Blog Archives - Page 6 of 6 - The WYldlife Fund

The WYldlife Fund sends $20,500 to the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing Project thanks to partnership with the Upper Green River Chapter of Muley Fanatics

Organizations stand beside Game and Fish Commission to prioritize safe passages.

The Muley Fanatic Foundation has enthusiastically delivered a check for $20,500 to The WYldlife Fund in order to make the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing a reality. This project meets a major need in keeping our wildlife and drivers on the go. It has been shown that 85% of wildlife collisions are with mule deer.

Chairman of the Upper Green River Chapter Mitch Kannier explains, “The Dry Piney Project is only inches away from being completely funded. This project undoubtedly will make our roadways safer for our families and wildlife. We are proud to partner with the newly founded The WYldlife Fund to route these dollars to this much needed project. This project will deliver instant roadway safety, positive wildlife results and migration corridor protection.”

There have been 26,491 big game animals killed across the state of Wyoming in the past 5 years. This includes species such as elk, moose, deer and antelope. Research has shown that 18.9% of all highway crashes in Wyoming involve wildlife. The Dry Piney area is ranked 3^rdout of 42 hot spots for wildlife crashes identified in the state of Wyoming.

In accepting this gift, The WYldlife Fund President Mike Schmid expressed the Fund’s commitment to supporting Wyoming’s wildlife and promoting safety on roadways for all drivers.

“Wildlife crossings are an effective way to make a direct and positive impact on Wyoming’s wildlife. Pairing underpasses and overpasses with high fencing can reduce wildlife collisions by 90%. The WYldlife Fund is a vehicle to route dollars to on the ground projects which will strengthen and advance our wildlife. We are proud to partner with Muley Fanatics and stand ready to continue our mission of collaboration with other great organizations well into the future,” Schmid said.

Muley Fanatics Co-Founder Joshua Coursey stated, “We are proud and humbled that our donors have made this gift possible. We take stewardship of donor funds to the highest level and believe that this project will not only save wildlife but also keep our loved ones that much safer. We know that per big game collision in Wyoming there is an average of $11,600 in injury and property damage costs.”

“Pairing the recent mowing project which improved visibility and habitat along Highway 189 and the Dry Piney Project being just around the corner will mean improvement of Wyoming’s wildlife in a big way,” said Upper Green River Chapter Co Chairman Zachary Key.

“We live in one of the strongest communities in the state and I am proud to be able to give back to it. We also encourage community members to purchase conservation plates through WYDOT as these funds will help build wildlife crossing projects across Wyoming,” concluded Upper Green River Chapter Co Chairman Ray Alexander.

The WYldlife Fund will send the gift of $20,500 to the Dry Piney Project via the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust. This will ensure that even further matching funds from the state of Wyoming will be applied to this gift in order to complete additional wildlife initiatives in the future.

A Commitment to Safe Passages

The WYldlife Fund Announces $25,000 Gift To Kaycee-Buffalo Wildlife Crossing Project.

New fund stands beside Game and Fish Commission to prioritize safe passages.

The WYldlife Fund has enthusiastically pledged $25,000 towards the I-25 Kaycee to Buffalo wildlife crossing project. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are common, especially with deer, elk, antelope, and moose and are an increasing trend over the last several decades in North America.

In announcing this gift, The WYldlife Fund President Mike Schmid expressed the Fund’s commitment to supporting Wyoming’s wildlife and promoting safety on roadways for all drivers.

“Wildlife crossings are an effective way to make a positive and direct impact on our wildlife across Wyoming,” Schmid said.

Statewide, over 6,000 animals like deer, pronghorn, elk, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goats die each year from collisions. This number may even be larger due to underreported crashes.

“The funding toward wildlife crossings from Kaycee to Buffalo will save wildlife and make our roadways safer for all drivers. We know 15% of all Wyoming crashes are with wildlife and that there is an average cost of $11,600 in injury and property damage per collision,” Schmid said.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Commission have championed and created strategic partnerships to reduce collisions and keep wildlife and drivers on the go.

“The WYldlife Fund is the first of our many partners to step-up and answer the Commission’s newest challenge to reach our funding goal,” said Brian Nesvik, Wyoming Game and Fish Department director.

The I-25 Kaycee to Buffalo Project, mileposts 255-270, boasts the second highest rate of collisions with deer on a Wyoming interstate. The interstate currently limits the safe movement of mule deer seeking additional habitat. This shovel-ready project will utilize exclusionary fencing to funnel wildlife to six existing crossing structures, such as underpasses, bridges and culverts. This project will also add deer ramps, gates, and cattle guards, as needed. The total project cost is estimated to be $2 million.

