Wyoming Wildlife magazine - 11

NEWS

In Wyoming, the only consistent wolverine populations are found in the state's western mountains. (WGFD photo)

Commission approves wolverine
management plan
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Game
and Fish Commission approved a management plan for wolverines at its recent meeting
in July.
The purpose of the plan is to guide decisions and actions that promote wolverine
conservation in Wyoming. The goals include
long-term viability of the species, expansion
into suitable habitat, participation in interstate monitoring and continued management
as a protected animal under state statute.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department
worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes, National Park Service, Bureau
of Land Management and the U.S. Forest
Service on the plan.
"Conserving wolverines and their habitat
in Wyoming is going to require participation
and engagement with multiple partners and
stakeholders," said Nichole Bjornlie, Game
and Fish nongame mammal biologist. "We
look forward to continuing to work with
partners both within and outside of Wyoming to identify and implement actions to
benefit wolverines."
Wolverines are classified as nongame

wildlife in Wyoming. They are a Species of
Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming's
State Wildlife Action Plan, and are listed
as a proposed threatened species under the
Endangered Species Act. Wolverine habitat is
found throughout the western Bighorn and
Medicine Bow mountain ranges in Wyoming,
but only the western mountains currently
support consistent populations. Their home
ranges are widely dispersed and often defined
by food availability. Populations may be slow
to expand at the southern edge of their range
because of low pregnancy and birth rates.
Potential risks associated with wolverine viability throughout their range include
climate change, loss and fragmentation of
habitat due to human activity such as road
construction, disturbance from winter recreation, overall small population sizes and other
forms of accidental, human-caused mortality.
"Wolverines are an iconic species in the
Intermountain West and Wyoming in particular, and we're happy to have an approved
management plan in place that highlights the
commitment of Game and Fish to manage
for the long-term viability of this species,"
Bjornlie said.

During the winters of 2015-17 Game
and Fish, in cooperation with other western
states, the Western Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies and other partners participated in a range-wide occupancy survey
for wolverines. The survey confirmed the
species' broad distribution and documented
population recovery above its historic lows.
At least six unique individuals were detected
during the effort, including two females and
a male in the Wind River Mountains, currently the southern edge of reliable wolverine
distribution.
Management actions of the plan include
collaboration with other western states to
repeat a range-wide survey every five years
starting in the winter of 2021-22, and to
explore opportunities to conduct research
to help determine population status and
vital rates of wolverines in Wyoming. The
plan also calls to work with federal land
management agencies to ensure wolverines
are considered in land-use decisions, and to
engage the public and other stakeholders
through media releases and other outreach/
education efforts.
- Robert Gagliardi, WGFD

Wyoming Wildlife | 11

Wyoming Wildlife magazine

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