Ancient Corridors Symposium

Next month, a coalition of environment groups plan to host a symposium in Pinedale focused on the significance of wildlife migration corridors and how to protect them. The program is co-sponsored by Wyoming Council for the Humanities, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Wyoming Outdoor Council.

On Friday, March 14, a field trip to view the migration corridor bottlenecks will be held. Participants are to meet at 1 p.m. at the Bureau of Land Management office.

On Saturday, March 15, the all-day symposium will be held in the Sublette County Library, beginning at 8 a.m. Admission is free. The noon luncheon will cost $7.50.

Scheduled speakers for the morning include: Paul Sanders of the University of Wyoming Archaeology Department: Archaeological Evidence of Pronghorn Migration; Joel Berger of Wildlife Conservation Society: Migration in a Global Context; Hall Sawyer of WEST-Inc.: Pronghorn Migration Routes in Upper Green River Basin; Kim Berger of Wildlife Conservation Society: Pronghorn Migration Viability; Lloyd Dorsey, consultant: RWP Conservation Plan; and John Eddins, Wyoming Department of Transportation District Engineer, WYDOT: Sublette Antelope Herd Migration Study, Fencing and Wildlife.

At 12:30 keynote speaker Sam Western will take to the podium. Western, a Wyoming Council for the Humanities speaker, is the author of Pushed off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's search for its soul.

Afternoon speakers include: Gary Espenscheid, rancher: Future of Ranching and How it affects the Green River Valley; Shell Oil Co.: Mineral Development on the Mesa and Migration Corridors; Randy Wagner, Wyoming Department of Tourism: Tourism in western Wyoming since the early 1800s; Maggie MacDonald, Green River Land Trust: Protection Possibilities for Migration Corridors; Bernie Holz, Wyoming Game and Fish Department: Managing Wildlife Migration Corridors; Prill Mecham, Bureau of Land Management: Multiple use in the public land corridors; Kniffy Hamilton, Bridger-Teton National Forest: Multiple use in the national forest corridors; and Steve Cain of Grand Teton National Park: Pronghorn Connection with Grand Teton National Park.