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, Former Coordinator for Secretarial Order 3362
Progress Reports
5-Year Progress Report, April 2024
Secretarial Order 3362 was signed in 2018 to emphasize the importance of conserving and improving elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope habitat. Each year, the BLM works cooperatively with state and Tribal governments, federal agencies, landowners, universities, conservation organizations, and others to improve millions of acres of fish, wildlife, and plant habitat degraded from wildland fire, drought, invasive weeds, and development on public lands. Much of this work directly benefits big game winter range and migration corridors.
HIGHLIGHTS
In the last five years, the BLM has:
- Removed or modified 1,250 miles of fencing to improve wildlife movement and migration,
- Improved 3 million acres of big game wildlife habitat, and
- Installed or maintained 1,150 water developments for use by big game animals and other wildlife.
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Implementation Progress Report, August 2020
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.
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State-specific Action Plans
Action Plans provide focus, facilitate partnership development, inform grantmaking programs, and ultimately serve as a tool to accomplish habitat conservation.
![Secretarial Order 3362 Arizona](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Arizona Game and Fish Department](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AZGFD_Logo_Brown.png)
![Secretarial Order 3362 California](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![California Department of Fish and Wildlife](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cdfw-logo-small-1-e1602179276507.jpg)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Colorado](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
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![Secretarial Order 3362 Idaho](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Idaho Department of Fish and Game](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1901622_860581917294334_5263648407301507575_n-e1602179216838.png)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Montana](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/unnamed-e1602179186223.png)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Nevada](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Nevada Department of Wildlife](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/C4yEvOwU-e1602179112747.jpg)
![Secretarial Order 3362 New Mexico](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![NM New Mexico Game & Fish](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/newmexico-agency-logo.png)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Oregon](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/download.png)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Utah](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Utah Division of Wildlife Resources](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CxxMARc8_400x400-e1602178163783.jpg)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Washington](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WDFW.jpg)
![Secretarial Order 3362 Wyoming](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/plugins/revslider/public/assets/assets/transparent.png)
![Wyoming Game and Fish Department](http://wafwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/download-2.png)
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 Mapper™ migrationinitiative.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
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
- 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
- BLM Information Bulletin 2019–005 “Secretarial Order 3362: Site-specific Management Activities to Conserve or Restore Big Game Habitat.” November 2018. www.blm.gov
- BLM Instruction Memorandum (IM 2018-062) “Addressing Hunting, Fishing, Shooting Sports, and Big Game Habitats, and Incorporating Fish and Wildlife Conservation Plans and Information from Tribes, State Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Other Federal Agencies in Bureau of Land Management”.
- BLM Instruction Memorandum (IM 2021-22) (PDF, 2 MB)
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.
COORDINATOR
Acting Coordinator, Anna Wearn
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