Gov. Mark Gordon is proposing to drop energy development protections for parts of the Sublette Pronghorn herd’s migration route, which some say are key. The migration route stretches from the Tetons, south through the Red Desert.
Gordon’s announcement is a reversal from the state wildlife commission’s recommendations.
Back in September, the Wyoming Game and Fish commissioners recommended heftier stipulations on energy development for the entirety of the Sublette Pronghorn herd’s path, something the public overwhelmingly requested.
But state wildlife biologists didn’t fully support it.
Now, Gordon is erring on the side of the biologists by moving the proposal forward but nixing two sections of the route, the Red Desert and east of Farson areas.
“This decision is underscored by the best available scientific information on the value, conservation risks and opportunities detailed along these routes,” Gordon said in a press release.
But Meghan Riley, Wyoming Outdoor Council’s wildlife program manager, fundamentally disagrees.
“About 20% or more of the Sublette Pronghorn herd occurs in the area that these two segments are in, so it's not a small thing to leave about a fifth of the population out of the equation,” she said.
Initially, the biologists had supported protections in full, but made last minute changes before the September commission meeting. They said those two sections aren’t used enough by pronghorn and that the threats to the animals were off-road uses, like ATVs, which aren’t under their purview in this specific process.
The back and forth is part of the multi-year big game migration route designation process. It was spelled out in Gordon’s 2020 executive order, which intended to delineate pronghorn and mule deer corridors and potentially add buffers from development if there are threats, while also still allowing most energy development and agricultural uses to continue.
The full process of the executive order has yet to successfully designate a migration route in the state. The Sublette Pronghorn herd is essentially the guinea pig. Officials homed in on the herd after a 2024 Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) study showed the herd’s route was at “high risk” of being lost. Specifically, it pointed to housing and energy development, as well as a devastating winter that slashed the herd of about 40,000 members to a shocking 20,000.
Commissioners ultimately sided with those threats and the public’s strong urging at the September meeting when they recommended the full designation of the entire route to the governor.
“Honestly, just having seen how strongly the public wanted to see the whole corridor protected, it really does sting that those two segments have been excluded from the process,” Riley said.
The governor’s recommendation will now be the focus of a state-assigned local working group next year. The group will consist of seven members, including representatives from agriculture, energy, conservation, hunting and motorized recreation. The application period to serve is open through Dec. 31.
“The working group will be asked to focus their analysis in the recommendations on the eight segments and make recommendations regarding those,” said Amy Edmonds, Gordon’s communications director.
Whatever the group decides will then land before the governor once more for his final approval.
If a designation is enacted for the eight segments, the strictest protections would apply to bottlenecks sprinkled throughout the route, which account for about 1% of the total 2.6 million acres. Private parcels and preexisting land agreements would be excluded.
