Raptor platforms installed for Jonah Field mitigation
by Bureau of Land Management
September 8, 2011
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office and Jonah Interagency Office (JIO) have installed two JIO-funded raptor platforms as offsite mitigation for ferruginous hawks, a BLM-designated sensitive species that has been impacted by oil and gas development within the Jonah Field.
Theresa Gulbrandson, BLM wildlife biologist states, "With this effort, we hope to help maintain the viability of this species across the landscape. If successful, more platforms may be installed offsite to meet the JIO goal of enhancing wildlife habitats."
The two 8- to 10-foot platforms were placed within historic ferruginous hawk nesting territories where adequate prey resources such as ground squirrels and prairie dogs are available. The new platforms are located outside of the Jonah Field and other known gas fields; platforms located within the Jonah Field are already occupied by ferruginous hawks and are annually successful in producing several young.
The 30,000 acre Jonah Natural Gas Field is located in the Upper Green River Basin of west-central Wyoming in rolling sagebrush. The area has one of the richest concentrations of natural gas in the U.S., currently estimated at more than 14 trillion cubic feet, and is 94 percent federally owned.
For additional information, please contact Gulbrandson at 307-367-5359 or tgulbran@blm.gov.
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