A mysterious decline in pronghorn and mule deer along the Wyoming- Colorado border has the attention of a team of biologists who are gathering to investigate.
The National Wildlife Federation is putting on public meetings in Steamboat Springs and Craig this week to discuss the decline. Biologists want to find out whether increased oil and gas exploration in the area has anything to do with lower deer numbers, according to The Steamboat Pilot & Today.
The federation report by wildlife biologists John Ellenberger and Gene Byrne says the deer populations are down over the past 30 years. More details about the decline were expected at the meetings.
“The declines are occurring due to a multitude of issues,” Ellenberger said. “Which of them to blame, we don’t know. But we’re finding that the populations are vulnerable.” Scientists will discuss relationships among the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish and the federal Bureau of Land Management. The federation says that although the Wyoming and Colorado wildlife managers share information about the herds, the BLM arrives at its own land-management decisions that affect the animals, such as decisions on gas and oil. The Associated Press
