BLM Wyoming Rawlins office announces two wildlife habitat enhancement projects

RAWLINS (WNE) —The Bureau of Land Management Rawlins Field Office is preparing for two collaborative project installations in Carbon County. 
Rawlins Field Office wildlife biologists and rangeland management specialists have been collaborating with members of local schools and local businesses on a variety of projects throughout 2022. 
Two of the projects are now at the implementation stage and will be constructed over the next two to three weeks pending weather conditions. 
The first project involves constructing and installing fencing panels for wildlife guzzlers near Saratoga. Wildlife guzzlers provide alternative water sources to wildlife and are crucial during drought conditions. 
Following a donation of funds from the HF Sinclair Corporation, the BLM purchased pipes and worked in conjunction with a class of welding students from the Carbon County Higher Education Center to build fencing panels to place around wildlife guzzlers. 
The class designed and constructed 20 panels and will join members of the field office on Nov. 1, 2022, to place the panels in the field. 
The second project is a sagebrush plug installation effort just outside of Hanna. 
The BLM is responsible for 68 million acres of sagebrush habitat that provides the necessary living conditions for the Greater Sage-Grouse, a keystone species with dwindling populations. 
The installation of sagebrush plugs is a unique form of habitat restoration.
 
This story was published on Nov. 5, 2022.