation to The WYldlife Fund will be used towards these valuable and needed fence conversions.