Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from The WYldlife Fund! Thanks to our incredible supporters we are grateful to make another big funding announcement for Wyoming’s wildlife.

Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow, a signature program of The WYldlife Fund, inspires businesses and individuals who depend upon Wyoming’s Wildlife to help fund on-the ground projects that make a difference. This visionary program led by Wyldlife Fund Board Member, Taylor Phillips has already yielded great success for wildlife. This movement puts tourism related dollars directly into projects you select and support our shared wildlife legacy today.

To date, this program has raised $203,000 for Wyoming’s wildlife with over 70 businesses supporting through charitable contributions!

This past week at the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meeting in Rock Springs, we announced $84,900 in gifts for ‘on the ground’ wildlife conservation projects through this signature program!

Read more information on these projects below!

New Fork River Restoration

Restoration strategies will restore channel dimensions to reference conditions (narrow and deepen channel cross sections), alleviate highly erosive stream banks, and provide additional cover for fish within the channel. Click here to learn more.

South Park Wetlands Enhancement

The effort will reconnect old channel scars in the cottonwood gallery to the Snake River, helping raise the water table and increase the complexity of the forested habitat. Additional shallow water wetlands will be built to provide more filtering, as well as more habitat for migrating waterbirds. Click here to learn more.

Grand Teton National Park Sagebrush Restoration

As the project has progressed, so too has the park’s experimentation with different management techniques to yield better outcomes overall—including greater diversity of native plant species and higher quality habitat, which together are key to supporting wildlife and a balanced ecosystem. Click here to learn more.

Beaver Holding Facility

Beavers can drastically alter river ecosystems by impounding water through dam construction, which can greatly benefit habitat. Dams create higher water tables, reconnect and expand floodplains, expand wetlands, improve water quality, and increase diversity and richness in the populations of plant and animal life. Click here to learn more.

Expanding the conservation funding model

The spectacular wildlife found in our state exist thanks to over a century of dedicated conservation efforts.

Wildlife conservation in Wyoming is primarily funded via the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, federal aid from the Pittman Robertson and Dingell Johnson (excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment), and a few other small areas. Wyoming Game and Fish Department receives no property taxes from the state of Wyoming or contributions from recreational users. In short, the hunting and fishing community shoulders the majority of the burden of wildlife conservation.

We believe more of us should be pitching in to wildlife conservation in Wyoming. This program aims to change this, creating a funding mechanism that will allow the businesses and individuals who depend upon wildlife to contribute to their sustainable future. Click here to learn more!

Thank you for helping make this signature program a tremendous success. We are currently working through a rebranding effort when it comes to Wildlife Tourism For Tomorrow, so stay tuned! We are excited to continue to grow this initiative and place more dollars on the ground for the benefit of Wyoming’s wildlife.

We wish both you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season.

Sincerely,

Chris McBarnes

President

The WYldlife Fund

I-25 (Buffalo to Kaycee) Wildlife Crossing Project – Fully Funded and Bid Accepted

One of The WYldlife Fund’s first objectives has been to construct wildlife crossings in key areas of Wyoming. Wildlife crossings are an effective way to save wildlife and protect drivers. According to one conservative estimate, wildlife-vehicle collisions in Wyoming cost $54-56 million per year. This includes the costs due to human injuries, vehicle damages, and lost wildlife value.

Our first large project focus has been the I-25 (Buffalo to Kaycee) Wildlife Crossing Project. This effort between The WYldlife Fund and our strategic partners seeks to build 15 miles of exclusionary fencing to direct wildlife — mainly mule deer — to existing underpasses as opposed to crossing the highway surface. We are so thrilled to have accomplished our goal, as the Wyoming Department of Transportation recently accepted a bid to start the building of the exclusionary fencing. Construction is expected to begin in spring of 2023.

The allure of this project and the reason for its relatively low overall cost is due to the use of these existing underpasses being utilized to provide safe passage for wildlife across I-25. The crossing will improve wildlife connectivity across a 15 mile stretch of I-25 by directing wildlife to six different existing underpasses. Deer escape ramps, cattle guards and gates will also be included in construction plans to facilitate appropriate movements of big game animals into the future.

Carcass counts and crash data will be used to compare conditions before and after project completion to measure success of the project. We will also confer with the Powder River Mule Deer Initiative Research to compare pre and post project data.

By reducing wildlife-vehicle mortalities, we expect an increase in overall mule deer population numbers in the Upper Powder River and Pumpkin Buttes.

Learn more about our Wildlife Crossing Work.

How has The WYldlife Fund contributed to this important project?

Partnered with the Knobloch Family Foundation to raise $200,000
Partnered with the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund to raise $125,000
Partnered with the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust to help generate over $350,000 in matching funds
Donated 100% of proceeds from a Wyoming Commissioner License sale for $25,000: if you purchased a ticket in our raffle, YOU helped support this project
Partnered with Williams energy to raise $10,000
Partnered with our friends at the Muley Fanatic Foundation to hold the first Golf for Wildlife Outing in Buffalo which raised $7,000
Donated $2,500 to help promote the Governor’s wildlife license plate challenge in 2020 which generated dollars for statewide wildlife crossing projects

The WYldlife Fund is honored to have worked with several other outstanding organizations who advocated for and raised essential funds for this project.

THANK YOU TO THESE INCREDIBLE PARTNERS AND FUNDERS

Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Knobloch Family Foundation

Muley Fanatic Foundation

Williams Energy

Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust

Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fund

Wildlife projects funded through signature program

Expanding the conservation funding model

I-25 Wildlife Crossing FUNDED