March 2023 - 40

Northern rubber boas inhabit the northwest corner of Wyoming, south into Star Valley and east to the Bighorn Mountains. They often spend time beneath logs, flat rocks, tree bark and in stumps
and rodent burrows. (Photo by Dustin Shorma)
CHANCES ARE WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU ABOUT
WYOMING'S WILDLIFE, ELK, PRONGHORN OR
MULE DEER COME TO MIND. MAYBE GRIZZLY
BEARS OR WOLVES, OR PERHAPS CUTTHROAT
TROUT OR SAGE GROUSE. IT'S UNLIKELY THE
FIRST CRITTER THAT POPS INTO YOUR HEAD
WILL BE A PIGMY NUTHATCH, RUBBER BOA
OR WESTERN HARVEST MOUSE.
And while elk, pronghorn and mule deer
have earned their fame, the state teems with
hundreds of other species like the American
pika, belted kingfisher and northern leopard
frog. Even if those aren't the species that
bring tens of thousands of dollars to the
state's economy in the form of hunting and
fishing licenses and don't put meals on our
tables, they're no less important.
40 | March 2023
" A lot of people go out and are hunting
or fishing and come back with stories about
a big buck, but they also have all of the
stories of everything else they saw while they
were out there, " said Zack Walker, Wyoming
Game and Fish Department's nongame
supervisor. " There's a lot of intrinsic value
of being in the wild and being in nature and
seeing different species. "
Biodiversity, a fancy term for the number
of species that exists to make up an area,
requires not just charismatic megafauna but
also lesser-known and seldom thought-about
critters. Rivers and streams contain mussels
like western pearlshell and fatmucket that
filter and clean water. The sagebrush steppe
hosts waves of pronghorn and mule deer,
and also songbirds, lizards and mice that all
serve as canaries in the coal mine to tell us
when habitat is in peril, said Anna Chalfoun,
an associate professor at the University of
Wyoming and the Assistant Unit Leader
for Wildlife at the United States Geological
Survey Wyoming Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit.
Beyond what these little creatures do
for humans and the species humans care

March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023

March 2023 - 1
March 2023 - 2
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-iak-special-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/dec-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/January2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/September2020
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