It took me right back to my days as a wildlife biologist, tracking pronghorn from a helicopter. I’d follow their trails until they led to a fence, and too often, I’d spot one caught—a leg twisted in barbed wire, unable to break free. It was a sight that never got easier. These are creatures built for endurance, capable of crossing entire counties in search of food or safety. Yet, for all their strength and grace, a few strands of wire can undo them. Decades of ranching has left behind a maze of fencing that blocks the migratory paths pronghorn depend on for survival.

This time, though, I wasn’t in the air—I was on the ground. Boots in the dirt, working with volunteers to remove aged-out fencing to allow pronghorn to have a safe passage.

Pronghorn Behavior 101 

It’s a smart, win-win solution for people and wildlife. But to understand why, it’s worth taking a quick dive into the basics of pronghorn behavior. Pronghorn are the second fastest land mammal worldwide. Outrun by only one animal on earth—the cheetah. Built for speed, their bones are nearly hollow. Their fur, which falls off easily, gives them a defense mechanism: anything that tries to bite them gets a big mouth full of fur. Though pronghorn are fast, coyotes can readily catch up with them if they are injured or traveling with a fawn. Pronghorn are known for their epic migrations, criss-crossing vast landscapes. Here in southwest Montana, one pronghorn was recorded traveling 122 miles for its spring migration. 

Yet for all the benefits that evolution has afforded the pronghorn, pronghorn can’t jump. 

That’s a big problem considering that the West is a wild tangle of more than 600,000 miles of highly impermeable fencing. By tracking wildlife corridors with ever-evolving mapping technology and GPS collars, we can better pinpoint the bottlenecks in migration routes. From there, it’s a matter of replacing or removing fences that contain livestock with a wildlife-friendlier option that permits pronghorns to pass. 

One mile at a time

Pronghorn migration routes have passed down from one generation to the next, enduring for centuries. Reinforceing the importance of the work to ensure their movement across the landscape. Movement is survival.

As I looked out over those rolling Montana hills, the peaks already dusted with early snow, I thought about the herds that would soon make their way down to the sagebrush flats for winter. Though we didn’t see any pronghorn that day, our work was smoothing the transition between summer and winter ranges. While getting dirty, pulling fences alongside volunteers and working toward total exhaustion, I realized how much I wanted to be there for these animals that I care about. By year’s end, we’ll have 15 more miles of fence replaced—part of almost 80 miles since 2021.

It’s a Herculean effort, but we have to start somewhere, and I’m convinced we’ll get there.

One fence at a time. 

One mile at a time.

NWF is working with partners to reconnect and restore the pronghorns’ ancient routes. This video illustrates the challenges the pronghorn still face.

Mile by mile, we can make a difference. This video illustrates the impact wildlife-friendly fencing can have on pronghorn migration.

So what are these numbers telling us? Through the lens of a wildlife biologist dedicated to protecting large mammal migration, the message to me is clear: We have a problem. 

Most of us are familiar with the consequences of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Even if you have never hit a deer you’re sure to have driven past roadkill, whether it was a magpie or a black bear. To address the increasing risks to both wildlife and people, MDT, FWP, and Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage (MSWP) have formed the Montana Wildlife and Transportation Partnership (MWTP). The Partnership’s primary goal is to create a pathway for wildlife accommodation projects along roads to move forward with input from multiple stakeholders. To achieve this, MWTP has published a GIS planning tool and a project program whereby municipalities, citizen groups, organizations, and others can view wildlife vehicle collision hotspots and wildlife habitat needs to plan mitigation projects. Potential projects could include underpasses, overpasses or exclusion fencing to help funnel animals to safe crossing sites. Through the project program, proposals can be submitted for review by MWTP twice a year in the spring and fall.

Learn more about our work: National Wildlife Federation, Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific Region

The planning tool and project program represent a private-public partnership to foster collaboration between state agencies, scientists, local communities, conservation groups, and funders to reduce the risks of collisions and provide opportunities for wildlife to stay on the move. National Wildlife Federation’s Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific Regional staff serve on the steering committee of MSWP and assist with review, communications, and planning of potential projects to help people and wildlife coexist across the landscape.

But even after this legislation is signed into law, there is still important work that the Biden administration must do to ensure that future oil and gas leasing is done in a responsible manner to benefit wildlife and our public lands.

We have reason to be hopeful.  

While it didn’t receive all of the positive attention it deserves, the June onshore oil and gas lease sale was a model for how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should offer up leases.

Leading up to the sale, the BLM deferred nearly 80% of all nominated parcels. The agency made these deferrals using a reformed approach to leasing, which included considering a parcel’s proximity to existing oil and gas development, its potential for recovery of oil and gas resources, and possible conflicts with important wildlife habitat and connectivity.

The result was a lease sale of diminished scope that prioritized parcels where development potential was high and impacts to wildlife habitat were low. The agency properly deferred lands where there was little to no potential for oil and gas recovery and where new development would be far from existing activity and infrastructure.

Moreover, the agency recognized and conserved important wildlife habitat across the West. The following are a few examples of landscapes that, as a result of the agency’s reformed leasing approach, were not available for auction in the recent sales.

It is important to note, however, that deferrals today do not mean parcels are deferred forever. To reduce the chances of future development on these and similar landscapes, the BLM must codify oil and gas leasing reforms through a formal rulemaking process.

Wyoming’s Golden Triangle

The BLM deferred dozens of parcels from its June 2022 lease sale in an area known as Wyoming’s Golden Triangle. This rolling sagebrush country is home to the densest population of greater sage-grouse in the world, including a “super-lek” where hundreds of male birds spend spring mornings attracting females with their mating song and strut. This area is considered by the BLM and the State of Wyoming as core habitat for greater sage-grouse.

The Golden Triangle also makes up a stretch of the 150-mile long Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor, along which mule deer travel between winter ranges in the Red Desert and mountainous summer ranges. The corridor, which is the longest mule deer migration ever recorded, recently received designation and certain protections from the State of Wyoming. Further, crucial habitat for elk, deer, and pronghorn blanket the Golden Triangle, providing important forage and shelter for these big game species. In the fall, thousands of pronghorn congregate on the landscape during their rut, watering in the Big Sandy River and grazing in the sage.

The BLM was right to defer oil and gas leasing in the Golden Triangle, managing this landscape instead for its abundant wildlife and important habitat.

Colorado’s Big Game Habitat

The BLM deferred several parcels at the base of the Elkhead Mountains in Northern Colorado that serve as winter range for the Bear’s Ears mule deer and elk herds. With the White River herds to the south, there are estimated to be between 75,000 and 80,000 deer and 65,000 and 70,000 elk who occupy this range. These herds migrate from their summer ranges at the headwaters of the Yampa and White Rivers east to low-elevation sage and shrublands, including the deferred parcels.

“These deferrals were good news for the elk, deer and other iconic species that make their home at the base of the Elkhead Mountains,” said Suzanne O’Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation. “The deferrals will help enable the Bureau of Land Management to make big game conservation management decisions on a functional landscape level for the public lands it manages, as it begins the process of developing its Colorado statewide amendment to its resource management plans.” 

The State of Colorado has identified these areas as a priority area for management and protection in their Wildlife Action Plan, prepared in response to the Department of Interior’s Secretarial Order 3362 on improving big game migration corridors and habitat. Deferral of these parcels will reduce pressure on mule deer and elk, helping to ensure these animals continue their movements across the landscape unimpeded and have access to forage during Colorado’s harsh winters.

Pronghorn Migration Corridors in Montana

In recent years, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP) has been studying migration patterns of big game, including pronghorn, to better understand their movements, needs, and obstacles. In 2021, the MTFWP shared the early results of telemetry data gathered from female pronghorn in Eastern Montana, showing movements through the middle of six parcels proposed for the June 2022 lease sale. After reviewing the telemetry data, the BLM decided to defer these six parcels to avoid impacts to the potential corridor.

“We’re very pleased to see the deferral of these six parcels. Southeastern Montana is revered by hunters across the state and those particular parcels are not only important for big game, but many unique species such as the imperiled greater sage-grouse,” said Alec Underwood, Senior Policy and Development Director for the Montana Wildlife Federation. “We appreciate that the BLM is taking a hard look at the potential impacts of development on these species and hope that they can continue to protect key habitat, which will, in turn, protect our sporting opportunities for future generations to enjoy.”

With additional data gathered in coming years, the BLM and the MTFWP will work to address the effects that oil and gas development could have on pronghorn and their movement across this landscape.

The Need for Durable Protections

This most recent sale demonstrates that a reformed approach to leasing works—the BLM protected important wildlife habitat while prioritizing oil and gas development where there is high potential for recovery. However, while the BLM’s modified approach to oil and gas leasing reduced the scope of the sale and resulted in many important deferrals, the BLM has discretion in whether it applies these reforms in future lease sales.

To ensure that these and other reforms are consistently applied in the future, these changes must be made permanent through a formal rulemaking process. The resulting regulation would have the full force and effect of law and would apply to all onshore oil and gas lease sales moving forward. Combined with the fiscal reforms in the proposed reconciliation bill, a BLM rulemaking would provide a more balanced and sustainable approach to onshore oil and gas development to benefit wildlife and all who enjoy spending time outside on our public lands.

After extensive studies researching the migration patterns of pronghorn, it was determined the fencing here needed to be removed to clear the way for safer wildlife migration. Many other organizations took time to help over previous weekends, and it was finally our turn.

With a team of nine, we pulled the bottom barbed strand off of a ¾ mil stretch and replaced it with smooth, barbless wire. It was hot, it was sweaty, and it was only a small portion of the project, but that is the beauty of volunteer work – if many of us pitch in a small amount of work, it makes a huge impact.

Fast forward to the fall of 2021, when I was approached by Naomi Alhadeff of the National Wildlife Federation to use her teaching unit, WildlifeXing in my Outdoors Literacy class. This unit discusses safe crossings for all wild critters. Here in Montana, we have the second-highest rate of wildlife collisions.

Pronghorn safely navigate wildlife-friendly fencing adapted by Jefferson High School Students.

Crossings such as overpasses, underpasses, and fence modifications to funnel animals to a particular spot can help reduce collisions immensely. The unit asks students to research, write, collect data (through an app!), and analyze various aspects of crossings, as well as indigenous perspectives on wildlife through storytelling.

Outdoors Literacy

The next stop on this journey occurred when my principal forwarded an email to all staff in our school announcing Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition. I didn’t think we had much of a chance, but my students and I proposed the idea of modifying fences in our area for pronghorn migration. Our proposal won the state competition, and so the students had to refine the proposal with a short video explaining the project. 

While we didn’t move on to the national competition, winning the state portion allotted us prize money we could spend on following through with the project. We needed to find a willing landowner. Someone who wouldn’t be worried that a group of inexperienced high schoolers would be tearing down and rebuilding a fence on their property. Thankfully, our local Game Warden, Bill Dawson, was willing and up to the challenge of helping us out. 

We set up game cameras two weeks in advance to make sure there were pronghorn in the area, and what we saw was at least two herds and several individuals using a small crossing regularly. We arranged two half-days to tear down the whole ⅛ mile fence, portions of which were possibly 100 years old, and put up a new fence.

Students rolled old barbed wire, stacked old posts, pounded in new posts, and stretched the smooth bottom wire in about three hours. When stringing wire on wildlife-friendly fences, the bottom wire height suggestion is 16-18” off the ground. Because this was an interior fence—and escaping calves wouldn’t be on the highway—the Dawson family had the students place the bottom wire at 17-18” the whole way. 

A couple of days later, we went out for another half day and finished putting on the top three—barbed—wires, spaced for easier deer and elk migration: top at 40”, next one 12” down from the top, and the third one spaced evenly between the second and bottom wire. 

Whereas elk and deer will hop a fence every time, pronghorn prefer to go under. When the bottom strand is barbed, it catches on their backs and can cause extreme injury to the animal. Specific spacing of the top three barbed wires allows elk and deer to jump fences without getting their legs caught and twisted. My students were lucky and able to learn these issues firsthand, and because we worked with a game warden, he passed on a wealth of migratory knowledge to the group. 

I never could have foreseen a simple volunteer project bringing me to lead my own with high school students, but I am so grateful it did. The class I created, Outdoors Literacy, encompasses conservation, legislative policy, ecology, mental and physical wellness, and now, volunteering and action. I can’t imagine a better way to get the next generation involved in their own future.

Without action to protect habitat and provide safe passageways for these, and other migrating species, there will be both economic harm and irreparable biological loss.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies cover a vast range in North America, including southern Canada, the contiguous United States, and the entirety of Mexico. Monarchs are primarily divided by the Rocky Mountains, with the western population wintering along the central coast of California and the eastern population migrating down to mountainous regions outside of Mexico City. The western migrations tend to be shorter, traveling from places such as Utah and Idaho to California while the eastern migrations can stretch up to 3,000 miles from Canada to southern Mexico. 

Over the past decades in California, there has been a well-documented and precipitous drop in monarch numbers. During the late 1990s, monarch counts were regularly above 500,000, however, in 2018 and 2019 there were under 30,000 counted, and in 2020, under 2,000. After the dangerously close call in 2020, this winter is an unexplained bright spot, with nearly 250,000 counted, yet this is not a sure sign of recovery and is still well below historic numbers. 

One of the primary threats to monarchs is the decline in the availability of milkweed, an essential food source for monarch caterpillars. In the mid-1990s, herbicide-resistant crops were developed, allowing for farmers to eradicate other plant life, including milkweed. Additionally, the increased occurrences of drought have killed milkweed, and warming temperatures can change the toxicity of milkweed, potentially rendering it too dangerous for monarchs. 

The loss of monarchs would not only be ecologically detrimental but culturally detrimental as well to the many communities and Tribal Nations who have valued this species for generations. It would also be a loss to the towns that rely on the tourism revenue that this amazing annual migration brings. 

In recent years, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has formed agreements with farmers and other private landowners to plant milkweed, making monarch and livestock-friendly improvements to wetlands and ranchlands along migratory pathways. 

You can help by planting native milkweed at home or in your community, participating in monarch counts if you live near wintering monarchs, and advocating for action on climate change.

Western Game Species – Elk, Mule Deer and Pronghorn

Wyoming and Idaho are home to three big-game species with arduous migrations: elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. These three species typically spend the summers feeding on the grasses in high alpine environments before descending into warmer valleys for the winter months. These migrations occur across the West from Arizona and Nevada up through Idaho and Montana.

Each of their migrations can exceed 100 miles, and in the case of mule deer, up to 480 miles of challenging terrain. The main obstacle to the migration of these big-game species comes from development, which can take away roaming areas and cut off migratory corridors. Additional challenges stem from both climate change and invasive plant species upending native vegetation. In the case of development, highways and fencing are the primary concerns. Each highway poses a serious risk of collision with vehicles. Every year in Wyoming alone, there are approximately 6,000 collisions with big-game animals which cause an estimated $20-23 million in wildlife costs and $24-29 million in vehicular damage and injury. These collisions can kill up to 4% of the state’s mule deer population annually. 

Adding onto the risk from highways, barbed-wire fences can block access, injure wildlife, or delay migrations. Especially with pronghorn, who cannot leap very high, ranching fences either require many miles and valuable energy to bypass, or they must crawl under the fence which is often barbed and cuts into the animals. 

The National Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy created a StoryMap, On the Move, which depicts pronghorns’ journey throughout the year and demonstrates how these common features can dramatically hinder migrations as they race towards warmer lands before winter arrives.

Northern Rockies states, the federal government, and private landowners have already made some progress in highlighting critical corridors, building wildlife crossings, and adapting fencing. In sections of Wyoming where wildlife crossings have been constructed, mule deer and vehicle collisions have dropped by 80%. 

This success has been noted — the recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden provides $350 million for wildlife crossings, the largest investment in wildlife crossings ever. Yet this is just a start. Both in the Northern Rockies and nationwide, more attention is needed to ensure that habitat is connected across human development. If we can help game species overcome our built environment, it is a win for both human safety and wildlife survival.

Learn more about the National Wildlife Federation’s work to improve wildlife-friendly fencing across the West, and how you can get involved.

