Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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Science to Solutions: Invasive Annual Grasses Threaten Mule Deer
TREATMENTS CAN IMPROVE CORE SAGEBRUSH HABITAT FOR BIG GAME, BUT LEAVING WEEDS UNCHECKED WILL DRASTICALLY REDUCE MULE DEER HABITAT
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Be sure to check out our latest Science to Solutions that highlights WLFW-affiliated research into invasive annual grasses and mule deer in Wyoming.
Key findings from the research:
- Mule deer strongly avoid sagebrush rangelands once the cover of invasive annual grasses reaches 20%.
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Invasive annual grasses could reduce high-quality mule deer habitat in northeast Wyoming by nearly two-thirds within 20 years if nothing is done to stop their spread.
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Proactively managing invasive grasses to defend core sagebrush areas can maintain or improve habitat for mule deer in the future.
↓Download the report and get the full details on this important research.↓
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Three Creeks Film
VIRTUAL PREMIERE FEBRUARY 2 AT 6:00PM MT
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Join the Western Landowners Alliance and Working Lands Conservation for their free virtual premiere of the Three Creeks film, including a moderated Q&A with the film's cast and crew.
The film highlights how landowners and partners came together in the Three Creeks area in northern Utah to reimagine how grazing could work.
Their innovative and inspiring story is well worth a watch. Follow the link below to watch the trailer and register for the event.
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Beyond the Fence
WYOMING PBS HIGHLIGHTS WILDLIFE-FRIENDLY FENCE EFFORT
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Fences are a necessary part of the American West, but for migrating wildlife like pronghorn and elk, they can be a deadly barrier. Thousands of miles of old, derelict, or poorly designed fences create a maze that can trap, injure, and kill animals on their ancient migration routes.
But in Wyoming, a unique partnership, including the NRCS, is tackling this problem head-on.
Even cooler? WLFW's migratory big game science advisor helped develop the fence-tracking app featured in the episode!
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IN THE COMANCHE POOL GRAZING LANDS IN OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS, RANCHERS ARE POOLING RESOURCES FOR PRESCRIBED FIRES THAT REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK AND REGENERATE GRASSLANDS
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A vast swath of intact prairie known as the Comanche Pool grazing lands stretches along the border of Kansas and Oklahoma. These rolling, undeveloped grasslands cover 7 million contiguous acres and span 15 counties.
Today, the ranchers who raise cattle in the Comanche Pool area comprise the largest grazing coalition in the southern Great Plains. The cattle that roam these prairies provide beef for America, and the region’s livestock production and outdoor recreation amenities are important economic drivers for both Kansas and Oklahoma.
“The Comanche Pool is a very cool, very special place,” says Tanner Swank, Great Plains Grasslands Biome Manager for Working Lands for Wildlife and Pheasants Forever. “The geography is both ecologically and economically significant to the region.”
These mixed-grass and sand-sage prairies are also home to one of the last strongholds of lesser prairie-chickens and the region’s bobwhite quail, along with a multitude of other grassland birds and prairie critters.
But the people, livestock, and wildlife that depend on the Comanche Pool prairies are facing a growing threat: encroaching woody species that are gobbling up productive grasslands.
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Eastern Working Lands for Wildlife Conservation Webinar Series
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WLFW IN THE EAST IS CONTINUING ITS POPULAR CONSERVATION WEBINAR SERIES INTO 2026 - BE SURE TO CATCH THE UPCOMING BOBWHITE QUAIL WEBINAR
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The Working Lands for Wildlife Conservation Webinar Series brings together multiple mini-series designed to help resource professionals and landowners build knowledge and skills related to wildlife conservation, pollinators, and habitat management on working lands.
Through expert-led webinars, the series covers foundational ecology, species and pollinator needs, conservation programs, and practical management approaches across agricultural, pasture, and forested systems. Collectively, these webinars support informed decision-making and effective, science-based conservation practices that benefit both working landscapes and wildlife. Learn more about the series here.
Join WLFW in the East on February 12, 2026, 11:30 CST for Mythbusters, a webinar presented by Nathan Eldridge with Quail Forever, that takes a science-based look at some of the most common myths surrounding bobwhite quail. Learn what the research really shows and walk away with clearer insight to guide effective quail and habitat management.
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A team from Oklahoma State University looked into how the abundance of three disease-carrying ticks responded to woody species encroachment. They found that two of the three species increased in abundance in the early stages of encroachment, highlighting the need to defend intact cores and treat encroachment as early as possible. Read the full, peer-review, open-access article via the link above.
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Cool news out of Colorado: the 19,000-acre Nottingham Ranch has been permanently protected from development through a conservation easement supported by several groups. The ranch, which has senior water rights on the Colorado River, will continue as a working ranch. Ranch owner, Susan Nottingham, wasn't always supportive of conservation easements, but her relationship with the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust shifted her perception and helped bring this success story to fruition.
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This fantastic series from the Kansas Reflector dives into how Kansas ranchers are dealing with challenges like drought and woody species encroachment by utilizing tools like prescribed fire and regenerative grazing. Some of the featured ranchers have been working with WLFW for decades, and it's gratifying to see their efforts held up as examples for others. The link above is for the first in the series but all the stories are accessible.
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The Working Lands for Wildlife partnership supports the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service's premier approach for conserving America's working lands to benefit people, wildlife, and rural communities. In the West, WLFW is guided by two, action-based frameworks for conservation. The framework approach is designed to increase conservation and restoration of rangelands by addressing major threats to rangeland health and through the implementation of conservation measures that limit soil disturbance, support sustainable grazing management, promote the strategic use of prescribed fire, and support native grassland species. Together, the frameworks leverage the power of voluntary, win-win conservation solutions to benefit people and wildlife from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
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