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Kyle Elmquist

Creating easy passage for wildlife: volunteers modify fences during Stewardship Day

Posted on by Kyle Elmquist

IN A FUN EFFORT TO HELP LOCAL WILDLIFE HABITAT, the Wyoming Outdoor Council teamed up with the Wyoming Wilderness Association and the Bureau of Land Management to host a volunteer stewardship day to improve over a mile and a half of fencing in the Big Sandy foothills outside Boulder, Wyoming. This fence modification project, led by BLM sage-grouse specialist Nate Fronk, offers critical changes to traditional fencing so that pronghorn, mule deer, and Greater sage-grouse can safely pass unharmed. Alongside staff from WOC, WWA, and BLM, six Wyomingites volunteered their Saturday to make this landscape a better place.

Traditional fencing across Wyoming is composed of four barb-wire rows, with the top line at 50 inches and the bottom at 12 inches. Studies show that sage-grouse fly at 50 inches on average, and often collide with the top fence wire, which is a significant contributor to sage-grouse fatalities in the area. Mule deer also have a difficult time jumping over fencing at that height, and pronghorn struggle to duck underneath the bottom line.

Luckily, a few simple alterations can turn this cumbersome barrier into an easy passage. The bottom barb-wire line is replaced with a smooth wire and raised to 18 inches, allowing pronghorn to duck underneath without injury. The top wire is lowered to 40 inches, which dramatically reduces sage grouse fatalities and makes it easier for mule deer to jump over it. While these minor modifications have a huge benefit to local wildlife, it does not compromise any functionality in keeping cattle and livestock where they’re supposed to be.

This is a great example of simple solutions that have a huge impact, making our ecosystems healthier while still serving the needs of our livestock and grazing industries. Thanks to the good work of volunteers, this stretch of fence will no longer endanger our beloved wildlife.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council is always looking for volunteers to help improve our public lands and wildlife habitat. If you’re interested in helping out on a stewardship day or other project, please sign up to receive updates to learn about how you can help maintain Wyoming’s environment and quality of life for future generations.

“Last of the Wild” premieres April 22 in Riverton

Posted on by Kyle Elmquist

Even if you’ve never visited, Wyoming’s Red Desert has a story to tell.

Now, Last of the Wild brings the Red Desert to the big screen.

The public is invited to the premiere of this short documentary 5 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at the Central Wyoming College Robert A. Peck Arts Center. The event is free and includes a brief panel discussion and a reception with food, drinks, and music.

Last of the Wild examines the Indigenous cultural and historic significance of the Red Desert, highlights the need for us to be responsible stewards of these lands and the wildlife they support, and makes it clear that this iconic landscape is a national treasure.

Through the unique perspectives of tribal members, wildlife experts, outdoor enthusiasts, and others who are deeply connected to the desert, this film is a visually stunning journey that weaves together the connection between people and the land. While exploring these relationships — and showcasing the vast beauty of the Red Desert — Last of the Wild offers a path to safeguard these lands for future generations.

LAST OF THE WILD premiere

5 p.m. Saturday, April 22
Central Wyoming College Robert A. Peck Arts Center
2660 Peck Ave., Riverton, WY 82501

Reception to follow
Free and open to the public!

RSVP

Last of the Wild is directed by Lander filmmaker Kirk Rasmussen and produced by the Wyoming Outdoor Council, Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming, and Topographic Media.

The April 22 premiere is made possible by a grant from Wyoming Humanities. Yufna Soldier Wolf will moderate a panel discussion with Jason Baldes, Mary Headley, and Wes Martel.

For the complete schedule of film screenings happening around Wyoming, visit www.wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/last-of-the-wild.

How will you celebrate this Wyoming Public Lands Day?

Posted on by Kyle Elmquist

We all know that Wyoming is a special place. We are fortunate to live in a state where we can recreate on mountaintops, marvel at open vistas, watch wildlife roam, and take a moment to connect with the land and one another. Over half of Wyoming is public land, and all of it is the ancestral homeland of Indigenous people. It deserves to be celebrated.

This Saturday, Sept. 24, offers the perfect opportunity to do just that as the state marks the fourth annual Wyoming Public Lands Day — which was established by the state legislature in 2019 thanks to the work of the Keep it Public, Wyoming coalition.

Wyoming Outdoor Council staff and our partners at NOLS and Wyoming Wilderness Association will be out in the Red Desert, hosting the eighth annual Run the Red trail races. If you’re joining us, I look forward to seeing you! If not, I encourage you to get outside with friends or family to celebrate everything Wyoming offers us.

Whether you are camping in the Bighorns, riding your bike through Vedauwoo, or hunting pronghorn in the Great Divide Basin, the Outdoor Council wishes you a very happy Wyoming Public Lands Day. It is also important to acknowledge that all public land was once Tribal land. Remember to visit with respect as many of these places are sacred to the distinct Tribal nations that have both historical and contemporary connections to Wyoming’s public lands.

Be safe and responsible. Have fun. Give thanks.

P.S. Vedauwoo’s name comes from Biito’owu’, an Arapaho word for Earth.

ANOTHER SEASON IN THE RED DESERT

Posted on by Kyle Elmquist

This spring, John Mionczynski a local ethnobotanist, biologist, and historian, accompanied Citizens for the Red Desert into the landscape to help educate and inform tour participants about the natural wonders and uses of the desert ecosystem. Above, you can see him pointing out the geological anomalies of the Great Divide Basin as tour participants take in the dramatic expanse of badlands throughout the Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study Area. Off in the distance, stand the Oregon Buttes, another WSA. Part of Mionczynski’s knowledge includes the abundance of edible and medicinal foods that grow throughout the Red Desert. Pictured above, he digs up biscuit root for tour participants and explains how this root vegetable was a staple for an Indigenous diet, often ground into flour and made into bread. Later on the tour, near a bubbling spring, Mionczynski explained how water is a precious resource. This spring, and others like it, are scattered across the desert and attract wildlife from miles around and support a thriving habitat.

In late May, CfRD joined Southwest Wyoming Off-Road Trails on a tour to explore the motorized recreation potential of the area. This is one of many groups who add value to the desert and show that working together can simultaneously support the landscape, stimulate local economies, and empower our communities. Above, you can see the way these ORV enthusiasts spent their day in the desert, taking in the scenes near Oregon Buttes and the White Mountains.

On June 28, members of Citizens for the Red Desert spent another day in the desert, visiting three sacred petroglyph sites and the Boars Tusk. Yufna Soldier Wolf, the Tribal advocacy coordinator for the Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming, is pictured above, discussing ways in which we can better manage and protect these sites, especially within the context of the forthcoming Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan.