Flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis), bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus), and roundtail chub (Gila robusta), hereafter target species, are native to the Colorado River basin and have undergone declines in both abundance and distribution throughout their ranges. Due to these declines, state and federal agencies have entered into a range-wide conservation agreement and strategy to ensure the persistence of these species in their native ranges (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 2006) Weitzel (2002) reports that these three species were historically abundant in the Green River watershed of southwestern Wyoming. However, populations have declined in Wyoming (Weitzel 2002) and throughout the...
The Habitat Quality Index (HQI) Procedures Manual is a step-by-step guide to the HQI method, which is used to evaluate trout habitat in Rocky Mountain streams. Purpose of the manual is to provide guidance and standards for conducting HQI evaluations. Subjects discussed included preliminary planning, station selection and layout, equipment, data sources, habitat measurements and HQI calculations. The manual promotes familiarity with the HQI by explaining how and what to measure, as well as proper techniuqes and any useful shortcuts. Text instruction are augmented by photos and line drawings. Several examples and case studies illustrate HQI evaluation procedures.
Bat conservation is a relatively new phenomenon in Wyoming. Before 1994, bats were not legally protected in the state. In 1994, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a nongame wildlife regulation protecting several wildlife species, including bats. In 1998, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) joined efforts with other western states to develop the Species Conservation Assessment and Conservation Strategy for the Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Pierson and others 1999). The resulting document has served as the foundation and the guiding force behind bat conservation efforts in Wyoming. The development of the Western Bat Working Group soon followed this unprecedented proactive conservation initiative....
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) first developed a stream classification system in 1961. The inaugural system was intended to identify and rank the most important coldwater recreational fisheries to the State. Over time the system was also used to assess the relative potential impacts of proposed development projects to streams. The system also was adapted as one component in a land use management program to assess the relative value of properties being considered for acquisition by WGFD. The stream ranking protocol was periodically modified over the years. In its present form, streams are ranked using a combination of scores for productivity, accessibility and esthetics. In recent years, fisheries...
Currently, little is known about the native fish assemblages present in the Green River drainage of southwestern Wyoming. Of particular interest are the bluehead sucker (BHS), flannelmouth sucker (FMS), and the roundtail chub (RTC). Bluehead sucker, FMS, and RTC have declined in Wyoming and throughout their native ranges. The Natural Heritage Program assigns BHS the global ranking of G4 suggesting its existence to be abundant and globally secure, although it may be quite rare in parts of its range and is thus the element of long-term concern (Fertig and Beauvais 1999). The Natural Heritage Program assigns FMS the global ranking of G3/G4 suggesting its existence to be uncertain. It is uncommon but seems...
The Nongame Program of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Department) was initiated in July 1977. This report summarizes data collected from 15 April 2002 to 14 April 2003 on various nongame bird and mammal surveys and projects conducted by Department personnel, other government agencies, and individuals in cooperation with the Department. Cooperating agencies and individuals are listed in Appendix I or in the individual completion reports, but we recognize that the listing does not completely credit the valuable contributions of the many cooperators, including Wyoming Game and Fish Department Regional Biologists and members of the public. In October of 1987, a Nongame Strategic Plan was distributed; this Plan...
The Nongame Program of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Department) was initiated in July 1977. This report summarizes data collected from 15 April 2004 to 14 April 2005 on various nongame bird and mammal surveys and projects conducted by Department personnel, other government agencies, and individuals in cooperation with the Department. Cooperating agencies and individuals are listed in the individual completion reports, but we recognize that the listing does not completely credit the valuable contributions of the many cooperators, including Wyoming Game and Fish Department District Wildlife Biologists and members of the public. In October of 1987, a Nongame Strategic Plan was distributed; this Plan was updated...
The Nongame Program of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Department) was initiated in July 1977. This report summarizes data collected from 15 April 2006 to 14 April 2007 on various nongame bird and mammal surveys and projects conducted by Department personnel, other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in cooperation with the Department. Cooperating agencies and individuals are listed in the individual completion reports, but we recognize that the listing does not completely credit the valuable contributions of the many cooperators, including Wyoming Game and Fish Department District Wildlife Biologists and members of the public. In October of 1987, a Nongame Strategic Plan was...
