Mr. Snyder,
Wyoming Backcountry Hunters & Anglers would like to express our thanks and support of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision to implement temporary road closures on Steamboat Mountain to protect big game birthing habitat from motorized disturbance. As an organization of passionate backcountry sportsmen and women that believe land and wildlife management should led by science, we are glad to offer our sincere support to those who strive to follow this principle of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
The science** clearly shows that motorized disturbance can have a significant negative impact on big game during the birthing season. This science demonstrates that motorized closures implemented by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Steamboat Mountain to ensure seasonal protection of the birthing habitat on Steamboat Mountain are both appropriate and necessary to ensure healthy populations of wildlife. And while we understand that there are competing social demands for use of this land, we also understand that our big game populations need large intact tracts of non-motorized habitat – particularly in the birthing and hunting seasons.
We appreciate the BLM’s proactive approach to managing this critical wildlife habitat through temporary road closures and we would like to offer our support for other wildlife habitat projects in the future. Additionally, to help ensure such wildlife-related closures are properly enforced, BHA offers financial rewards to fellow public land users who report illegal motorized use leading to a conviction. If it would be of help, please feel free to use any version of the attached reward fund poster deemed appropriate for use.
Thanks again for your efforts to protect some Wyoming’s finest big game habitat and hunting opportunity. We hope to work more with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Tim Brass
Southern Rockies Coordinator
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
651-206-4669
**Literature reviews on the impacts of roads on wildlife can be found on our website here:
Elk-
http://www.backcountryhunters.org/index.php/our-work-our-values/wildlife/elk
Habitat-
http://www.backcountryhunters.org/index.php/our-work-our-values/orv-responsibility
About Wyoming BHA