Page:Land Protection Plan - Wyoming Toad Conservation Area.pdf/36

26Land Protection Plan—Wyoming Toad Conservation Area, Wyoming

Over 43 percent of Wyoming has the potential for development of wind energy (U.S. Department of Energy 2011). Wyoming ranks 10th in potential wind energy development, with 27.3 million acres (42,631.28 square miles) of available land with an installed capacity of 552,072.6 megawatts and an annual generation of 1.9 million gigawatt-hours. Most of this potential is within the southeast part of the State. Most of the land with potential for wind development would still be available with the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area.

Fragmentation

Changes in land cover resulting from residential development, energy development, and roads not only cause a loss of habitat, they also fragment remaining habitat. There is a robust body of literature on the effects of habitat fragmentation that has been summarized by Collinge (2009). Countless manipulative and observational studies have shown that habitat area and connectivity between similar habitats are important at all trophic levels ranging from soil decomposers (Rantalainen et al. 2005) to passerine birds (Telleria and Santos 1995). Intact corridors between fragments promote use of, and persistence in, those habitats by migratory birds (Haas 2002), large carnivores (Shepherd and Whittington 2006, Tremblay 2001), and ungulates (Tremblay 2001) that are native to the WTCA. Perhaps the most obvious way to protect migration routes as well as valuable habitat in the WTCA is to focus on the conservation of the riparian corridors that cross and connect existing protected areas. This action would protect wildlife movement corridors for seasonal migration as well as colonization following large-scale disturbances or environmental change.

High flows on the Big Laramie River. FWS

Invasive Species

Increased human disturbance associated with development has also been shown to negatively affect adjoining habitat because of the introduction and establishment of invasive plant species. Invasive plants can have many detrimental effects, including displacement of native vegetation, alteration of nutrient cycling and soil chemistry, alteration of hydrology, increased erosion, and changes in fire regimes (Dukes and Mooney 2004). Collectively, such changes can have severe negative effects on wildlife habitat, such as reducing the quality of nesting and foraging areas.

Another invasive species that is threatening the Wyoming toad and other amphibian populations in the Laramie Plains is chytrid fungus. Mortality caused by this fungus has been documented in the Wyoming toad population at Mortenson Lake Refuge and is thought to be one of the main causes of the toad’s decline in the 1970s. However, toad populations have been sucessfully maintained recently despite the widespread presence of chytrid. Other diseases such as “white-nose syndrome” in bats and chronic wasting disease in cervids may also threaten the wildlife in the Laramie Plains, although these diseases have not been documented in the area to date.

Water Use

The Laramie River and its tributaries are the primary source of water in the area. Because the open plains receive little precipitation, most surface and ground water is a result of snowpack runoff from the surrounding mountains. The potential for wetland management, creation, and restoration is con-