Humpback Whales

Majestic humpback whales are present across the world’s oceans and migrate along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America. In the Atlantic, humpbacks spend the summer in the north, along the Gulf of Maine and Newfoundland before wintering in the Caribbean and Cape Verde. 

On the Pacific side, the Mexican population summers along the coast from California to Alaska before wintering in Mexico, while the Hawaiian population summers in Alaska and winters around the Hawaiian islands. While these migrations cover vast distances, humpbacks travel quickly, in the case of Pacific migrations, they can cover 3,000 miles in a month. The colder waters up north are more productive and allow them to feed on thousands of pounds of crustaceans, plankton, and fish per day. In the winter, they breed in the warmer, shallower, and more protected water of the tropics. Since these waters are less productive than the northern habitat, humpbacks are very dependent on stored fat built up during summer to survive. 

Five populations of humpback whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act due to their near extinction from commercial hunting that lasted until the 1960s. Adding on to this problem, humpbacks today face a multitude of threats which include changing ocean conditions as a result of climate change, strikes from large commercial vessels, entanglement in fishing gear, as well as noise and pollution. 

An important tool for addressing these issues is the creation of Marine Protected Areas, that limit permitted commercial and recreation activities within certain bodies of water. This reduces the risk of collision, noise disturbance, entanglement, and localized ocean pollution. 

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary protects 1,400 square miles of water around the islands to provide safe breeding habitats and promote scientific research. In April of 2021, the Biden administration marked 156,000 square miles of ocean along the Pacific coast as critical habitat for humpback whales, which, under the Endangered Species Act, prohibits activities harmful to humpbacks. This is a clear step towards the administration’s long-term pledge to conserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030, an ambitious yet critical goal. 

Apart from designating ocean areas for protection, economic and recreational activities must be managed in a way that promotes ecosystem health in marine environments. The Forage Fish Conservation Act, introduced in both the House and Senate, would protect fish such as herring and shad. These tiny fish support higher levels of the food chain, and responsibly managing their populations helps to promote sustainable fisheries and preserve other marine wildlife. 

This proposed legislation shifts the focus of fishery management from regulating fishing on a species-by-species basis, to Ecosystem-Based Management, which incorporates the dependency of other species, pollution levels, changes in habitat, and more. 

Lastly, pollution, including plastic and chemical, should be limited upstream as much as possible to mitigate the damage to aquatic ecosystems. A multi-pronged approach to protecting marine ecosystems is crucial for ensuring that humpback whales can continue to traverse our oceans. On an individual level, cutting down on plastic use, buying locally to reduce dependence on long-distance shipping, and if near the coasts, using eco-friendly cleaning supplies are all ways to reduce harm to humpbacks.

Moving Forward

Given how delicate these incredible migrations are, and the dangerous consequences of falling behind in winter weather, even the smallest hazards pose a great threat to these species’ continued existence. North America’s migratory species cannot thrive without free passage and ecosystems cannot thrive without migratory species. It’s essential that we invest in helping monarchs, game species, humpbacks, and others navigate our modern world.

Sagebrush is a critical food resource for mule deer, especially in the wintertime when other vegetation is covered by snow. Because mule deer are selective feeders, instead of eating large quantities of low-quality feed like grass, they must select the most nutritious plants and parts of plants — making protein-dense sagebrush leaves important winter forage.

Nevada is known as the Sagebrush State. Over half of Nevada’s landscape is made up of sagebrush habitat, including open range areas that wildlife use as migratory corridors. Mule deer and other ungulates use these corridors for daily foraging, as well as annual movement. 

In order to reach more mild climates to survive Northeast Nevada’s harsh winters, some mule deer have been documented migrating over 100 miles.

Also interlacing the semi-arid sagebrush state, however, are major highways and rural roadways that can be a perilous obstacle for wildlife on the move. Luckily, Nevada has a new executive order that will make wildlife migration safer for people and wildlife. 

Where human and wildlife corridors intersect 

With over 895 wildlife species across 70.7 million acres of land, Nevadans are familiar with living with wildlife. Sagebrush habitat supports more than 360 species of conservation concern, as well as economically and ecologically important big game species like mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep — which are more susceptible to wildlife mortality from collisions with vehicles.

Each year in Nevada, wildlife-vehicle collisions kill an estimated 5,032 wild animals and cost around 20 million dollars in damage.

In August 2021, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed Executive Order 2021-18, calling for the creation of the Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework (HCF). The goal is to reverse the long-term trend of loss of Nevada’s wild landscapes, which have suffered from climate change, wildfire, invasive species, and habitat fragmentation.

“Whether it is mule deer or desert tortoises, no animal thrives without a healthy ecosystem, and this executive order puts a crucial focus on the corridors through which wildlife migrate to survive,” said Governor Sisolak.

Wildlife Crossings and Improving Permeability

Wildlife crossings have already proven to be successful in Nevada. The installation of crossing structures along Highway 93 in Elko County, the state’s first project of the kind, have decreased wildlife-vehicle collisions by 95% according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Mule deer have been a clear beneficiary of the crossings, with over 35,000 mule deer recorded crossing in the first four years after installation, but elk, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, mountain lions, black-tailed jackrabbits, and pronghorn are using the structure as well. 

“The best thing about wildlife crossings is they work. In Nevada, across America, and around the world, research continually shows that wildlife crossings are by far the most effective way to mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions, protecting both wildlife and our families,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Director, Conservation Partnerships (ID, NV, UT, WY) & Habitat Connectivity with the National Wildlife Federation.

“We’re grateful for Governor Sisolak’s leadership in ensuring Nevada’s wildlife herds can freely roam across a healthy sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.”

A collaborative path forward 

The new Habitat Conservation Framework strengthens and progresses ongoing work to identify and protect wildlife migration corridors and associated habitat through a coordinated partnership between federal, state, and local land management agencies.

Nevada Department of Transportation’s (NDOT) role in habitat conservation will include identifying opportunities to protect or restore sagebrush habitats and wildlife migration corridors in new or existing NDOT policies, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife will also develop a comprehensive Sagebrush Habitat Plan. 

“This collaborative approach provides the Nevada Department of Wildlife the resources to work with all stakeholders using the best available science to help conserve, restore, and rehabilitate our critical wildlife migration corridors and sagebrush ecosystem,” said Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation.

Learn about the National Wildlife Federation’s work to improve habitat connectivity across state, federal, and tribal lands. 

Although it has never been cast as the villain in any of the great Westerns produced in Hollywood, Bromus tectorum — commonly known as cheatgrass — is one of the biggest threats currently facing the wild West.

An invasive annual grass that has rapidly spread across 100 million acres of grassland and sagebrush areas, cheatgrass degrades wildlife habitat, diminishes crop production and cattle forage, accelerates wildfires, and reduces the ability of grasslands to effectively sequester carbon.

Cheatgrass provides almost no value as forage or cover for wildlife, but it chokes out valuable native plants that do. Sage grouse, pronghorn, deer, pygmy rabbits, and elk are just a few of the wildlife species that have been negatively impacted by the invasion of cheatgrass. 

Fueling a vicious fire cycle

Corey Ransom, professor of weed science at Utah State University, says cheatgrass not only takes over huge swaths of land, it changes the ecology of the area as well. “It actively grows in the winter so it can take full advantage of moisture in the spring — robbing emerging native grasses of water. I liken those native grasses to being the youngest in the family of 7. If you come to the table late, you’re not going to get much food to survive on.”

Ransom says cheatgrass has a short lifespan which means it dries out by mid-July and becomes a super-fuel for wildfires. “We used to see a fire cycle of every 25-30 years in our grassland areas. Now, in areas that have been overtaken by cheatgrass, that fire cycle is down to every 3-5 years,” says Ransom.

What’s even more concerning is that while those fires destroy native grasses and shrubs, cheatgrass seeds survive and remain viable for many years, encouraging an endless cycle of cheatgrass fueling fires which fuel more cheatgrass growth. In fact, according to one study, three years after a fire, cheatgrass can grow back at an astonishingly dense rate of 10,000 plants per square meter.

Reducing carbon sequestration

In addition to contributing to more frequent fires, cheatgrass hampers the ability for these large grassland and sagebrush areas to store carbon. Healthy, intact native grasslands have been found to be very good at sequestering carbon — in both the grasses that emerge from the soil and the extensive, fibrous root system below. In fact, according to a study by UC Davis, grasslands might even be more reliable carbon sinks than forests. Cheatgrass, on the other hand, has very little biomass and in areas where cheatgrass has overtaken native grasses, carbon sequestration has been drastically reduced. 

According to studies of the Great Basin in Nevada, conversion to cheatgrass reduced above-ground carbon sequestration by 90% and below-ground sequestration by 50%. Considering that 10 million acres in the Great Basin have been degraded by cheatgrass — that’s a lot of lost potential for carbon sequestration!

The good news is that there are some promising projects underway to eradicate cheatgrass and restore the native grasses and sagebrush. Cheatgrass can be removed manually, with prescribed burns, and with the use of herbicide treatments. Using a combination of these methods appears to be the most effective — and the highest rates of success have happened where cheatgrass is just beginning to overtake the land. “There’s lots of research being done and we keep making progress,” says Ransom.

Two years after a wildfire burned more than 35,000 acres in eastern Oregon, the Bureau of Land Management continues efforts to rehabilitate the landscape, by using drills to plant native sagebrush seeds, among others, in eastern Oregon. Credit: Jason Horstman/BLM

The need to Build Back Better

Removing cheatgrass and restoring natural grasses and sagebrush will require serious investments. Estimates run from $40 to $100 an acre. Fortunately, Congress is poised to make historic investments in our grasslands, forests, and sagebrush steppe in the Build Back Better Act. In the long run, removing cheatgrass and restoring natural grasses bring many financial benefits that more than make up for the costs. 

Healthy sagebrush and grasslands benefit threatened wildlife species, fight drought, reduce the risk of fire, and sequester more carbon. Healthy sagebrush and grasslands also make nearby communities more resilient to climate impacts and can bolster the outdoor recreation economy by providing more access for hunting, fishing, and other recreation. By some estimates, for every dollar spent on restoration, $15 is generated in economic activity.

But we need to act quickly. Investing in the restoration of our sagebrush and grassland areas cannot wait. It’s imperative that Congress swiftly passes the Build Back Better Act and ensures adequate funding so the Department of Interior can launch shovel-ready projects to remove cheatgrass. Our wildlife and rural communities in the West are depending on it.

“Working side by side, in the searing heat, we tackled a fractured landscape and over 5 miles of fences to introduce wildlife-friendly fencing…”

I reflect on this summer’s accomplishments by looking over my gear. The soles of my boots are peeling off. My chainsaw and loppers are dull. The bed of my pickup is covered with pieces of old barbed wire tangled in the wood dust of rotted fence posts. Then there’s the cooler that I stocked and restocked countless times with ice-cold drinks to keep volunteers moving in the heat. It’s now empty and drying in the sun. What does it all represent?

