HomeSecretarial Order 3362

Secretarial Order 3362

Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors

On February 9, 2018, at an event in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Secretary of the Interior signed Secretarial Order 3362, “Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors”. The Order has attracted considerable attention and created momentum for management and conservation of migration corridors and winter range. As of May 2022, the Department of the Interior (Department) has entered Year 4 of implementation and our approach over the past two years has established the solid foundation necessary for successful future endeavors.

“Enhance and improve the quality of Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope winter range and migration corridor habitat.”

The Order is focused on species under the management authority of state fish and wildlife agencies, so it directs the appropriate bureaus within the Department to engage western states collaboratively and cooperatively. More directly, the Order recognizes state authority to manage big game species. The Department’s role in implementation stems from its management responsibility for millions of acres of land across the West, strong scientific and technical capabilities, and ability to bring forward other resources to help facilitate wildlife habitat conservation activities across multiple states. The Order is focused on conserving, enhancing, restoring, or improving the condition of priority big game winter range and migration corridor habitat. Ultimately, the habitat conservation activities resulting from the implementation of the Order will provide positive benefits to big game populations and numerous other wildlife species.

Casey Stemler, Coordinator for Secretarial Order 3362

Overarching Philosophy, Vision, and Approach
Implementation Progress Report, August 2020

Progress Report

Partnerships have made meaningful progress on the implementation of the Order in the first 4 years. For example, over 50 research projects are funded and well over 170 habitat projects. Numerous other habitat projects are funded through other sources (i.e. NRCS programs) in state defined priority seasonal habitat and migration corridors.

Exceptional cooperation and collaboration with the states continues. Read about some our past  accomplishments in the 2020 Progress Report (PDF, 6 MB).

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Funding Surpassed $30 million. The Department of the Interior and partners provided funding to support state-identified priority research projects, data analysis and mapping assistance, and for habitat-related projects.
  • SO 3362 Coordinator Hired by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in May 2018.
  • State-specific Action Plans were developed for each of the 11 western states by October 2019.
  • Bureau Liasions Established by the BLM, FWS, and NPS.


State-specific Action Plans

Action Plans provide focus, facilitate partnership development, inform grantmaking programs, and ultimately serve as a tool to accomplish habitat conservation.

Arizona 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Arizona Arizona Game and Fish Department California 2020 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here California California Department of Fish and Wildlife Colorado 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Colorado Idaho 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Idaho Idaho Department of Fish and Game Montana 2022 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Montana Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Nevada 2020 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Nevada Nevada Department of Wildlife New Mexico 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here New Mexico NM New Mexico Game & Fish Oregon 2020 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Oregon Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Utah 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Utah Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Washington 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Washington Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Wyoming 2023 State Action Plan SO 3362 Click Here Wyoming Wyoming Game and Fish Department View Archived Action Plans

Mapping

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works in close cooperation with the states, in particular the WAFWA and its program manager for the Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT®) in developing maps or mapping tools related to elk, deer, or pronghorn movement or land use. A primary action taken my USGS in response to SO3362 was to assemble a Corridor Mapping Team to work with individual State wildlife agencies and partners to facilitate mapping of migration corridors. The Team has been in place since the beginning of 2019 and is based out of the Wyoming Cooperative Research Unit, but includes key biologists in participating State agencies.

Wildife Corridors and Route Viewer westernmigrations.net
Public access to data on migrating ungulates through a unique partnership between participating western states. This tool enables viewing of mapped migration corridors, routes, stopovers and ranges.

Migration Mappermigrationinitiative.org
The USGS Migration Mapper™ is a free application designed for researchers, biologists, and managers, to analyze fine-scale GPS collar data collected from migratory ungulates.


Resources

Policy Actions

Secretarial Order 3362 (PDF, 160 KB)
Department of the Interior. Secretarial Order 3362 – “Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors”.

WGA Policy Resolution 2021-04
Western Governors Association (WGA). Policy Resolution 2021-04 – “Species Conservation and the Endangered Species Act”. westgov.org

WGA Policy Resolution 2019-08
Western Governors Association (WGA). Policy Resolution 2019-08 – “Wildlife Migration Corridors and Habitat”. westgov.org

Colorado Executive Order D 2019 011

Colorado Habitat Connectivity Joint Resolution (SJR21-021)

New Mexico’s Wildlife Corridors Act 2019

Oregon House Bill 2834

Utah Concurrent Resolution H.C.R. 13

Wyoming Executive Order 2020-01

Nevada Executive Order 2021-18 (PDF, 281 KB))


Resources

NATIONWIDE
Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Study, A Report to Congress (PDF, 3 MB)
Cost-effective approach to reducing collisions with elk by fencing between existing highway structures. Human–Wildlife Interactions 9(2):248–264, Fall 2015 (PDF, 937 KB)
Development of Sustainable Strategies Supporting Transportation Planning and Conservation Priorities across the West. Federal Highway Administration. 2015. (PDF, 4 MB)

CALIFORNIA
Assembly Bill 2344 Wildlife connectivity: transportation projects (PDF, 341 KB)

COLORADO
2020 Status Report, Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors
Big Game Habitat and Connectivity Policy, 09/28/2021 (PDF, 2 MB)
Senate Bill 22-151 Cash Fund for Highway Crossing (PDF, 249 KB)

MONTANA
2020 Terrestrial Wildlife Movement and Migration Strategy (PDF, 262 KB)
Montana Wildlife and Transportation Summit Report 2018 (PDF, 1 MB)

WYOMING
Wildlife In Wyoming, Migration

2019 Wyoming Ungulate Migration Corridor Strategy (PDF, 253 KB)

UTAH
Wildlife Migration Initiative program


Bureau Resources

Habitat Conservation/ Management Funding Opportunities

NFWF Grant Program Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors.
The The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game and Migration Corridors Program aims to conserve critical winter range and migration corridors to maintain healthy populations of pronghorn, elk and mule deer, and the phenomenon of big game migration. The program is working with conservation partners across Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. www.nfwf.org

U.S. Department of Agriculture.
CRP priority for elk migration corridors, promoting sign up in WY/MT/ID “elk migration” priority. www.fsa.usda.gov


Research

Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5101
Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 1. USGS. pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication

WDFW to use helicopters to capture mule deer In the news, Jan 4, 2021.

Pronghorn migration study begins across Idaho In the news, August 31, 2020.

Bureau Liaisons

Liaisons are integral to the implementation of the Order, they serve as the point of contact with government and nongovernment partners at the local level within their assigned states. They conduct outreach to the public and work with the respective states to develop and update the Action Plans.

• WA/OR – Laura Navarette, USFWS
• CA/NV – John Tull, USFWS
• ID/MT – Yvette Converse, NPS
• UT/CO/WY – Dave Cook, BLM
• AZ/NM – Daryl Ratajczak, BLM