Sublette Copunty Accident
Deadly Roadkill in Wyoming Kills 21 Pronghorn
By Brian Maffly, 2-18-07
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| Photos courtesy of SkyTruth, by an anonymous photographer. | |
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Even by Wyoming standards, the scene of a Jan. 15 wildlife-vehicle collision in a Sublette County gas field was shocking.
Game warden Brian Nesvik responded to a report of a wildlife accident to find 21 dead or dying pronghorn strewn along an unfenced service road in the Jonah gas field outside Pinedale.
Nesvik has concluded the collision occurred when a herd of pronghorn inexplicably stampeded into a truck, leaving a scene of carnage possibly unprecedented in the history of western highways. A Pinedale-based investigator for the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish, Nesvik said he could find no clues to explain why the pronghorn dashed onto the road.
Because there is no evidence of wrongdoing or irresponsible driving, wildlife and sheriff’s officials believe the collision was a freak accident and expect to file no charges. The collision occurred in broad daylight and the woman driving the one-ton pickup, a gas-field water hauler, was traveling the road’s 35 mph speed limit.
The intersection between big game and vehicular traffic has yielded countless wildlife deaths on Western highways, especially in Wyoming, a state blessed with vast herds of free-roaming big game. The state is home to some 500,000 pronghorn, North America’s fleetest land mammal and the signature species of big game on the high prairies of the Rockies. Still, the Sublette accident appears to be a mind-boggling fluke. How could one vehicle kill so many animals? Nesvik, who has investigated his share of road kills, could only guess.
He speculated the pronghorn were running along the right side of road in the same direction as the truck when they suddenly veered left. With the animals coming from her blindside, the driver had no time to react.
“I’ve seen pronghorn do that, run together in a group and turn really quickly,” Nesvik said. “In this situation, it would have been better if the driver had been going faster.” The investigator looked into other mass-casualty wildlife collisions and found none that involved more than eight fatalities. (Editor’s Note: Other deadly roadkill incidents have come to light since the original publishing of this article. See Brian Maffly’s followup on this story here.)
The pickup’s driver, the only occupant, was uninjured in the incident, but her truck sustained serious body damage. The vehicle, however, had left the scene by the time Nesvik arrived in response to the call.
The body count included 13 does, four bucks and four fawns. Nesvik and a passerby used firearms to kill a few pronghorn that survived the impact. Seven or eight had injuries consistent with having been run over, Nesvik said. The others appeared to have run into the side of the truck.
The accident renews attention on the impact of extensive natural gas development occurring in important winter wildlife habitat administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley. Thousands of mule deer and pronghorn congregate on the wind-blown sage-covered mesas near Pinedale where they find pockets of forage in the high-desert valley between the Wind River and Wyoming ranges.
Industry-backed research has documented an exodus of mule deer from the Upper Green’s crucial winter range near wells and roads. Despite these findings, the BLM is proposing to waive seasonal drilling restrictions on the Pinedale Anticline, a gas field next to the Jonah, and to allow a major increase in development. The agency has already approved a massive “infill” drilling project on the Jonah that will add another 3,100 wells. The mass road kill incident indicates gas-field traffic may be a greater threat to big game than anyone anticipated.
“The fact that this woman seems to have been driving responsibly makes this incident even more significant,” said industry critic John Amos, who heads SkyTruth, an organization that documents environmental impacts over time using satellite imagery. “The BLM needs to require BMPs [best management practices] to minimize roads and traffic in these fields, because current operations are obviously not protecting wildlife.”
(Full disclosure: the author Brian Maffly is a staff member of The Wilderness Society, a national conservation organization working in Wyoming to minimize the impacts of Upper Green gas development on wildlife and other natural values. Brian can be reached at brianmaffly@gmail.com.)
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Comments
As for the drilling, do your part to stop it, park your car, turn off the heat and the lights....even....gasp, your computer.
http://gf.state.wy.us/services/news/pressreleases/03/11/14/031114_1.asp "TRAIN COLLISION CLAIMS 41 ANTELOPE NEAR GRANGER
http://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/articles/2007/02/08/las_animas/local_news/news01.txt "Trains poach 200 antelope as they try to escape snow"
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5055132 "Wildlife haven in the snow turns deadly"
>>>>>
SEVENTEEN ANTELOPE KILLED IN SINGLE VEHICLE COLLISION NEAR GREEN RIVER
2/3/2006
GREEN RIVER - Seventeen antelope killed in a single vehicle collision northwest of Green River Jan. 21 has the Wyoming Game and Fish Department urging winter motorists to be cautious of big game on Cowboy State roadways.
The accident occurred on Sweetwater County Road 11 about 20 miles northwest of Green River. The antelope were struck by an employee of a nearby trona mine as he drove his pick-up truck home from work on the unfenced "open range" section of road. The 49-year-old man was uninjured but his vehicle sustained considerable damage in the 6:30 a.m. incident. No wildlife citations have been issued in the collision.
