Elk are a primary prey species for grizzly bears and wolves, two animals that are highly sought after for wildlife-viewing and ecotourism in the Jackson area. Elk also provide hunters with a sustainable food source and outdoor experience, as well as support local hunting outfitters, hotels, and other businesses during the fall.
The Whiskey Mountain herd was once the largest wintering herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the US, but in the early ‘90s, a catastrophic pneumonia-related die-off occurred and reduced the population from approximately 2,000 individuals to ~630 individuals in 2005.
The Pooled Migration Fund serves as a catalyst to significant federal investments in Wyoming
The WYldlife Fund, a nonprofit partner of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, announced the first recipients of grant funding from its new Pooled Migration Fund. The grant funding is intended to enhance voluntary conservation of private, working lands and Tribal lands within big game migration corridors.
“Private landowners and Tribal partners provide important habitat for wildlife,” said WYldlife Fund President Chris McBarnes. “We’re proud this new effort can accelerate their stewardship efforts, which keeps working lands working and Wyoming’s proud wildlife heritage intact.”
The Pooled Migration Fund supports stewardship of private and tribal lands within the state-designated Platte Valley, Baggs and Sublette mule deer migration corridors, as well as multispecies seasonal ranges in the Shoshone River valleys and Wind River Indian Reservation. It is supported by philanthropic grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation and BAND Foundation.
Recipients of the first round of the Pooled Migration Fund grant are the Greater Yellowstone Coalition: $175,000, Jackson Hole Land Trust: $200,000, The Nature Conservancy: $112,156, Western Landowner Alliance: $200,000 and Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust: $228,350.
“The Pooled Migration Fund is part of a new model of federal, state and philanthropic partnerships aimed at sustaining our state’s working and Tribal lands and wildlife,” McBarnes added.
The Pooled Migration Fund complements the recent partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture and the State of Wyoming through the Big Game Conservation Partnership. The now $22 million pilot partnership — which initially started at $16 million — was established to allow producers to simultaneously manage their land for livestock, wildlife and migration corridors.
“Wyoming’s landowners provide productive wildlife habitat across our state and this initiative focused on wildlife movement is really important,” said Brian Nesvik, Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “This partnership is opening new doors to put wildlife conservation on the ground.”
“The US Department of Agriculture is very excited to be working alongside the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the WYldlife Fund, and these grant recipients to support a voluntary, locally-led approach to the conservation of Wyoming’s iconic big game migrations,” said Dr. Arthur Middleton, Senior Advisor for Wildlife Conservation in USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area.
The WYldlife Fund expects to announce another Request for Proposals for grant funding from the Pooled Migration Fund this fall focused on project implementation.
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Serving as a nonprofit partner to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department since 2020, The WYldlife Fund specializes in precise and efficient allocation of philanthropic resources to advance wildlife projects across Wyoming. For questions reach out to Chris McBarnes at 307-316-3863 or chris@thewyldlifefund.org.
Thanks to a generous gift by Mary and Charlie Rumsey of Meeteetse, WY we have established a fund which directly supports moose and the first investment from this fund supports beaver translocation and expansion across Wyoming.
Through our signature program Wildlife Tourism For Tomorrow we were honored to support important sage-grouse fence inventory work through our good friends at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation.
One group we are proud to stand behind is the Absaroka Fence Initiative (AFI). The WYldlife Fund acts as the fiscal sponsor of this collaborative and dynamic group who is performing incredible fence work in and around the Cody area.
The very first project funded in part by WYldlife For Tomorrow, a cutting edge initiative developed by Board Member Taylor Phillips, an initiative underneath the umbrella of The WYldlife Fund!
The WYldlife Fund provided our friends at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation with 16 trail cameras and associated supplies in early 2021! Specifically the JHWF will use our donation of trail cameras and supplies to improve and evaluate the work of their Wildlife Friendlier Fence and Give Wildlife a Brake programs. Utilizing trail cameras pre- and post- project implementation, they will monitor fence removals and modifications, wildlife crossings and structures, and levee ramp builds for their effectiveness of safely moving wildlife around the landscape.
The WYldlife Fund is proud to stand beside our good friends and owner of Jackson Hole Eco Tour Adventures Taylor Phillips in the creation and launch of Wildlife Tourism For Tomorrow. Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow is Taylor’s vision and inspires businesses and individuals who depend upon Wyoming’s Wildlife to help fund on-the ground projects that make a difference. Join us in this movement that puts 100% of revenue directly into projects you select and support our shared wildlife legacy today.
We know that hunters and anglers traditionally fund the great majority of wildlife projects. Wildlife Tourism For Tomorrow seeks to tap into the wildlife watching and recreation economy across Wyoming in order to bring more resources to bear in order to fund critical wildlife habitat and research projects. Learn more here!
Image: Amy Anderson
courtesy of WGFD
Courtesy of JH Trout Unlimited
President of The WYldlife Fund, Chris McBarnes presenting trail cameras for research to the Executive Director of Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, Renee Seidler