The "Path Of The Pronghorn" In Wyoming

The pronghorns’ 200-mile migration route is the longest land migration in the lower 48 states—and one of the most difficult. Not only must the animals traverse rough terrain, scaling heights and crossing water along their way, but they also must cross subdivisions, highways and private ranchland. Bottlenecks—areas where human development and natural changes in the terrain squeeze the pronghorns’ route—make the journey even harder.

We’ve helped ease the path for the pronghorn by permanently protecting one of three major bottlenecks, a 3,409-acre swath of private land located on the Carney Ranch, from future development.

OUR ROLE

Working with a dedicated group of partners, we helped the Carney family establish a conservation easement on a very significant portion of their property. The easement not only will ensure that the pronghorn’s migration path is protected, but also that the property will continue to be available for ranching and wildlife use.

The Conservation Fund purchased the easement using funding from the Acres for America program, a partnership established between Walmart Stores, Inc. and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Jonah Interagency Office (JIO), Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative, the Wyoming Wildlife & Natural Resources Trust and The Nature Conservancy, through a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, provided additional funding for the easement. The Carneys also made a significant donation to the project.

WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS

Located amid some of the most ecologically important lands in the southern part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the easement links significant wildlife habitat between the Bridger-Teton National Forest and other privately protected areas while protecting the Carneys ranching livelihood. The land we helped protect features a variety of habitat including 25 glacial-pothole wetland ponds and more than two miles of frontage on the Green River. It provides ideal seasonal habitat for elk, moose, mule deer, greater sage grouse and trumpeter swan.

“Our family has watched the pressures of civilization impact this valley since 1963. The persistent effort of The Conservation Fund has helped our large extended family to realize my parents’ dream to preserve this beautiful place. We are grateful to be able to leave this ranch as part of our legacy for the future.”

—John Carney, President, Carney Ranch Company

Carney Ranch Photo by Mark Gocke Carney Ranch forms the most important piece of what is known as the Funnel Bottleneck in the "Path of the Pronghorn" for pronghorn antelope migrating from as far north as Grand Teton National Park. The property features the only—and the most vulnerable—bottleneck on private lands. In February of 2010, the Fund announced the completion of a conservation easement that protects the northernmost 2,400 acres of Carney Ranch, located at the head of the Upper Green River Valley. The easement prevents future development of the land and ensures its sound management.

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Sage Grouse Photo Bryant Olsen/Flickr Found across the western United States, the sage grouse population has declined by 90 percent over the past century and 70 percent in Wyoming. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges it needs protection; but this bird is no small matter: Listing the sage grouse as a threatened species has big implications, especially in Wyoming where energy development—from gas to wind—is big business. So what can be done? The Fund has worked on several projects, including the protection of Cottonwood Ranches in Wyoming, that ensure the protection of sage grouse habitat. In 2012, we launched the Wyoming Sage Grouse Conservation Campaign to conserve key sage grouse habitat on working ranches statewide.

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Small Properties, Big Impact: Bridger-Teton National Forest Photo by Luke Lynch/The Conservation Fund. In 2013, the Fund helped the USDA add a 37-acre property in central Teton County, known as the Poison Creek property, to the Bridger-Teton National Forest. These acres may not seem like much, but they provide not only critical wildlife habitat, but also a popular trailhead and trail used by hikers and hunters to access the Gros Ventre Wilderness. This image shows the Hoback River on the right and Beaver Mountain in the background.

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Saving Working Lands Photo by Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game and Fish Department / www.markgocke.com Protecting private ranchland is the best hope for conserving the region’s rich wildlife resources. For generations, traditional, large-scale family ranches have occupied most of the Green River Valley’s private lands, sharing the natural wealth with the species that migrate across the landscape’s ancient pathways. In an exciting new effort, ranchers are collaborating with the Fund, public and private partners and community leaders to protect and enhance more than 100,000 acres and preserve Wyoming’s unique wildlife habitat and traditional ranching economy. These ranches have been selected for their top wildlife habitat and include some of the most important bottlenecks on the “Path of the Pronghorn.”

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Cottonwood Ranches Photo by Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game & Fish Department Cottonwood Ranches controls a contiguous block of 90,000 acres from the Wyoming Range in the west to the Green River along Cottonwood Creek. We worked with the owners, the Botur family, to place three conservation easements on their property, thereby preserving a family legacy of cattle ranching.

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Mitigation Strategy Photo by Emilene Ostlind. The Green River Valley sits atop two of the nation’s highest producing natural gas fields and is threatened with resource development—roads, well pads, power lines and residential subdivisions. In 2008, we brokered the first Wyoming conservation real estate deals using dedicated mitigation funds from the Jonah Interagency Office that help offset impacts to wildlife habitat caused by resource development. With the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and other partners, we've protected more than 7,450 acres and our work in the area continues.

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MJ Ranch Photo by Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game and Fish Department / www.markgocke.com The Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department identified the family-owned, working ranch known as MJ Ranch, as a top conservation priority. The Fund led the effort to complete the largest purchased conservation easement in the Green River Valley: The easement protects more than 2,000 acres of MJ Ranch, which has sagebrush grassland habitat ideal for a variety of wildlife, including sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, burrowing owl, mountain plover, pygmy rabbit, sage sparrow and white-tailed prairie dog. The ranch also borders critical moose winter habitat along the East Fork River.

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Upper Green River Valley Initiative Photo by Arby Reed/Flickr With our partners, in 2008 we launched the Upper Green River Valley Initiative to conserve and enhance key wildlife habitat and agricultural lands in this special valley of western Wyoming. Already, this initiative has permanently protected 5,000 acres of private land, including eight miles of Green River tributary frontage, and enhanced more than 85,000 acres of public land.

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Saving Public Lands Photo by gmiphone/Flickr We are dedicated to conserving the public lands of Wyoming so that wildlife can thrive and people can enjoy the outdoors. To ensure continued public access to the Wind River Mountain Range, shown above at sunset, the Fund and the U.S. Forest Service, with key support from the Wyoming congressional delegation, protected an important 40-acre inholding within the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The property gives the public access to a network of trails leading to the Bridger Wilderness in the foothills of the Wind River Range and is vital to the continuation of hiking, hunting, camping and other outdoor recreational activities in the area.

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Cottonwood Ranches Photo by Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game & Fish Department Cottonwood Ranches controls a contiguous block of 90,000 acres from the Wyoming Range in the west to the Green River along Cottonwood Creek. We worked with the owners, the Botur family, to place three conservation easements on their property, thereby preserving a family legacy of cattle ranching.

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AT A GLANCE

The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in North America, capable of running 55 miles per hour.
At roughly 200 miles, the pronghorn’s migration path in Wyoming is the longest wildlife migration corridor in the lower 48 states.

PROJECT EXPERTS

Dan Schlager
State Director, Wyoming, Conservation Acquisition
Mark Elsbree
Senior Vice President and Western Regional Director, Conservation Acquisition

PROJECT PROGRAMS

Conservation Acquisition