Partners Work to Make Safer Passage for Pronghorn

The McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area east of Cody, Wyoming, may be best known for it's wild horses and beauitful views of the badlands, but it is home to other wildlife too.  A GPS-collar study in the area showed that approximately 25% of collars recovered were in the HMA, signifying the importance of this piece of land for the pronghorn.  Fences within the Herd Management Area  have been identfied that create a hazard for pronghorn and other wildlife to safely cross, restricting movement and limiting accessible habitat. Plans were put into place, and work began to make a change. On a precious summer Saturday some dedicated public land owners showed up to do just that.

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers partnered with the Cody BLM Field Office to finish modifying a section of fence line from a standard 4-strand barbed wire fence, to a wildlife-friendly 3-strand fence with barbless on the bottom. Our goal was to help facilitate movement and to increase habitat connectivity.  The BLM manages this land for multiple use, including grazing allotments. The problematic fence could not just be removed, so modification was required. Replacing the bottom barbed wire with smooth wire, and raising it, elimnates the chance of barbs causing harm and can reduce stress when attempting to access different habitat. This new design will help keep horses and cattle where they should be, while allowing safer movement across the landscape and easier access to habitat for pronghorn, sage grouse, and other wildlife.    

The work day consisted of BHA volunteers and BLM staff marking fence posts for proper strand spacing, attaching the new bottom barbless strand, moving the remaining barbed wire strands to wildlife-friendly heights, and then ending with winding up the two now unnecessary barbed wire strands for removal.  The volunteers worked hard in the hot summer sun, only taking a short break for lunch (with homemade cookies for dessert!).  During the course of the project several spots in the fence were clearly being used by pronghorn to cross, highlighting the importance of the work.  All said and done, approximately .75 miles of fence line was modified to wildlife-friendly fencing and 620lbs. of barbed wire was removed and recycled. 

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers would like to thank the Bureau of Land Management, Cody Field Office, Absaroka Fence Initiative, our fantastic volunteers, and everyone involved with this project.  We look forward to seeing the successful results of this fence modification, and continuing our work to improve public lands and habitat for wildlife in such an awesome area.  If you are interested in taking an active role in conservation, learning more about wildlife friendly fencing and stewardship projects, meeting fun and interesting people, and all of the other great things that happen at projects like this, check out the calendar for upcoming stewardship events and show up to support our public lands