America's prairie grasslands have been altered more than almost any other ecosystem on the North American continent. As settlement expanded westward, prairies were plowed-up for agriculture, grazed over by livestock, and more recently, roaded and drilled and mined for oil and gas and coal, and swallowed in some places by urban sprawl. Fortunately, pockets of wild prairie still remain. The largest and most significant of these are on our National Grasslands, managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Though heavily impacted in places, Wyoming's only National Grassland--the Thunder Basin--is one of the most intact areas in the entire northern Great Plains. For example, six roadless areas on the Thunder Basin still retain their wild character and remain eligible for Wilderness designation. Many troubled wildlife species still live on the Thunder Basin, including Ferruginous Hawks, Swift Fox, Burrowing Owl, and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (a keystone species in the prairie ecosystem). And the country's highest priority reintroduction site for Black-footed Ferret lies within the Thunder Basin.

Hope for Our Vanishing Prairies

The USFS has released its draft management Plans for all of the National Grasslands in the northern great plains, including the Thunder Basin. Right now the Forest Service is taking public comment on their proposed Plan, which has both good and bad points. They also issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement presenting several alternatives to the one they prefer. The ongoing comment period provides citizens a rare opportunity to speak out in support of a wild grassland and to secure protection for our vanishing prairie wildlife. The management Plan will determine the destiny of the grassland well into the 21st century. It is absolutely essential that Wyoming citizens who care about the future of the Black-footed Ferret and Prairie Dogs and the entire Thunder Basin make their voices heard by writing to the USFS by February 2nd.

Time for Protection & Restoration - Not Unfettered Exploitation. The USFS’s proposed draft management Plan for the Thunder Basin, known as Alternative 3, makes some improvements over the past decades of management which focused excessively on production of coal, oil, gas, and domestic livestock. But Alternative 3 still falls short in many critical areas, as discussed below. At the same time, powerful political forces are working to prevent protection and restoration of America's precious prairie heritage. Notably, as a result of the boom in coal bed methane and conventional natural gas development, there is enormous pressure from industry to "develop" anywhere and everywhere. This would require thousands of miles of new pipelines and roads, and thousands of new well pads on your public lands. Ultimately, if citizens don’t make a strong call for protection, the result will be loss of habitat, more disturbance to wildlife, and further loss of the natural character of the Thunder Basin.

Where the Buffalo Roam?

50 million or more Bison roamed the prairies in the early days of America. But these majestic creatures were wiped out by overzealous hunters and U.S. Government eradication policies. Today, the National Grasslands represent one of the best places to restore Bison. However, in the draft Plan and Environmental Impact Statement the Forest Service failed to consider restoring Bison to the Thunder Basin. This blatant omission must be corrected. Bison Reserves should be established to restore wild populations to the Grasslands. Bison are ecologically adapted for life on the prairie and are completely natural in this environment. Restoring Bison simply makes sense from an ecological standpoint. In fact, it is difficult to envision a healthy prairie ecosystem without Bison. Restoring Bison also would enhance the recreation experience for grassland visitors and be an incredible draw for tourists.

Prairie Dogs and Black-footed Ferrets Need Help

Black-tailed Prairie Dogs are a very important but vanishing member of the prairie ecosystem. Over 170 wildlife species have been found in Prairie Dog towns. But Black-tailed Prairie Dogs now occupy less than one percent of their historic range nationwide, and in Wyoming have been reduced by over 80%. Prairie Dog colony acreage declined 28% on the Thunder Basin since the 1970’s. These declines have been caused by poisoning, conversion of grassland to farms and subdivisions, diseases like plague, and recreational shooting.

Many of the other species associated with Prairie Dog colonies have declined as well. The Swift Fox, Ferruginous Hawk, Burrowing Owl, and Mountain Plover, although declining and in trouble, are all still found in Thunder Basin. Probably the best known endangered prairie critter is the Black-footed Ferret. Once thought to be extinct, Black-footed Ferrets live only in Prairie Dog towns and now exist in the wild in only 4 places in the entire world.

Because over half the remaining Prairie Dog colonies occur on private land where poisoning and shooting will likely continue, the public lands of the National Grasslands will play a crucial role in the survival of the Prairie Dog ecosystem and recovery of the Black-footed Ferret and other wildlife. For this reason, Prairie Dogs and associated wildlife need the strongest possible protection in the Thunder Basin management plan. But the USFS preferred Plan takes only half-measures. It allows Prairie Dog poisoning and shooting everywhere on the grassland except for a few thousand acres and proposes only a small portion of the Thunder Basin for Black-footed Ferret reintroduction. The Thunder Basin’s Cheyenne River area is the highest priority in the entire country for reintroduction of Black-footed Ferrets, but the USFS inexplicably proposes to manage less than half of the available habitat for Ferret restoration. This will not go far enough to help recover one of the most endangered mammals in North America.

