Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge outside of Casper could see improvements to its Steamboat Lake facilities. BP is funding an initial planning phase that could expand the refuge for both wildlife and the public.
Director of Science at Audubon Rockies, Alison Holloran, says Steamboat could see more reeds and water flora planted in its shallows to create more habitat for birds. Signs and a viewing platform could be installed as well to allow residents close views of Wyoming's nesting and migratory bird populations.
"Not a lot of people know but Wyoming is a birding hotspot. If you're driving through in the wintertime you don't always see that, you don't always realize that. But spring, summer and fall, lots of birds, hundreds of thousands of birds move through Wyoming in a season," says Holloran.
Holloran also says the planning phase will last until February 2015 and the project will take another several years to complete. The project is being initiated because Soda Lake, another nearby bird refuge is being drained by BP.