Summer Season Happenings

The Wyoming Untrapped Beaver Coexistence Program aims to provide long-term, cost-effective, humane solutions to property owners in response to beaver-human conflicts. When beaver dam flooding threatens human property, health, or safety, we provide workable nonlethal solutions to landowners, such as flow devices, culvert fencing, and diversion dams.

The WU team has been busy this summer working in collaboration with surrounding US Forest Service Districts to complete much-needed beaver coexistence work within the Bridger-Teton National Forest. 

Most recently, our team took part in a site visit to assess project needs in the Teton Wilderness and successfully installed a culvert fence at a site in the Big Piney District.

By offering these coexistence solutions, WU aims to eliminate the need for lethal trapping and snaring by resolving human-wildlife conflicts on public and private land. These coexistence efforts encourage stakeholders to rely on more wildlife-friendly long-term solutions. If you are experiencing issues with wildlife on your property, or know of an issue taking place on public lands, the WU team is available and happy to help.
 

Thanks to our incredibly generous donors, the 2022 WyoGives day went off with a bang! We were able to raise a great number of donated dollars that will go towards Wyoming Untrapped's statewide programs. 

In total, we had 48 unique donation gifts from 46 individual donors. These numbers are a 9% increase compared to the 2021 fundraising year. From these generous gifts, we were able to raise $7,500 donated dollars.

These dollars will allow our WU staff to travel across the state to host educational workshops, perform coexistence work, and allow us to represent our mission at important public meetings.  

We welcome our new donors and appreciate your kind support for the important work we do. Because of you, our organization will continue to be a strong component of trapping reform in Wyoming. 

Next year's Wyogives giving day will be July 12, 2023. The Wyoming Untrapped team is looking forward to engaging with our remarkable supporters in this annual event.

 

With in-person events ramping up, and our team getting back out into the public for outreach and community opportunities, we would love to invite anyone interested to sign up for our volunteer list. 

When planning for events and outreach opportunities, WU would love to have our supporters join us for some fun networking. If you're interested in volunteering with us, consider signing up through our online portal. Once you sign up, we will reach out when volunteer opportunities arise.
 

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission met on July 19th, 2022, to make an official decision on the proposed regulation changes for the Chapter 47 Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons. The Department received 106 online comments and 4 written comments regarding the proposed changes to the draft Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons.

The Department reviewed over 106 public comments that show growing numbers of well-informed and knowledgeable modern-day wildlife advocates. Only 5 of these public comments were in favor of current wolf hunting regulations, or increased wolf elimination measures. Major topics of public comment included; support for not hunting gray wolves due to their economic value to the state by wildlife viewers, requests for a “hunting buffer zone” around Yellowstone National Park, and no support for trapping gray wolves.  After consideration of all public comments, the Department made no further edits to this draft regulation.

Our Board President and Executive Director attended this meeting and provided public comments in response to the Department's decision.
 
While the WGFD did not act in favor of the 101 public comments recommending progressive wildlife management changes, we do want to highlight the number of comments submitted to the commission. This is a step in the right direction. The Department and Commission are aware that changes are wanted, and needed. We must keep our voices loud and impossible to ignore for the responsible, humane, and science-based management of wildlife in Wyoming. 

Quote from our Executive Director: 

"I recently reviewed the WGFD 2021 Strategic plan, which states that “the Department's constituents are a diverse group of Wyoming residents and nonresidents who have an interest in, or are affected by, wildlife. The Department is the agency that manages all wildlife for public benefits, and serves as an advocate for wildlife, wildlife habitat, and all wildlife users; including expanding opportunities for the public to enjoy wildlife.”.....
......I urge the Commission to stand by their mission of conserving wildlife and serving people, by not only allowing the public to provide comments but also absorbing these comments and reflecting them in future management decisions." 

This summer has been a busy season for the beaver dam cams. We visited our two dam cam sites last week to monitor camera operations, observe activity on the dams, and collect video footage. Due to high water events over the last few months, two of our cameras have unfortunately been damaged, and were replaced.

The beavers were already hard at work repairing the dam after it was breached during that time. From the recoverable footage, we see how the habitat created by beaver dams facilitates interspecies interactions. Beavers create habitat that supports a wide array of species. Beavers, Canada geese, moose, elk, black bears, red foxes, gray wolves, and great blue heron have been recorded utilizing beaver complexes for travel, foraging, and even nesting.

Despite beaver dams being high-traffic areas, a pair of geese nested at one of our dam sites. Due to the location of the nest, the geese were constantly defending their territory against other animals in the area including a very persistent yellow-bellied marmot. Other species encountered during their nesting activities include gray wolves and red foxes.

Check out our Dam Cam videos to watch the saga.  As the success rate of a laying pair of geese truly depends on their chosen nesting site, and predators in the area, be sure to stay tuned to find out the fate of the goose eggs.
Note: Click on 1080p for the finest quality video.

The summer season is flying by quickly. We are rapidly approaching one of our largest fundraising events of the year, Old Bill's Fun Run! Old Bill's fundraising season is an exciting time for all non-profits and community members, and the Wyoming Untrapped team is excited to participate for another year.
This year's Old Bill's giving season spans from August 12th through September 16th, with the big run day taking place on Saturday, September 10th, 2022. 

As we quickly approach this important giving season, be sure to keep an eye out for how and when to support Wyoming Untrapped. Our team is looking forward to participating in outreach and in-person events during the giving season and are excited to see you all at these events.

Come see us at in-person events throughout OBFR giving season, and support our work.