Wyoming Game and Fish is proposing their first-ever "identification" of a migration corridor. That corridor is the the Upper Wind River Mule Deer Migration Corridor. By using the language “identification” rather than “designation,” has benefits such as being able to allocate funds for conservation efforts that would likely trigger some “voluntary efforts” in support of maintaining this important seasonal pathway, according to WyoFile.

This specific corridor is used by the Dubois Mule Deer Herd, which is considered a “highly migratory” herd that travels roughly 90 miles between their summer and winter ranges from the Wind River Basin lowlands on the Wind River Indian Reservation into the Shoshone and Bridger-Teton national forests. 

The idea behind identifying the corridor rather than designating it as one acknowledges “the threats and the risks to the functionality of the corridor” if WGFD moved “to justify designation,” said Jill Randall, big game migration coordinator for WGFD.

“That, of course, can change over time,” said Randall. “If something with land-use changes, we can always redo this threat evaluation.”

However, not everyone thinks bypassing an official designation is the way to go.

“Landowners will be missing out on being prioritized for millions of dollars of [Natural Resources Conservation Service] funding if this corridor is not designated,” said Nick Dobric, a resident of Dubois and manager of Wyoming conservation issues for The Wilderness Society. “Additionally, without designation, land managers will be limited in their abilities to site harmful projects outside of the migration corridor.”

Some of the rationale behind identifying rather than designating was that the majority of the area falls on public lands, according to Zach Gregory, Game and Fish wildlife biologist for the herd.

Prior to making the recommended identification, WGFD completed an eight-page “threat evaluation,” which can be found here, and touches on topics like development, human recreation and landownership. 

You can weigh in on this issue here. Comments are due by Aug. 9.