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Mule deer numbers affected by gas drilling 12/18/2006 JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) Mule deer numbers in the Pinedale Anticline area of the Upper Green River Basin appear to have stabilized after several years of dramatic losses, according to a report on how natural gas development affects deer. The annual report by Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. is funded mainly by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Questar, the main gas drilling company on the Pinedale Anticline. According to the report, mule deer numbers in the area have fallen by as much as 46 percent, likely because energy development has made it more difficult for deer to survive. Also, slightly less than half those areas frequented by deer before development still had large numbers of deer after development. “Direct and indirect habitat losses reduce the size of the winter range available to mule deer and may reduce the carrying capacity of that range,” the report said. But the report also said that efforts to reduce truck traffic and other habitat disturbance seem to have helped deer. The report also suggested reducing the numbers and size of well pads and helping ensure that migration routes remain intact. Diana Hoff, general manager of Questar’s Pinedale Division, said she was encouraged by the study. She said the company’s efforts to eliminate 13,000 truck trips a year appeared to be helping. She also said a major road in the area has been closed this winter. Linda Baker, an organizer with the Upper Green River Valley Coalition, said a decline in areas frequented by deer hints at lost habitat. “When deer are forced from their most preferred habitats, they may move to less nutritious food sources, become crowded onto already occupied terrain with less protection from the elements and lose the vitality they need to reproduce,” she said. She said seasonal stipulations should be enforced to help protect the animals. |
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