PINEDALE -- Pronghorn antelope have traveled
through here for thousands of years, gradually adapting to roads and
subdivisions as they migrate between the high peaks of the Tetons and warmer,
flatter lands of the Red Desert.
But the animals, which make the 160-mile trek every spring and fall, may not
be prepared for the metamorphosis coming to this sagebrush-covered swath of
western Wyoming. What was once a quiet landscape is becoming a land of gas
rigs and expensive housing developments.
Conservationists are concerned the pronghorns' journey -- thought to be the
second-longest land-based animal migration in the Western Hemisphere -- will
get lost in the local population boom, much of which is due to a dramatic
increase in energy development.
A number of local groups have proposed the creation of the country's first
"national migration corridor" to protect the traveling animals. Such
a designation would urge companies and developers not to block the migration,
and possibly penalize them for doing so.
Members of the state's congressional delegation
-- who would have to push the idea in Washington -- range from wary to
strongly opposed.
"No chance," says Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin, the state's only
House member.
"I would be reluctant to go in on a national level," said Republican
Sen. Craig Thomas, who said the problem should be looked at locally.
Several state officials, along with the international energy companies that
profit from the land, agree with Cubin and Thomas.
"I think we can solve this problem locally," said Republican state
Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, who represents part of the corridor.
"Sometimes we run out and get a baseball bat when all we needed was a fly
swatter."
At issue is an area just west of Pinedale called Trapper's Point, where the
corridor shrinks to an area only a mile wide, flanked by the Green and New
Fork rivers. Roads and newly built housing developments, along with nearby gas
development, further squeeze the corridor to a half-mile stretch.
Conservationists call these constricted areas pronghorn
"bottlenecks," as the animals refuse to cross rivers or travel
through riparian or developed areas where they cannot get a wide view of the
landscape. More rigs or structures could block their view completely, ending
the migration or significantly disrupting it.
But new development is likely. The area is near the Pinedale Anticline, one of
the richest natural gas deposits in the country. Gas drilling here has
exploded in recent years as prices have skyrocketed, and the town is bracing
for more rapid expansion as international energy companies and workers
descend.
The boom has brought not only more rigs but also more houses, and pronghorn
often get caught in fences that aren't built high enough for them to slip
under. Because the animals will not jump over fences, local officials have
urged homeowners to build pronghorn-friendly barriers.
Louise Lasley of the Wildlife Conservation Society, a local environmental
group that is spearheading the fight for federal oversight, said the group was
open to a federal or state designation that would not have any real authority
to penalize those who build fences or structures along the migration route.
That kind of designation would at least raise awareness, she said, and help
the state lobby for financial incentives for those who help preserve the
corridor.
But, she adds, she would prefer a plan that includes some enforcement.
"We'd like to have something with teeth in it," she said.
The group has hired a lawyer to help craft potential designation proposals,
and several stakeholders -- including local officials, energy companies and
conservationists -- are scheduled to discuss the idea at a meeting next month.
Scott Smith, wildlife management coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department, said federal oversight was unlikely, but could be helpful.
"If there was some kind of designation that could maintain that open
space long-term, that would be beneficial," he said.
Smith said current efforts to preserve the corridor are effective, for now. He
points out that three years ago, the Bureau of Land Management rescinded two
drilling leases in the Trapper's Point area.
Local collaboration continues, with some participation from the gas companies.
Shell Oil teamed up with the Wildlife Conservation Society last winter to
place tracking collars on 50 pronghorn, a project that will monitor the
animals for the next five years.
"We want the best, most comprehensive data possible to lead our efforts
to understand and protect the pronghorn populations," said JR Justus,
Shell's U.S. Onshore Asset Manager.
David Cherney, research associate with Northern Rockies Conservation
Cooperative, has studied the issue by interviewing more than 80 individuals
who work around the corridor. He believes everyone has a common goal.
"There is a deep-rooted culture of conservation in the West," he
said. "Everyone wants to see this migration corridor continue."
Source: http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/08/08/news/dacc60ded2060b5b87