A force—67 volunteers strong, hailing from 10 organizations—that came together to facilitate pronghorn migration in southwest Montana. Working side by side, in the searing heat, we tackled a fractured landscape and over 5 miles of fences to introduce wildlife-friendly fencing. 

There was a fair amount of advance effort to lay the groundwork before the fieldwork began to transform these fences to wildlife-friendly standards. First, as the coordinator of this project, I worked with partner organizations to identify the highest-priority locations for fence mitigation. We looked at maps of pronghorn GPS collar data to discover where a fence blocked or impeded movement. I then worked with landowners and public land agencies to develop work plans for specific fences that suited both the wildlife and the needs of landowners and lessees. Next, I needed boots on the ground, and volunteers heeded the call to provide the manual labor needed to get the job done.  

We had an impressive showing of volunteers this summer, from local Dillon residents and regional sporting groups to college students from across the country. A small business owner and his staff drove all the way from Minnesota with their heavy equipment to help roll up miles of woven fence wire. When I exclaimed in disbelief that they had actually shown up he said, “Of course, we love doing this stuff.” 

Barriers in the sagebrush

Pronghorn are thought to have evolved on the prairies and shrublands of North America locked in chase with fleet predators now extinct. Their survival tactics of speed and keen eyesight kept them out in the open and they didn’t develop a knack for jumping the way elk or deer did; species that survive in part by moving quickly through the timber. 

So here we are, 20 million years later and pronghorn are the sole surviving member of a family of hooved mammals found only in North America (Antilocapridae).  They are the second-fastest land mammal in the world after the African cheetah but they rarely jump fences.  

Instead, pronghorn must find a way to crawl under or through them. This makes navigating the landscape difficult, especially in areas where fences have bottom wires near the ground. These fences were historically built to keep sheep and cattle contained and  predators out of pastures. However, the proliferation of woven wire and barbed wire fences with low ground clearances has resulted in a landscape that is much more difficult — and often dangerous — for pronghorn to navigate. 

Fences can cause direct injury to pronghorn and other species, and the likelihood of starvation may increase if wildlife can’t move to appropriate areas to find food. In northern latitudes like Montana, a key ingredient for pronghorn survival is the ability to move to areas with shallow snow depth to feed on sagebrush, their preferred winter forage.  According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the pronghorn population in the Horse Prairie area has been in steady decline since the mid-1990s and there’s no clear indication of why, but fences are likely a contributor. 

The National Wildlife Federation is assisting pronghorn conservation efforts in southwest Montana by improving winter range habitat as well as ensuring that migration routes are barrier-free.  Modifying fences with smooth bottom wires that are 16-18 inches off the ground creates the necessary gap for pronghorn to get under without being injured.

This clearance also helps juvenile elk and mule deer. They too have difficulty jumping and can get caught in the top wires of fences during unsuccessful crossing attempts.  Going under is easier. With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, we’re able to look at fence location and wildlife movement data to plan and coordinate a highly targeted on-the-ground strategy for fence mitigation. In this way, our project can have a clear and tangible impact on connectivity for not only pronghorn but a diversity of wildlife  species.

Collaboration is key 

A really important aspect of this work is that it’s not about pointing fingers and accusing folks of having “bad” fences. Instead, it’s an excellent opportunity to have a much-needed conversation about what is practical for both wildlife and people. It’s likely that wildlife-friendly fences won’t work everywhere. But surely there are locations on any given ranch in the West where  fences can be modified to ease passage for wildlife while still doing their job of holding in livestock. So, it’s a matter of finding them. In addition, there’s an opportunity to include fencing in larger connectivity plans and proposals that might also include roads, railroads, and other linear features restricting movement. 

Wildlife are savvy, and though they can figure out ways to navigate the complex matrix of human development, there’s immense opportunity to make life easier on them. The data from the GPS collars tells us that, on average, pronghorn interact with a fence about every 1.3 miles along their 80-mile trek from their winter range in Horse Prairie to their summer pastures of the Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area. That’s over 120 fence crossings on a round-trip journey. 

Remote cameras are showing us that many pronghorn have back injuries from crawling under low wires, and this can lead to infection and stress. In my experience so far, I’m finding that nobody wants to see that. Better still—as I discovered working with ranchers, volunteers, and other agencies—people are motivated to do something about it. It is estimated that we’ve lost over 75% of historic long-distance terrestrial migrations in the contiguous US, and so it’s our responsibility to caretake the land and the wildlife in a way that can sustain those that remain. 

 There’s a lot more work to be done and I am inspired by the folks who are eager to get out on the landscape and make a positive impact for wildlife. We’re planning to improve at least 16 miles of fences by 2024 in the Horse Prairie area and Big Hole valley, and there’s a significant opportunity to scale-up this work. This summer, I was impressed by how many volunteers already realize the importance of increasing landscape permeability to sustain wildlife migrations. That’s why they showed up. But I am also grateful to have folks out lending a hand who may have never given fences a second thought, until now.   

Interested in volunteering? Please contact buzzards@nwf.org.

Here are our top 10 wildlife species that rely on grasslands:

1. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)

The Long-billed Curlew has a big mouth! Dressed in a pale cinnamon wash, this plump North American bird is known for its football-shaped body, and a long, thin curved bill. Long-billed Curlews use these bills to peck at insects on drier grassland habitats. They can also forage for worms and shrimp in wetlands or mudflats outside of their breeding season.