The WYldlife Fund is a 501c3 who unites peoples to advance Wyoming wildlife habitat, research, and education. The newly established Fund is a home for all lovers of wildlife and exists to inject funds on the ground to advance critical wildlife projects.

The WYldlife Funds sends $29,000 to the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing project

Thank You to the Muley Fanatic Foundation and the Mule Deer Foundation for their generous contributions!

Providing safe passage across busy roadways for Wyoming’s wildlife! Also, keeping our roadways safe for drivers!

The WYldlife Fund unites people to advance Wyoming wildlife habitat, research, and education. Our foundation strives to be a vehicle to inject donor funds on the ground to advance critical projects and initiatives which strengthen Wyoming’s wildlife. We are a home for tax deductible gifts. Our foundation accepts restricted gifts so that a donor’s particular passion is directly and transparently funded.

Our latest grant heads to the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing project. This stretch of US-189 has one of the highest rates of mule deer vehicle collisions in Wyoming. The migrating and wintering deer impacted are part of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s priority Wyoming Range mule deer herd. The road has existing sheep fence (woven wire) along both sides which creates a substantial movement barrier. In addition to mule deer, vehicle collisions with pronghorn and moose also occur along this stretch.

The Dry Piney project consists of underpasses and high fencing to funnel wildlife to the crossings structures and thus a safe passage across busy roadways.

Thanks to a generous $24,000 donation from the Muley Fanatic Foundation and a $5,000 donation from the Mule Deer Foundation, The WYldlife Fund is able to send $29,000 to this critical project.

In order to leverage these donor funds to the fullest The WYldlife Fund is routing these grant dollars to Dry Piney through the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust.

Executive Director Bob Budd explains, “Governor Gordon and the Wyoming Legislature have stepped up to address critical migration issues, including matching funds for this type of project, and the WWNRT has created a separate account to aggregate funds from a variety of sources to address the need. This contribution will generate an equal amount into the corpus of the Trust Account which will generate conservation funds long into the future. This is truly the Wyoming way, where many hands make light lifting, and we really appreciate the leadership and commitment The WYldlife Fund has shown in this regard.” .

The $29,000 sent through the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust will be matched dollar for dollar by the state of Wyoming. These matching dollars will stay with WWNRT to help support long term advancement of initiatives and projects for the benefit of Wyoming’s wildlife. In addition, the WWNRT has committed $100,000.00 to the Dry Piney project to date and may have the ability to contribute more as the project develops.

The Dry Piney project will reduce vehicle collisions with mule deer and decrease mortality in this ecologically and economically important herd by improving habitat connectivity, and helping to conserve migrations in this area. Pronghorn and moose movements could also be enhanced.

The WYldlife Fund applauds all federal, state, and non-profit partners who have made this project possible! We are honored to join this great group of leaders and change agents.

AIS Awareness-No Joke!

Aquatic Invasive Species such as zebra and quagga mussels could cost Wyoming dearly.

Let’s make certain this never happens. It’s going to take all of us chipping in!

Aquatic invasive species are NO JOKE and could cost Wyoming dearly should they contaminate our waters. Not only would this invasion impact our pristine angling waters but it could also negatively impact our water delivery systems across the state causing water rates to skyrocket.

The WYldlife Fund is bringing awareness to this potentially devastating situation and doing all we can to provide resources to prevent an acute contamination.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has been hard at work implementing a thorough AIS program, inspecting boats at ramps and Ports of Entry across Wyoming. In 2019 the Department was tasked with completing a Rapid Response Plan for our most “at-risk” waters should they become positive for invasive species such as zebra or quagga mussels. While putting these plans together, it quickly became a harsh realization of how difficult and expensive such a task would be-to inspect every boat leaving an infected waterbody most of the year. If Keyhole Reservoir becomes positive, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would likely need to hire as many as 16 inspectors and purchase numerous amounts of equipment; from signs to decontamination units. For Keyhole, it is currently estimated to cost nearly $300,000 annually, but could range from $450,000 to $750,000 a year just to continue allowing boating.

If one our waters became infested with zebra or quagga mussels, these expenses would run in perpetuity. There is no “cure”. Once zebra or quagga mussels show up, they will always be there.

What can YOU do? Check out our AIS awareness video below and share with your friends on social media! Also, consider a $10 per month recurring gift through our website to help support our partnership with Working Dogs for Conservation. These rescue dogs are trained to detect aquatic invasive species and are an incredibly effective prevention tool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMCUNgI0Gt8

https://www.thewyldlifefund.org/donate

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.