Sage Grouse Conservation Plan ready for review
by Wyoming Game & Fish
December 21, 2006
(Pinedale) -The Upper Green River Basin Sage-Grouse Working Group has completed its work on a draft conservation plan for sage-grouse and the plan is now available for public review.
The group will hold a public meeting to present and discuss the plan on Thursday, January 11th, 2007, at the Pinedale Library from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm.
The plan takes a comprehensive look at sage-grouse in the Upper Green River Basin. In addition to providing a wealth of background information on sage-grouse, the plan also identifies current issues affecting sage-grouse in the area and recommends a number of research and management actions to address these problems.
The plan's list of projects ranges from larger projects in the early stages of development, including research on ravens and their impacts to sage grouse, to smaller projects that have already been completed, such as a seed mix brochure for plantings beneficial to sage-grouse.
Most proposed projects involve other entities for their implementation, but the sage-grouse working group has secured funding for a number of projects including a sage-grouse radio-telemetry study in the Ryegrass area near Big Piney, a study on noise impacts to sage-grouse in natural gas developments and a computer database of all sage-grouse habitat improvement projects for the area.
This group is one of seven local working groups that were formed across the state in 2004 to address declining sage grouse populations and prevent the bird from being listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The group is comprised of eight local citizens, representing various groups interested in sage-grouse conservation. The working group members are Bob Barrett (chairperson), Cally McKee, Suzy Michnevich, Lisa Solberg, Dean Clause, Jim Bousman and Aimee Davison.
Working group members will be available at the January 11th meeting to explain elements of the plan and answer questions.
The plan is also available for review on the Wyoming Game and Fish Department website at:
http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/wildlife_management/sagegrouse/index.asp
Printed copies of the draft plan are available at the Pinedale and Big Piney public libraries.
The group requests written comments be sent via e-mail to Mark Gocke at Mark.Gocke@wgf.state.wy.us or Wyoming Game and Fish Department, P.O. Box 67, Jackson, WY 83001.
Written comments will be accepted through January 31, 2007.
The Upper Green River Basin Sage-Grouse Working Group will meet after the comment period to consider comments received and finalize the plan prior to presenting it to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
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