June 22, 2023 |
Photo – Sage Grouse – Bigfoot99 file photo
Public input is being sought around the state on new sage grouse habitat maps. On Tuesday, June 27th, the South-Central Sage Grouse Local Working Group will hold a meeting in Saratoga. Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Biologist Teal Cufaude explained the purpose of the meeting.
Cufaude said the Bureau of Land Management is updating its national map of sage grouse habitat. She said the state decided to revise its map as well. The Game and Fish biologist said Wyoming’s sage grouse core area map hasn’t been updated since 2015. Cufaude said the next step in producing the revised sage grouse map is Tuesday’s public comment meeting.
The state’s core area map will change to reflect new information provided by the Sage Grouse Implementation Team, or SGIT. Cufaude explained, in brief, some of the changes to our area of the map.
Cufaude said the implementation team used various methods to gather information on where sage grouse live and breed. The newly collected data from around Wyoming has been used to update the state’s map.
Cufaude said the updated map will pinpoint where sage grouse are in the state. Armed with that knowledge, the Game and Fish biologist said the birds can be kept from going extinct.
The South Central Sage Grouse Local Working Group’s meeting is next Tuesday, June 27th. The meeting will be from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District building, at 101 Cypress Avenue in Saratoga. All members of the public are invited to participate.
