2023 Allocations totaled $472,410

$46,900 to US189 South Kemmerer Highway Wildlife Crossing Project

Mule deer and pronghorn are negatively impacted along this stretch of Highway 189. This conclusion is backed up through vehicle collision reports from WYDOT, and these movements are exhibited from collared mule deer, both from the Uinta and Wyoming Range mule deer herds. The right-of-way (ROW) fencing along Highway 189 is almost exclusively net-wire which creates a movement barrier for pronghorn. This project will promote connectivity by benefiting migration patterns along with protecting wildlife on winter range.

$23,100 to MFF Fellowship Award

Established in 2021, MFF Fellowship was established with the Monteith Shop at the Haub School of the Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming. Through this effort, will provide tangible support for the conservation and research of mule deer and fostering growth of the next generation of wildlife scientists and conservationists.

$49,910 to Putting the ‘U’ in Hunt Program

The Muley Fanatic Foundation (MFF) has organized a program, “Putting the ‘U’ in Hunt”. This program is in partnership with the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission to receive complimentary Commissioner Licenses to place youths with life-threatening or terminal illnesses in the field.

$202,500 to Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition

There are 5 priority areas of funding for the Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition grants. The 5 areas are Elk Committee, Mule Deer Committee, Bighorn Sheep Committee, Moose Committee, and All Wildlife Committee. The allocations from Mule Deer Days were given to the Mule Deer Committee. This committee is comprised of two NGO’s; Mule Deer Foundation and Muley Fanatic Foundation. The projects funded from these allocations will be determined in 2024. These will fall into the following categories:
Conservation Easements, Habitat Improvements, Fence Removal or Conversion to Wildlife Friendly, and Research.

$100,000 to Iron Mountain Juniper Control Treatment Project

The Iron Mountain Juniper Control is one of the individual projects under the umbrella of the Southwest Wyoming Mule Deer Habitat effort. The project is located in the Iron Mountain portion of the Little Mountain Ecosystem within the South Rock Spring Mule Deer Herd Unit. The project aims to maintain the integrity and value of sagebrush-grassland and mixed mountain shrub habitats for mule deer and other wildlife by removing encroaching juniper trees. Treatment results are expected to maintain a blend of quality deer feeding areas in proximity to bedding and security cover provided by established juniper woodlands. Project implementation will involve crews hand cutting and piling juniper trees on 1,100 acres of encroached shrub habitat. The piled trees will be allowed months to dry, and fire crews will then conduct prescribed slash pile burns during the winter months. Juniper treatments are planned to begin during the 2024 field season.

$40,000 to Cheatgrass Projects

These funds will be divided into two different locations in Sublette County, Wyoming. $20,000 to each location for the purchase of rejuvre chemical to remove cheatgrass. These treatment areas are located in critical mule deer winter range within Sublette County. $10,000 to the Rose Petal Research Project Research project with the Monteith Shop to learn more about mother and daughter. Are migratory traits transmitted from mother to daughter? What are the population consequences of transmitting migratory traits? Despite the importance of migration to many ungulate species, anthropogenic change is rapidly altering landscapes and, consequently, migratory behaviors. Halting or altering migratory behaviors could impact ungulate population trajectories by rendering segments of seasonal habitats unused, ultimately constraining species abundance, occupancy, and distribution. Because migration
strategies developed under past conditions, properly managing ungulates in a rapidly changing world relies on characterizing the factors shaping migratory traits and the subsequent population ramifications.