Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative Projects

Mule Deer

In November, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFC) voted to approve $560,000 for ten projects to support mule deer populations across Wyoming.

Developed through the Statewide Mule Deer Initiative (MDI), the new projects will focus on improving to mule deer habitat and migration paths.

The projects will build upon MDI efforts that have been ongoing for over a decade.

The projects slated for the coming year are expected to benefit nine herds of mule deer and improve 1.2 million acres of habitat.

In Wyoming, Mule deer are an iconic species. They are found in the high plains, great basin desert, the alpine mountains, and everywhere in between.

A statewide Mule Deer Initiative written by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department was adopted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in July 2007 and updated in July 2015.

The Mule Deer Initiative outlines factors contributing to declining mule deer populations and identifies strategies to, at minimum, sustain current deer numbers.

source: Wyoming Game and Fish Commission

Wetland, Woodland, Wildland Guide to Natural Communities of Vermont

A completely updated second edition of Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont will be available in late 2019. 

The land guide is well-known to anyone curious about Vermont’s forests, wetlands, mountaintops, and shores.

Co-authored by Elizabeth Thompson of the Vermont Land Trust, and Eric Sorenson and Robert Zaino of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, the new second edition incorporates recent scientific research about the state’s natural communities and includes descriptions of seventeen newly recognized natural community types.

The new guide includes photographs, line drawings, and user-friendly writing, related to natural habitats of Vermont. The updates will be useful to amateur naturalists and professional scientists.

“Natural communities help us understand nature. When people can see patterns across the landscape, they have a better appreciation of nature and a heightened sense of responsibility to protect it,” says co-author Elizabeth Thompson.

Natural communities are also important for the conservation of plants, animals, and habitats in Vermont.

The book is published by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, The Nature Conservancy, and the Vermont Land Trust, and it is distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing.

It is currently available for pre-order online (https://vtfishandwildlife.com/wetland-woodland-wildland) and is expected to be for sale in local bookstores by November 15.

source: Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department