Migrations represent crown achievements of adaptation in the animal world and illustrate species’ natural shrewdness as they attempt to use seasonal resources in otherwise inhospitable environments. Many examples of migration from Grand Teton National Park have been well documented: short 20 to 60-mile local migrations of elk, moose, bison, and bighorn sheep; longer 75 to 150-mile regional treks of pronghorn and mule deer; and extreme flights of 2,500 miles or more by local red-tailed hawks to southern Mexico.
Impressively, the now well-known Path of the Pronghorn, originally identified by park and Wildlife Conservation Society biologists, is used by about 300 pronghorn to complete the longest overland migration in the contiguous 48 states—Grand Teton National Park to Sublette County’s Green River basin. These and other migrations, such as the wildebeest in Africa and gray whales in the Pacific Ocean, are revered wildlife spectacles.
Yet, despite their tremendous value, migrations have received little conservation attention, and losses continue to mount globally. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alone, 75% of pronghorn migrations have already been lost, casualties of land development. History has shown us that when animals migrate beyond the reaches of protected areas, like national parks, they are vulnerable. In the case of pronghorn, delineating the migratory path through research resulted in several important conservation measures, including the first federally protected migration corridor in the history of the U.S. Forest Service. The tie between science and conservation in this case is inextricable, and it provides a conservation model for animal migrations everywhere.
Thanks to Foundation donors, park biologists are increasing their knowledge of animal migration with two new pilot projects. The first kicked off in summer 2010 with the help of Craighead Beringia South, a local research and education institution, and will follow an osprey family from their summer home on Jackson Lake to their wintering grounds—likely in Central or South America—and back. The real-time progress of these birds, fitted with super small, lightweight satellite radio transmitters, can be viewed here. The second, planned for summer 2011, will follow mule deer from the high elevations of the northern Tetons in summer to their anticipated wintering areas in eastern Idaho and back. Along the way, important movement corridors through private and public lands outside the park will be identified.
These movements form the cornerstone of migration conservation planning and the start of protection actions. They are the beginning of a complicated route to success—one that involves many agencies, land owners, and competing interests that must work together to achieve a common goal. Biologists will use these studies for long-term wildlife conservation planning specific to Grand Teton National Park. In addition to providing park management with a basis for initiating discussions with stakeholders, these and other animal migration data from the park showcase the important relationship between protecting animal migrations and preserving species diversity in national parks around the globe. In this way, even small but important local projects can have far-reaching benefits to national park units and the conservation of animal migrations in a broad range of geographical, environmental, and sociopolitical conditions.
Steve Cain
Senior Wildlife Biologist, Grand Teton National Park
