Wyoming Backs Full Pronghorn Migration Route After Public Outcry

After hours of debate and a packed house in Lander, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission did a hard pivot Wednesday: instead of trimming protections, it unanimously voted to formally designate the Sublette pronghorn migration corridor in full—all 10 segments, including the hotly contested stretches in the Red Desert and east of Farson.

Commissioner Ken Roberts made the motion, leaning on “20 years of science, data and vast public support.” He’d signaled his doubts early, questioning why the agency’s proposal to exclude two segments was necessary:

“I can’t see where it hurts anybody. I’m just kind of mystified.”

Game and Fish staff had recommended leaving out those two pieces, arguing the threat level was low, there were no bottlenecks, and those zones lacked “high-use” habitat (areas where at least 20% of collared animals travel). Jill Randall and Martin Hicks presented the case; Hicks said the criteria simply didn’t warrant designation there.

The crowd—and eventually the commission—weren’t buying it.

Part of the tension: the corridor is huge—about 2.6 million acres, bigger than Yellowstone. Jim Magagna of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, who ranches nearby, warned that including everything could spark a backlash against the whole policy:

“It’s the lumping of everything together that is our major concern.”

Oil and gas reps also pushed back, noting the route cuts across major fields like the Pinedale Anticline. Steve Degenfelder of Kirkwood Oil & Gas pointed to $2.75 billion in education funding tied to the Anticline alone. Still, when asked how to balance people and wildlife, Degenfelder said plainly:

“Your initiative should be towards wildlife.”

Retired biologists, hunters, and conservation groups lined up to urge a full designation, calling the Sublette pronghorn one of the best-studied herds on Earth. Meghan Riley of the Wyoming Outdoor Council stressed that about 5,000 pronghorn use the two segments that were on the chopping block:

“Accessing summer range matters to survival whether an animal travels 165 miles or 30.”

The public record was lopsided, too: nearly 99% of 530 comments supported designation. Commissioner Rusty Bell cited that as he backed the motion:

“I’m going to go along with what the people have said.”

Earlier Game and Fish analysis had rated the herd’s migrations at “high risk” from housing sprawl and industrial build-out—one more reason advocates argued for using Wyoming’s revamped (and until now untested) migration policy as intended.

The commission’s decision now heads to Gov. Mark Gordon. If he signs off, he’ll appoint an area working group—including county reps and at least two agricultural voices—to review the corridor and advise on management.

For now, the headline is simple: instead of shrinking Wyoming’s first designated pronghorn migration route, the state just backed it—all of it.

The original story by Mike Koshmrl for WyoFile.