Put in Your Vote for Prairie Wilderness

Right now not a single acre of the 550,000 acre Thunder Basin is designated Wilderness. There is no permanently protected example of the native prairie in Wyoming. However, citizens have identified six prairie grassland areas which still meet the Wilderness criteria. All six are still primarily wild and are larger than 5,000 acres. In the proposed Plan, however, the USFS recommended only one of the six areas, Cow Creek Buttes, for designation as Wilderness. We need to support designation of Cow Creek for sure. But we also must protect the other five areas as well. Because of the high development pressure on the Thunder Basin, it is likely that if the six remaining wild areas are not protected now, in the management plan process, there will never be a chance for more Wilderness.

Continue the Wyoming Tradition of Protection.

Wyoming is home to the nation's first national park (Yellowstone), first national forest (Shoshone), and first national monument (Devil's Tower). It should also be home to the first National Grasslands Wilderness areas. Every area that still meets the Wilderness Act definition should be protected. These are: Cow Creek Buttes; Ha Divide; Red Hills; Downs; Miller Hills; and Duck Creek. Together, these areas total 59,280 acres, which amounts to only 10.7% of the Thunder Basin. This last wild 10% deserves permanent protection before it’s lost forever.

The Fine Print

Standards and Guidelines. Among the most important parts of any management plan are the environmental protection rules that apply to all or some part of the grassland. The rules are called standards and guidelines. Standards are "must do" requirements while guidelines are "should do" statements that don’t actually require the USFS to protect anything at all. For example, a standard to protect Prairie Dogs from poisoning would simply prohibit poisoning and be enforceable. However, a guideline that prohibits Prairie Dog poisoning doesn’t have any force; it is just a suggestion. On the ground, guidelines mean nothing. In the proposed Plan, many of the measures needed to protect and recover wildlife and other natural values are only guidelines. To make the Plan meaningful and enforceable, many of the guidelines must to be changed into standards.

Alternatives.

Of the alternatives analyzed in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Alternative 4 would make the most positive changes. But Alternative 4 still fails to meet the needs of grassland wildlife or provide equitable management. Several major wildlife problems must be fixed in Alternative 4, and every other alternative, if the final plan is to protect and restore the Thunder Basin’s natural legacy. Below we list some of our suggestions for improving all of the alternatives.

What You Can Do

The Forest Service is taking public comment on the proposed Grassland Plan (Alternative 3) and the other alternatives. Concerned citizens can help achieve a more balanced and wildlife-friendly plan by writing to the USFS by February 2nd. While Alternative 3 makes some positive steps, it fails to adequately protect the natural legacy of the Grasslands. Alternative 4 is much better, protecting all six roadless areas, protecting Prairie Dogs from poisoning and recreational shooting, and protecting special biological values by designating Research Natural Areas. However, Alternative 4 leaves out Bison restoration and Wild & Scenic River designation for the Cheyenne River. Overall, citizens need to support the good points of Alternative 4 and push for needed improvements. Regardless of the Alternative, we recommend the following:

• All six roadless areas should be recommended for Wilderness designation. The USFS recommendation of just one area--Cow Creek Buttes--isn't enough.
• Prairie Dogs, Black-footed Ferrets, and all native wildlife should be given stronger protection. The entire 129,060 acre Cheyenne River Ferret site should be designated for Ferret restoration, rather than the proposed 51,400 acres. Protecting the entire area would allow about 70 more endangered Ferret families to survive, and help achieve national Ferret recovery goals. Prairie Dog shooting and poisoning should be completely prohibited in Ferret reintroduction sites and in occupied Prairie Dog towns. Anything that limits or slows down recovery of Prairie Dogs should be halted until 20% of grassland suitable habitat is occupied.
• Research Natural Areas should be designated to protect natural values and special ecological communities, wherever they occur on the Thunder Basin.
• Wild Bison should be restored to the Grasslands. The Cheyenne River Ferret reintroduction site and other areas should be evaluated for use as Bison reserves. The USFS should also consider replacing cattle on some allotments with Bison.
• Livestock grazing should be better controlled to protect streamside areas and wildlife habitat. In problem areas, range riders or grazing prohibitions should be emphasized, not construction of additional fences.
• Some areas should be off-limits to oil, gas, and coal bed methane development. All Roadless Areas, Special Interest Areas, Research Natural Areas, and other important wildlife and recreation areas should be protected.
• Environmentally friendly non-motorized trails for hiking/horseback riding should be established.
• Streams and Rivers need better protection. The Cheyenne River needs to be re-evaluated for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
• Wishy-washy environmental protection "guidelines" should be changed into measurable and nondiscretionary "standards" so they are enforceable and actually result in resource protection.