Western Governors' Efforts to Protect Corridors Continues

On June 15, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Western Governors' Association (WGA), the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior was signed to promote the organization, development, and use of science in efforts to conserve wildlife corridors and other crucial habitats.  Signing of the agreement advances the WGA Wildlife Corridors Initiative, launched in 2007, and the Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan, developed by the Department of the Interior Sporting Conservation Council in 2008.

Applied effectively, the agreement will be a valuable tool for helping to manage and conserve big game and other wildlife in the face of climate change.  As the WGA has noted, "Shifts in the timing of wildlife mating, migration, and other life-history traits will continue to occur as climate conditions change."

"Elk, mule deer, pronghorn and caribou will all be impacted by increased drought, wildfires and other symptoms of climate change," said Sierra Club Washington, DC Representative Bart Semcer.  "Efforts to providing increased security for the habitat we know wildlife needs to adapt to these changes deserve the increased attention of state and federal agencies."