Though they are known as shorebirds, they must breed in areas with sparse, short grasses and mixed-grass prairies. Original and proud in every way, they strut around their open terrain, bobbing their head with bouncy steps.

2. African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

African elephants know how to stand out. They are the largest land mammals on the face of the Earth. Though the males can weigh up to 6 tonnes, elephant families have a matriarchal head. Additionally, African elephants can be incredibly sociable and helpful giants. In fact, they are known as a keystone species, specifically, ecosystem engineers.

The elephants use their tusks to dig up dry riverbeds and create waterholes, break small trees and bushes to maintain grasslands, and spread plant seeds while keeping the soil healthy. They can be found roaming the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa for roots, grasses, fruit, and bark to feed on.

3. Black-Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)

Ferrets are cute, but they mean business. Seriously, a group of ferrets is known as a “business.” They are an alert and agile, medium-sized member of the weasel family, also known for their eponymous black feet. They inhabit temperate grasslands in North America where they can hunt their major food source: prairie dogs. Sure enough, they blend in well with grassland soils and plants.

More active at dawn and at dusk, they can sleep up to 21 hours per day. They wake up at night to hunt, eat, and tend to their offspring, which are called kits. These black-footed ferrets usually produce furry kits in litters of 3-5. Though kits are born blind and dependent on the protection of their underground homes, at about 90 days of age, kits are trained to go on hunting ventures.

4. Plains Zebra (Equus quagga)

If you’re a foodie who loves to travel, then you have much in common with plains zebras! They are hungry herbivores who travel regularly! In fact, they will migrate up to 2,900 kilometers for food, mostly red oat grass. Plains zebras graze two-thirds of the day on a variety of grasses. Native to over 15 African countries, they can be found traversing savannas in small families known as harems. These are usually made up of a male or stallion, several females, and their offspring.

There is also no question that they are sociable and protective of another. Though plains zebras may travel in large herds, they are known to keep close with their biological family members. As the foal and female zebras run, the males follow behind them, ready to defend their family from any predators.

5. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

The graceful and observant pronghorn antelope is the fastest hoofed animal in North America, capable of reaching speeds up to 60 miles an hour. Not only do grasslands provide them with free, open land for running, but they offer these herbivores key ingredients for their diet: sage, forbs, and other prairie plants. Female pronghorns also rely on the vegetation of grasslands to hide their offspring so that they can forage while their young are safe.

Often, pronghorn mothers keep within 2 miles of them. However, do not underestimate these youthful pronghorns. In a matter of days after their birth, the small pronghorns can travel, forage, and outrun a human being. Thankfully, grasslands provide a sweet space for the fawns to play!

6. Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii)

Przewalski’s horses are the last surviving wild horse species left in the world. They can be found in the steppes of Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. The steppes of Mongolia are a great site for their diet which largely relies on grass and other shrubby vegetation. In fact, these steppes may be the largest area of unaltered grasslands in the world.

They are a safe haven for these small and stocky horses. Muscular and pony-like, Przewalski’s horses also bear a zebra-like mane and swish a dark plumed tail. These rare dune-colored horses are also called “takhi” which translates to “spirit” in Mongolia.

7.  Swift Fox (Vulpes velox)

Swift foxes thrive in the short and mixed-grass prairies of the Great Plains. Though most are small creatures and weigh only 4 to 6 pounds, they are speedy and agile. Sure enough, they can reach speeds of 25 miles an hour. They rely heavily on the open prairies and the shorter grasses to scan for predators and hunt.

Swift foxes create their own dens near short and mid-grass prairies and make use of them year-long, straying from the tendencies of coyotes and other foxes. Though sometimes these animals might take over other spaces such as dens that have been abandoned by badgers or burrows that have been abandoned by prairie dogs.

8. Greater one-horned rhino or “Indian Rhino” (Rhinoceros unicornis)

Equipped with a single black horn and a leathery hide, the greater one-horn rhino is the largest of three Asian rhinos. Dawning a body-armor-like appearance and weighing up to 6,600 pounds, these rhinos are literally built for the wild. These grazers inhabit the tall grasslands of Northern India and Nepal.

Its horn comes in handy not only for self-defense, but for plowing fertile plains for leaves, fruits, and grasses. Still, even these large animals get tired. After foraging during the cool mornings, they seek water to submerge themselves in the heat of the afternoon.

9. American Bison (Bison bison)

American bison are powerful, and majestic animals found in the plains, prairies, and river valleys of North America, though most are found only in national and state parks, reserves, and refuges today. Foraging for nine to eleven hours a day, they consume grass, flowering plants, lichen, and woody plant leaves.

In order to eat well during the winter, they sweep away the snow with their heads and hooves. However, in the spring, they also take to their open spaces to shed their stuffy winter coats. These bold creatures are iconic for their long, dark hair. In fact, adult bulls are known to rock a foot-long black beard!

10.  Common Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

If this quirky bird looks familiar, that’s because it’s a member of the ratite family, which includes ostriches. Native to Australia, they can also be spotted running around the grasslands of New Guinea, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and the Philippines. Their preference for grasslands, savannas, and forests comes from their need for water sources, since they drink nearly two and a half gallons of water per day. There, these omnivores also forage for fruits, seeds, and small vertebrates.

Flightless but feisty, emus use their long mighty legs to kick predators away. Though they are not aggressive, unless provoked. If an emu suspects predators or threats to their nests nearby, they might make warning calls. They are easily recognizable for the sound they make: E-moo!

