October 2023 - 16
IN THE FIELD
Removal of limber pine, juniper, lodgepole pine and Douglas fir from Torrey Rim in the Lander Region will benefit bighorn sheep habitat and movement. (WGFD photo)
Conifer removal
helps bighorn sheep
The project in the Lander Region aids habitat and animal movement
By Rene Schell and Tara Hodges
T
he Wyoming Game and Fish Department
recently completed a conifer
removal project to benefit bighorn
sheep on the Whiskey Basin Wildlife
Habitat Management Area south of Dubois.
The goal of the Torrey Rim conifer removal
project was to mechanically remove limber
pine, juniper, lodgepole pine and Douglas
fir from targeted areas along the Torrey Rim
slope, just above the Whiskey Mountain
Conservation Camp, to improve habitat conditions
for the Whiskey Mountain bighorn
sheep herd.
This herd has struggled to recover from a
catastrophic die-off from pneumonia in 1991,
16 | October 2023
causing an estimated 30 percent decline in
the number of sheep. In 2019, a situation
assessment was completed, a panel of experts
was brought in from around the country and
multiple public workshops were held to chart
a path forward for this iconic herd. The result
was the 2019 Whiskey Mountain Bighorn
Sheep Management Plan. One strategy identified
in the plan was to decrease conifer cover
and enhance and expand winter ranges and
bighorn sheep migration paths.
Amy Anderson, Game and Fish terrestrial
habitat biologist, said bighorn sheep are
opportunistic foragers and require diverse,
open and rugged landscape to optimally
forage and avoid predators.
" Conifer encroachment has dramatically
" Conifer encroachment has
dramatically altered many areas that
were once open and dominated by
grasses and forbs that bighorn sheep
eat. Over time, more trees fill in and
actively dry these sites out, reduce
understory herbaceous forage and
close sight distances that bighorn
sheep need to feel secure on the
landscape. " - Amy Anderson
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Public-Access/WHMA/WHMA/Whiskey-Basin#:~:text=Whiskey%20Basin%20Wildlife%20Habitat%20Management,largest%20herd%20in%20the%20world.
October 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2023
October 2023 - 1
October 2023 - 2
October 2023 - 3
October 2023 - 4
October 2023 - 5
October 2023 - 6
October 2023 - 7
October 2023 - 8
October 2023 - 9
October 2023 - 10
October 2023 - 11
October 2023 - 12
October 2023 - 13
October 2023 - 14
October 2023 - 15
October 2023 - 16
October 2023 - 17
October 2023 - 18
October 2023 - 19
October 2023 - 20
October 2023 - 21
October 2023 - 22
October 2023 - 23
October 2023 - 24
October 2023 - 25
October 2023 - 26
October 2023 - 27
October 2023 - 28
October 2023 - 29
October 2023 - 30
October 2023 - 31
October 2023 - 32
October 2023 - 33
October 2023 - 34
October 2023 - 35
October 2023 - 36
October 2023 - 37
October 2023 - 38
October 2023 - 39
October 2023 - 40
October 2023 - 41
October 2023 - 42
October 2023 - 43
October 2023 - 44
October 2023 - 45
October 2023 - 46
October 2023 - 47
October 2023 - 48
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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