April 2021 - 12

ASK GAME AND FISH

Q: How does drought affect fish and wildlife?

A:

Drought impacts can have severe
consequences for Wyoming's fish and
wildlife because of the changes to habitat.
On land the impacts to wildlife are often
food-related. Drought can lead to poor leader
growth on plants like shrubs because the
roots aren't getting the necessary moisture
to grow. Native forbs won't emerge in times
of drought, a natural adaptation to the
environment, which means even less
for wildlife to eat. That impact can
last years and leave wildlife like elk,
deer and pronghorn hungry during
the coldest months of the year.
" It's a prolonged effect. If there
isn't growth in the spring then there
isn't enough food to go around the
following winter, and that's what
wildlife rely on to survive, " said Ian
Tator, statewide terrestrial habitat
manager.
Wildlife depend on lush habitat for other
biological needs, too. For example, on hot
days moose require a cool, wet place to lie
down and cool off, like a stream or a bog.
If those places aren't available, moose can't
regulate their temperatures well.
Further, in times of drought, invasive
plant species can flourish. Invasive annual
grasses, like cheatgrass, can become abundant
because their shallow roots absorb the
majority of available moisture and choke
out native plants from growing. They also
can quickly occupy voids left by fire or dry

streambanks. These types of invasive grasses
provide little nutritional value for wildlife
and don't support a functioning habitat.
For aquatic species, less water means fewer
places for fish and other wildlife to live and
swim. When available water contracts the
water temperature can rise, which can have an
impact on cold-water species like native trout.
Warmer water means less oxygen for fish.

TO READ ABOUT THE PROJECTS GAME
AND FISH HAS PLANNED TO CONSERVE
AND IMPROVE HABITAT IN WYOMING,
READ THE STATEWIDE HABITAT PLAN,
AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://WGFD.WYO.
GOV/HABITAT/HABITAT-PLANS/
STRATEGIC-HABITAT-PLAN.

Much like on land, warmer water can
welcome the proliferation of unwanted species.
Illegally introduced critters, for example,
might gain a foothold in abnormally low or
warm waters. Warm-water predators, like
bass, could find their way upstream at places
typically too cold for them, and eat their way
through the fish community, changing it
forever. Smaller unwanted species in the form
of parasites and diseases have a large window
of opportunity when flows recede, lakes and
reservoirs drop and waters warm.
While Game and Fish can't control the

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TIME FOR SPRING
Spring is a great time to have a Wyoming
Game and Fish Department hoodie.
These sweatshirts are available at
the Game and Fish Store.
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AND FISH DEPT.

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weather, the department does the next best
thing by devoting considerable resources to
terrestrial and aquatic habitat improvements.
Game and Fish recently updated a plan that
will guide long-term habitat work, called the
Statewide Habitat Plan.
" The goal of this work is to foster
ecosystems - whether that's the sagebrush
country, mountainscapes, streams or wetlands
- that are resilient to the highs and the
lows of water availability, " said Paul Dey,
aquatic habitat program manager. " Habitat
work is long term, not reactionary. "
On land that means planning projects
like beaver dam analogs to hold water in
high-elevation environments where it
stays cooler and releases in late summer,
mowing shrubs to promote leader growth
and spraying invasive annual grasses to
bolster native plant communities for better
food for wildlife. For water, fish passage
projects help fish move throughout a stream
to get to cooler or deeper water while channel
restoration efforts ensure the habitat is worthy
once they arrive.
Drought isn't new to Wyoming, and our
state's native species have adapted. Sagebrush
will drop ephemeral leaves and go into a
dormant state, native forbs will wait until
conditions are suitable and Bonneville
cutthroat trout have behavioral cues that coax
them to find cooler water.
- Sara DiRienzo is the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department public information officer.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Habitat/Habitat-Plans/Strategic-Habitat-Plan http://wgfd.wyo.gov/store
April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2021
