Habitat Conservation
Assistance Network
Proactive Conservation for Working Lands

The Wind River/Sweetwater River Local Sage-grouse Working Group (WRSR LWG) was organized in September 2004 to develop and implement a local conservation plan to benefit sage-grouse and other species that use sagebrush habitats.

Mission
to identify issues and implement strategies to enhance sage-grouse and their habitats.

The WRSR LWG will reconvene periodically to review new data and incorporate findings into plan revisions, and to review, evaluate, and rank project proposals, and appropriate funds, when available, toward conservation efforts.

The group includes 14 members representing major interests within the Wind River/Sweetwater River Conservation Area (WRSRCA). Working Group representation includes the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of the Wind River Reservation (WRR), Fremont County Planning Commission, agriculture, oil and gas industry, conservation groups, hunters and falconers. Working Group members represent their particular interests and provide liaison with the groups they represent.

Significant activities of the WRSR LWG during the first two years included gathering information regarding sage-grouse populations, trends, habitat use, and current status; field trips to learn more about sagebrush-grassland habitats; publication of an informational brochure; development of a landowner questionnaire to gather information regarding landowner knowledge of sage-grouse on their lands (owned or leased); meetings with other affected interests; seminars to learn more about the potential for sage-grouse management within the WRSRCA; development and planning of a habitat improvement project in Government Draw; and the endorsement of several ongoing Wyoming Game and Fish Department projects including the Lander Front Mule Deer Habitat Project; support of “Migration, Transition Range And Landscape Use By Greater Sage-Grouse” research project, and the noise research project initiated by the University of California-Davis.

Working Group meetings are conducted about every month, typically last a day, and always include opportunity to hear public comment regarding the program.

Read the Wind River/Sweetwater River Basin Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan Addendum

Contact Wind River Sweetwater River Basin Local Working Group

Listed as:

• Local Working Groups