March 2023 - 10

NEWS
Initiative helps Game and Fish improve
fence permeability in Sublette County
PINEDALE - Wildlife-friendly fence
conversion is nothing new for the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department and its partners,
but the amount of work done over the last
five years in Sublette County is nothing short
of impressive.
Since 2017 more than 500 miles of fence
has been converted to the wildlife-friendly
variety as part of the Upper Green Wildlife-Friendly
Fence Initiative, and close to
700 miles of fence has been converted to
wildlife-friendly fencing throughout the
county during the last decade. The Upper
Green Wildlife-Friendly Fence Initiative is
a cooperative effort with Game and Fish,
Sublette County Conservation District and
the Natural Resource Conservation Service,
along with other federal agencies and nongovernmental
organizations. The collaborative
effort converts old fences to wildlife-friendly
options on private land and prioritizes fence
modifications and removals in crucial habitat
on land with all types of owners. This work
makes it easier for wildlife to navigate fences
during migrations and movement.
" It's what I stay busy with probably half
of my time now, " said Troy Fieseler, Game
and Fish terrestrial habitat biologist in the
Pinedale Region. " We don't have to go knock
on doors. They come to us. "
Much of the area with the converted
fencing is within migratory habitat for mule
deer and pronghorn in Sublette County. This
supports Game and Fish's ongoing efforts to
prioritize conservation work in these important
habitats in the Sublette mule deer and
pronghorn herds, as well as the Wyoming
Range mule deer herd. However, ungulates
aren't the only species that benefit from this
work. Fieseler said some fence conversions
help sage grouse by converting to drop-down
or improving visibility of the top wire. Landowners
who raise livestock like it because
updated fencing results in better management
practices - both for the land and the animals
- and an easier maintenance workload.
" What really sets this apart is the number
of miles we accomplished, " Fieseler said.
To be more efficient with work requests,
Game and Fish helped develop a prioritization
tool to better communicate to partners,
landowners and contributors when and where
work will be conducted. Fieseler said the
goal is not to turn anyone down but to put
resources into the highest priority areas as
possible. Game and Fish and the initiative
are currently processing about 50 requests
for wildlife-friendly fencing.
Fieseler said the initiative converted
approximately 70 miles of fencing last year,
including 20 miles done by Game and Fish.
He also said the goal is to convert about 110
miles of fence this year in Sublette County.
Most of the projects deal with landowners
Troy Fieseler, Wyoming Game and Fish Department terrestrial habitat biologist, modifies a fence in Sublette County that will benefit
wildlife and habitat. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
10 | March 2023
who have fences that border federal and state
lands. The Bureau of Land Management has
been a valuable partner in coordinating a
lot of the work. However, cooperation of
the landowners is a big factor for all the
work that's been completed. The initiative
compliments the recent partnership between
United States Department of Agriculture
and the State of Wyoming through the Big
Game Conservation Partnership, which has
provided additional funding to landowners
through several programs, one of which
includes wildlife-friendly fence modifications.
" Landowner participation has been the
cornerstone of the growth and success of
the program, " Fieseler said. " We wouldn't be
where we are today without them. "
- Robert Gagliardi, WGFD

March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023