| Chapter 1—Introduction and Project Description3 |
residential use, hay and crop production, and recreation. The strong ranching culture in the area has kept many of the habitats of the basin from being converted to other uses and left much of the region’s biodiversity intact. There are growing concerns that a significant increase in residential development threatens the remaining natural character of this landscape, in particular the habitats and species that make the Laramie Plains regionally important for biological diversity. Rural development on exurban lots has been growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent a year (USDA 2006). Such development will likely diminish the future value of these important biological resources and working landscapes.
Once the western fringe of the range for many short mixed-grass prairie species, the Laramie Plains has increased in relative habitat value because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and conversion of native prairie to cropland elsewhere in the Great Plains. Because of the relatively large, intact ecosystem still available, the basin has become crucial habitat for many species. Without increased conservation measures to protect upland habitat from degradation and conversion to other uses, species that now depend on the high elevation prairie as a last remaining refuge would be vulnerable.
The remaining wetlands play a vital role in providing resting and feeding areas for the thousands of migratory birds that continue to use the central flyway each spring and fall. However, increased sedimentation, nutrient runoff, salinization, and decreased water runoff jeopardize the functions and values of these wetlands. Similarly, riparian corridors are also affected by sedimentation, nutrient runoff, decreased water runoff, and stream channelization, which affect fish and other aquatic species, such as the endangered Wyoming toad. With decreasing water quality and natural water flow in the rivers and remaining wetlands, the recovery of the Wyoming toad could be impaired.
While increased human activity in the Laramie Plains has generally reduced wildlife populations and habitat, there have been some compensating effects. For example, irrigated hay meadows provide nesting cover for waterfowl. Some of the same flood-irrigated meadows may also hold water longer during the summer months, helping to retain higher late-summer flows in the surrounding rivers. Large ranches in the basin provide large blocks of habitat that benefit wildlife.
The entire footprint of this project would be located in south-central Albany County, Wyoming, and would encompass three existing refuges: Bamforth, Mortenson Lake, and Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuges. The WTCA would focus on the protection of wetlands, riparian corridors, and open landscapes with the objective of conserving land through the acquisition of up to 43,200 acres of voluntary conservation easements and up to a maximum of 10,000 acres in fee-title acquisition from willing sellers only (table LPP–1).
| Table LPP-1. Summary of current and proposed acreage for the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area, Wyoming. | |||
| National wildlife refuge |
Executive boundary acres |
Acquired acres |
In-holding acres |
| Mortenson Lake |
2,500 | 1,927 | 573 |
| Hutton Lake |
1,968 | 1,968 | 0 |
| Bamforth | 1,166 | 1,166 | 0 |
| Potential new acres |
Fee title acres |
Conser- vation easement acres | |
| Project area | 43,200 | Up to 10,000 |
Balance of 43,200 less fee title |
| Project boundary total acres |
186,185 | ||
Acquisition of fee-title lands from willing sellers would be prioritized based on specific criteria that would help with meeting the criteria of the Wyoming Toad Revised Recovery Plan (USFWS 2015). These criteria are meant to contribute to the recovery and eventual delisting of the Wyoming toad. The Wyoming Toad Revised Recovery Plan (USFWS 2015) calls for the establishment of five independent, self-sustaining populations, all within the toad’s historical range. Furthermore, these five populations should be distributed across at least two basic habitat types: rivers and associated floodplains (lotic habitats) and ponds and lakes (lentic habitats). To accomplish this goal, other lands need to be acquired within the Wyoming toad’s historical range to reintroduce and conserve its populations in perpetuity. Management practices on fee-title lands could include prescribed fire, livestock grazing with periodic resting of pastures, exclusion of nonnative fish, invasive species control, and disease management. A compatibility determination would be completed to establish whether any land acquired in fee title could be opened for public use.
Conservation easements would be bought from willing sellers on parcels that contain habitat suitable
