| Chapter 2—Area Description and Resources13 |
Wildlife
The habitats within the Laramie Plains support a wide variety of wildlife. Appendix E lists the species that are known and suspected to occur within the project area.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Due to the cold, arid climate, amphibian and reptile diversity within the Laramie Plains is low compared with other areas of the country, but there are several species that thrive here. The shrublands are home to the short-horned lizard as well as several species of snakes. Because of the arid nature of the region, amphibians are restricted to the riparian and wetland areas; these areas provide habitat for the tiger salamander, boreal chorus frog, Wyoming toad, and northern leopard frog. Although the northern leopard frog was once abundant throughout its range, it has experienced significant declines in the west (Smith and Keinath 2004a). A variety of factors, including habitat loss, disease, chemical contamination, introduced predators, and general environmental degradation have been linked to observed population declines, but no one primary factor has emerged as the cause of the decline, and most likely it is caused by multiple factors that can vary from site to site (Smith and Keinath 2004a). This species is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the WGFD (2010). See the discussion of Wyoming toad under species of special concern below.
Birds
The Laramie Plains provides migratory and breeding habitat for many bird species, many of which are not found in any other area of Wyoming. The National Audubon Society (2011) has designated the Laramie Plains Lakes Complex as an Important Bird Area because of the diversity of birds found within the basin, which highlights the regional and continental significance of the area. Thirty-eight of the 55 birds on the WGFD Species of Greatest Conservation Need List and 59 of 97 birds on the Intermountain West Joint Venture priority species list occur in the Laramie Plains. More than 146 species of birds have been documented on the refuges. Some of these birds are year-round residents, but many migrate through the basin on their way to and from breeding and wintering grounds. Others come to the basin to breed or spend the winter.
Given the scarcity of water in the semi-arid landscape of the Laramie Plains, it is not surprising that wetlands within the basin are regionally important to both resident and migrant waterbirds (NicholoffFWS.jpg)
Northern pintail
2003). The marshes and open water of the basin support 26 species of waterfowl, including canvasback, northern pintail, Barrow’s goldeneye, lesser scaup, and redhead, all of which are Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming (WGFD 2010). Many waterfowl species are also known to breed in the basin, including American wigeon, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, canvasback, northern pintail, green-winged teal, lesser scaup, gadwall, ruddy duck, common merganser, and Canada goose. American avocet and Wilson’s phalarope are shorebirds that migrate from their winter ranges in Mexico and Central and South America to breed in the wetlands of the Laramie Plains. At least 22 other species of shorebirds use these wetlands as either stopover or breeding habitat. Two shorebird species that migrate through the basin, the long-billed curlew and the marbled godwit, are focal species for the USFWS Migratory Bird Program and are USFWS Region 6 Birds of Conservation Concern. Seventy percent of Wyoming bird species are wetland or riparian obligates (Nicholoff 2003).
The upland areas in the Laramie Plains provide essential habitat for many bird species. Shrub and grassland habitats support species such as golden eagle, burrowing owl, Brewer’s sparrow, sage sparrow, and grasshopper sparrow. Prairie falcon is a common resident and uses the upland areas for feeding and resting. The mountain plover, a tier I Species of Greatest Conservation Need within the State of Wyoming, breeds in at least five concentrated areas in Wyoming, one of which is the Laramie Plains. The mountain plover is affected by the loss of breeding habitat as a result of fire suppression, conversion of native grasslands to croplands, and habitat loss to urbanization (WGFD 2010). Figures LPP–4 through
