Supporting the Wyoming-USDA Big Game Pilot Program
Need and opportunity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State of Wyoming launched the Big Game Pilot Program in 2022 with the goal of supporting the conservation of migratory big game populations on private working lands across the state. The Program came after Wyoming’s designation of migration corridors as a way to provide technical and financial assistance to landowners whose properties fall within designated corridors or other priority areas. Our research is supporting the effort by surveying landowners in identified priority areas to understand their experiences with big game and interest in participating in different voluntary conservation efforts. We are also interviewing key stakeholders closely involved in the development of the Pilot Program or landowners who have enrolled their property in one of the included Farm Service Agency or Natural Resources Conservation Service programs. Our aim is to examine the potential for increased enrollment and other measures of success for the Program as its implementation grows – including a recent expansion of the program to Idaho and Montana.
Where we are
Over the 2023-24 winter, we surveyed 760 Wyoming landowners in areas with important big game habitat. We found that big game species are frequently seen on private lands, and while attitudes towards them are generally positive, conflicts are common. Many landowners are unaware of the USDA-WY Migratory Big Game Pilot program, but there is considerable interest in habitat leases and conservation programs. Landowners also expressed considerable trust with state and local agencies in administering conservation programs. The study also revealed that in the next 10 years, many landowners intend to enroll in USDA programs or easements yet most anticipate transitioning their land to the next generation during that timeframe, which will create opportunities and challenges for conservation.
Where we’re going
We plan to issue a report on our survey findings in late 2024. We also plan to survey landowners again in 2026 to see if there are changes in awareness of the Pilot Program, attitudes towards big game, or interest in conservation programs following the implementation of the Program.
Team members
Hilary Byerly Flint
Hilary is a senior research scientist at the University of Wyoming. She studies how people manage and value the natural environment—particularly public benefits, like biodiversity conservation and risk mitigation, from private lands. She is currently leading a multi-year project focused on incentivizing habitat conservation on private lands in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Hilary is based in Jackson, WY.
Drew Bennett
Drew is the Whitney MacMillan Professor of Practice of Private Lands Stewardship in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming. Drew's work focuses on strategies to balance agricultural production and the conservation of wildlife and other natural resources on private lands in the American West. He has previously worked with The Nature Conservancy on a cattle ranch in eastern Colorado and for the Mesa Land Trust in western Colorado.