Aren’t you amazed by the wide range of wildlife species that rely on grasslands? Unfortunately, our grasslands are shrinking. But you can help by raising awareness about the North American Grasslands Conservation Act. For more information on how you can support some of the internationally acclaimed wildlife species, look into the ongoing campaign for an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, which NWF has signed on to!

However, cars and trucks aren’t the only vehicles facing wildlife collisions. For example, in early 2011 along the Montana “Hi-Line,” approximately 1200 animals were killed by trains, including groups of approximately 240 and 270 pronghorn. In addition to the tremendous need to protect wildlife from human-caused harm, the frequency of the loss of human life is worth asking, “What can I do?”

Involving communities in conservation decision making isn’t new or unique. Remember, birders have been counting little brown birds since Frank M. Chapman from the Audubon Society made it cool back in 1900. The Christmas Bird Count, conducted by non-experts, provides vast amounts of data showing where and when birds migrate. In another example, migrating monarch butterflies that overwinter in Mexico have been counted, photographed, and even tagged since the mid 1970s to keep an eye on their visually stunning and impressive lifecycle. But here’s your fun fact for the day, folks: Birds and insects aren’t the only massive migrators in North America.

Allow us to introduce the Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). Thought of as the red-headed step-child of the ungulate world and typically referred to as an “antelope” or a “speed goat,” it is neither antelope nor goat, nor should they be dismissed. Pronghorn have been on this continent since the Pleistocene Era and, thanks to incredible adaptations, made it through the last Ice Age. 

Pronghorn are a taxonomical anomaly – say that three times fast – in that their closest living relative is the giraffe. They are the fastest animal in North America, sprinting up to 60 mph, and retaining speeds of 45 mph for several miles. They can also run 30 mph indefinitely and have enormous eyes to detect predators from a distance. Because they are highly adapted to running rapidly across open plains and grasslands, they’re not great at navigating our roads and fences. In one study, authors showed that in western North America, there were six times as many fences as roads. Fences and roads impede movement, acting as barriers, and can cause animals to be killed through collisions, while also reducing their access to important seasonal ranges. This means that, to lower the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Montana, hot spots where pronghorn and other wildlife prefer to cross need to be observed, reported, and understood.

Which brings us to “what can I do?” Pronghorn Xing is a community-science based approach to support wildlife-transportation decisions and increase community engagement across the Hi-Line of Montana. The Pronghorn Xing smartphone application uses free technology and on-line mapping tools to collect data efficiently and accurately where people spot pronghorn or other wildlife on or near roads. Just turn on the app, start a route, and every time you see pronghorn, elk, or deer, tap the button. Data collection on both dead and living animals is needed and valuable and can be used to inform future analyses and recommendations to improve wildlife movement for both human and wildlife safety.

This is where community-science (formerly citizen-science) comes into play. Community-science is becoming more and more accepted as a means to collect data at the scale required to inform decision makers. In particular for making decisions for wildlife, using community-science is a powerful method through empowerment and multi-generational education of local folks. 

Ideally, this is a two-pronged approach. First, Pronghorn Xing provides state agencies such as the Montana Department of Transportation and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks with wildlife-transportation data, using a standardized process, for use in their decision-making process. Secondly, Pronghorn Xing increases community awareness and engagement through volunteer recruitment, community presentations, and building a ‘wildlife movement’ curriculum, culminating in training local middle and high school students to use the Pronghorn Xing application. By incorporating the Pronghorn Xing app as well as providing activities linked from existing curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, students will be able to download observations, track class progress, perform various analyses, and ultimately, instill awareness and pride of being part of a larger decision-making effort.

Pronghorn Xing is a collaborative project to support state agencies, rural communities, and to improve wildlife connectivity. Thus far, the National Wildlife Federation has partnered with the Miistakis Institute in Calgary, Alberta to bring this successful and vetted program into Montana. This community based approach engages rural communities by training volunteers and middle and high school students with innovative data collection technologies as a means to support agency wildlife-transportation mitigation efforts. The Federation believes that this program is a suitable and convenient solution to help reduce vehicle collisions while also raising awareness of and support of wildlife needs across the state. These objectives are consistent with the desired outcomes of the recent Montana Wildlife and Transportation Summit. 

Although Pronghorn Xing currently is specific to the Hi-Line, the smartphone application and website are useful resources that are transferable to other areas and suitable for other wildlife. The classroom project, which empowers and educates communities, was piloted in Phillips County, with additional interest from other schools in Havre, Harlem, Chinook, Plentywood, and Lewistown. Not to mention, personnel within state and federal agencies and NGOs have started using and promoting the tool. 

If your school is interested in participating, please reach out to Naomi Alhadeff, Montana Education Coordinator, alhadeffn@nwf.org or Andrew Jakes, Wildlife Biologist, jakesa@nwf.org to get involved. This should be an issue near and dear to all Montanans so download today and start to be a part of the management process!

Get the App!

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The National Wildlife Federation looks to grow community awareness and engagement by working with local organizations and community members to recruit and train volunteers on Pronghorn Xing through a) community workshops/presentations and b) building an interactive curriculum with high school science classes. Workshops and presentations will showcase the smartphone app and train interested individuals and groups on data collection techniques. Additionally, schools will utilize NWF’s Eco-Schools USA website and its unique Seven Step Framework, allowing students to think creatively and critically about environmental challenges and develop place-based solutions. By incorporating the Pronghorn Xing app as well as providing activities linked from existing curriculum, students will be able to download observations, track class progress, perform various analyses and ultimately, instill awareness and pride of being part of a larger effort.