"When traveling, particularly in winter, be sure to look for big game on and along the highway," said Ryan Kenneda, Game and Fish wildlife technician investigating the incident. "Please slow down if you see animals or big game crossing signs. Animals can be unpredictable and may bolt in front of your vehicle resulting in probable vehicle damage, possible human injury and dead or injured animals."
Winter is when multiple animal collisions are most likely to occur, says Lucy Wold, Green River information and education specialist. Winter conditions concentrate antelope into larger groups, and snow-covered range makes snow-free roads attractive places for pronghorn to congregate.
"When the collision involves multiple big game animals there can be an impact on the herd," she said.
In an unfortunate coincidence, 17 antelope were also killed in southwest Wyoming in a vehicle collision almost two years earlier. That accident occurred Jan. 17, 2004, on Wyoming Highway 372 northwest of Green River.
Along with a 1970 incident near Bairoil killing a similar number of antelope in 1970, these are the worst vehicle-big game collisions veteran department officials can recall. There have been train-antelope collisions that have claimed more animals, including a Nov. 7, 2003 incident killing 41 antelope near Granger.
By slowing down and being alert, Wold says motorists can help protect themselves against accident or injury, as well as allow the game to move on safely. Another thing to look for is the flickering headlights of oncoming cars and flickering taillights of vehicles ahead that could indicate an animal is crossing.
If a game animal is hit with a vehicle, remember that it is against the law to possess or transport the animal, including the antlers.
State law requires motorists who have a wildlife collision to file an accident report within 10 days if there is more than $1,000 of vehicle damage.
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I think it is unfortunate that the train article refered to poaching the animals, it looks like they really tried to prevent it. Very deep snows when they happen cause a huge problem for wildlife. I'm sure when it all melts we are going to see some huge die offs.
Animals killed: Brian-21 PR-17
Date of accident: Brian- Jan 15 PR- Jan 21
Sex of driver: Brian- woman PR- man
Is this the same terrible incident? What we don't know is the make of the vehicle and the manufacturer of the tires to fit with Pronghorn's conspiracy theory.
I lived in Rawlins for 5 years and my front yard had constant snow drifts every winter, so I was glad to move up here, where the wind hardly every blows much.
I clicked on the highlighted skytruth and it came back to this article.
There is nothing on the Wyoming G&F;site, nor the Pinedale site. Brian I sent an email to your link up there to see if you could find a link please. Thanks.
The gas companies are winning the war on our natural heritage and custom and culture.
I sent emails to G&F;and BLM this morning asking about this, but I forgot this is a holiday, so maybe I will get some further information.
Brian, do you know if this particular photo was maybe taken at the train accident site? The animals appear strung out, and not in piles, is why I ask.
"Wyoming is the main focus of the Bush administration's proposed $22 million initiative to restore and protect wildlife habitat in seven Western states.
More than half the money, $11.5 million, will be directed to southwest Wyoming, where intense natural gas development is affecting the habitat of sage grouse, antelope, deer, moose, elk and other species.
"The budget proposal reflects the importance of Wyoming nationally," said Steven Hall, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management.
Congress would have to approve the appropriation.
The initiative in Wyoming developed by eight state and federal agencies would help reclaim land affected by natural gas development and study how development of all kinds is affecting wildlife and habitat in the Green River Basin, which encompasses about 15 million acres."
"Wyoming is the main focus of the Bush administration's proposed $22 million initiative to restore and protect wildlife habitat in seven Western states.
More than half the money, $11.5 million, will be directed to southwest Wyoming, where intense natural gas development is affecting the habitat of sage grouse, antelope, deer, moose, elk and other species.
"The budget proposal reflects the importance of Wyoming nationally," said Steven Hall, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management.
Congress would have to approve the appropriation.
The initiative in Wyoming developed by eight state and federal agencies would help reclaim land affected by natural gas development and study how development of all kinds is affecting wildlife and habitat in the Green River Basin, which encompasses about 15 million acres."
This is one of the biggest fields in the country, perhaps the world. Oil and gas are where God put them, not where you want to give permission to drill.
Everybody benefits from the oil, both the US who owns a lot of the ground and mineral rights, and from taxes, the state from our mineral rights and from taxes, Americans by every drop of fuel we do not have to beg our enemies for. On top of that wildlife benefits because of the money spent by the state, the oil companies, and the feds to restore/improve habitat.
Wyoming has a multimillion dollar wildlife fund for projects to improve habitat, etc. I do not believe any other state has that sort of thing, despite all of their telling us how to manage our wildlife. Both the state and the feds, as well as the oild companies themselves put far more money into actual wildlife programs than any or all of the so called green animal rights groups combined. Their money goes for lawsuits to force their ideas on someone else, not to accomplish a thing themselves.
Ranchers and other build fences with the bottom wire off the ground to allow the antelope to crawl under, but if the snow is drifted 3-4 feet or more high, they have been known to pile up against the fences and die, becaue they cannot go under. They are perfectly capable of jumping a fence, I've seen them do it, they just don't seem to like to.
As Marilyn once sang, "Diamonds are a girls best friend." There is a mineral of truth in this. Looks like the antelope have another issue.