The Wyoming State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) was produced to provide a long-range conservation plan to conserve Wyoming’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and meet the requirements of the Congressionally-authorized State Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) served as the lead agency in the development of this strategy, but many other partners and major stakeholders were invited to participate. The CWCS identifies 279 SGCN in Wyoming, along with key habitats for these species. Of these species, 44 have been included because of specific known conservation needs. The remaining 235 have been included primarily due to a lack of key data necessary...
In 1979, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Department) and the Bighorn Audubon Society compiled a working draft of the Wyoming Avian Atlas. The first edition of the Wyoming Avian Atlas was published in 1982 under the authorship of Bob Oakleaf, Helen Downing, Bert Raynes, Meg Raynes, and Oliver K. Scott. Updates were provided each year in the Threatened, Endangered, and Nongame Bird and Mammal Investigations Annual Completion Reports. In 1981, Scott Findholt, Bob Oakleaf, and Bill Long published a Working Draft of the Wyoming Mammal Atlas. Updates were provided in some Annual Completion Reports. In 1991, the Department published a revision of both atlases, titled the Draft Distribution and Status of Wyoming...
Justification Continental and local declines in numerous bird populations have led to concern for the future of migratory and resident bird species. The reasons for declines are complex. Habitat loss, habitat modification and fragmentation, loss of wintering and migratory habitat, and nest parasitism have been implicated. In 1990, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation brought together federal, state, and local government agencies, foundations, conservation groups, industry, and the academic community to form a program to address the problem. Thus, Partners In Flight was conceived as a voluntary, international coalition dedicated to “keeping common birds common” and reversing the downward trends of declining...
In the second half of the 20th Century, numbers of greater sage-grouse (Centrocerucus urophasianus), referred to as sage-grouse throughout this plan, have declined throughout their range. The causes of the decline have not been quantified. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) designated the Upper Columbia populations (Washington State) of the western greater sage-grouse (Centrocerucus urophasianus phaios) as candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., due to their limited distribution and population numbers. The candidate designation means that listing is warranted, but is precluded by higher priority actions. In March 2003, the Service...
The Nongame Program of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Department) was initiated in July 1977. This report summarizes data collected from 15 April 2004 to 14 April 2005 on various nongame bird and mammal surveys and projects conducted by Department personnel, other government agencies, and individuals in cooperation with the Department. Cooperating agencies and individuals are listed in the individual completion reports, but we recognize that the listing does not completely credit the valuable contributions of the many cooperators, including Wyoming Game and Fish Department District Wildlife Biologists and members of the public. In October of 1987, a Nongame Strategic Plan was distributed; this Plan was updated...
Amphibian surveys were performed on National Forest land in the upper Green River watershed of Wyoming in the summer of 2002. These surveys were conducted to gather baseline data on amphibian distribution, relative abundance and habitat requirements. Initial efforts were concentrated in river drainages, which were being considered for treatment with piscicides as part of a management plan for native Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus). Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas boreas) specimens were collected for genetic and chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) analyses. Three river drainages were surveyed: LaBarge Creek, Gypsum Creek, and Cottonwood Creek (North and South Cottonwood Creek)....
Conservation efforts to protect and restore native fish species of the Colorado River basin are underway (Utah Division of Wildlife Resource 2004a and 2004b). Flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnus), bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus), and roundtail chub (Gila robusta), hereafter target species, are three species native to the Colorado River basin that have been targeted by these efforts. Weitzel (2002) reports that these three species were historically abundant in the Green River watershed of southwestern Wyoming. However, populations have declined in Wyoming (Weitzel 2002) and in other areas throughout the Colorado River drainage (Bezzerides and Bestgen 2002). The Wyoming Natural Diversity...
All over the west, management agencies and researchers are concerned with mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations that have been in a general decline over the past few decades. Though reasons why are compounding and very complex, a common theme that has become obvious is habitat quality and the amount available. This report provides a summary of various habitat monitoring and improvement projects, loss of habitat, and status of the Wyoming Range deer herd over the last half century. The Wyoming Range mule deer herd occupies an estimated 4,437 mi from the Hoback River south to the Redeye Basin, and encompasses much of the land west of the Green River to the Idaho border, which contains the Wyoming...
