Refining our understanding of limber pine-juniper woodland habitat use in wyoming s bighorn basin to maximize landscape conservation benefits for both greater sage-grouse and pinyon JAY extension

The Buffalo Bill Memorial Association received $225,000 in federal funding through a Cooperative Agreement awarded on September 15, 2025, by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Wildlife Resource Management program (CFDA 15.247). The award supports ecological research in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin through September 30, 2027, focused on refining understanding of limber pine-juniper woodland habitat use to inform landscape conservation strategies that benefit both greater sage-grouse and pinyon jay populations. This research initiative builds on the organization's existing multi-year cooperative agreements with BLM, which include field studies such as capturing and tagging pinyon jays, monitoring habitat selection and seasonal movement patterns, and analyzing the impacts of conifer encroachment and climate change on declining bird populations.

The products delivered under this Cooperative Agreement include field research data and scientific analysis of habitat relationships between these priority wildlife species, with findings intended to inform landscape-level conservation planning and management decisions on public lands. The research contributes to the BLM's broader statutory responsibilities for maintaining functioning wildlife habitats and implementing evidence-based wildlife management on federal lands, consistent with the Wildlife Resource Management program's focus on habitat protection, restoration, and species monitoring for priority species across the United States.