CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- A federal court agreed with conservationists this week, ordering winter feeding of elk on the Bridger-Teton National Forest requires additional environmental review.

The court ruled that two feedgrounds were not properly permitted, in part because the U.S. Forest Service had not evaluated the potential for disease transmission when large numbers of animals congregate in close quarters.

Connie Wilbert, director of the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, explained the growing concern.

"Chronic wasting disease has now been documented in mule deer and elk right around these feedgrounds," Wilbert reported. "It's literally on the doorstep."

Chronic wasting disease affects the central nervous system of deer, elk and moose, and is always fatal.

Wyoming's powerful livestock industry pushed to keep winter feedgrounds as a tool to mitigate against encounters with wildlife in low-elevation ranges, and to protect hay stores. Some outfitters also see feedgrounds as a way to keep herd numbers high.

Wilbert countered reliance on feedgrounds is both outdated and risks outbreaks of chronic wasting disease throughout the Yellowstone ecosystem, which could wipe out entire herds.

She noted there are proven alternatives, including fencing, to keep elk away from hay stores.

"They want to reduce competition from wildlife for forage," Wilbert contended. "And it's important to know that a lot of that is on public land, and we believe that wildlife should be allowed to access historic winter range."

The court found the Forest Service improperly permitted feeding elk at Alkali Creek and Dell Creek, and the claims made by the agency in defending its decisions were "implausible" and "unreasonable." The court also ruled feeding must stop at Dell Creek, which has been operating without a valid permit since 2017.

ALBUQUERUE, N.M. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has six months to develop new language in its Mexican gray wolf recovery plan, after a judge ruled the problem of illegal killing of wolves was not adequately addressed.

The judge's ruling was in response to a lawsuit by conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife. Defenders' Southwest Program Manager Bryan Bird said one of the highest sources of wolf mortality is poaching by humans, and protections are needed for that.

"Whether that's increased law enforcement, or increased education of the public," said Bird. "They have to put those in their recovery plan, explicitly."

The group's 2018 lawsuit claimed that the federal agency's plan failed to meet basic requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Mexican gray wolves or "lobos" became one of the most endangered mammals due to federally sanctioned hunting, trapping and poisoning.

According to Bird, the centuries-long coexistence conflict between wolves and humans - especially over territory and livestock - has nearly led to their extinction.

"You're never supposed to shoot a wolf unless you're under extreme threat for personal safety or property," said Bird. "And when you lose a wolf to poaching, it's very likely it could be highly valuable from a genetic perspective."

Bird said genetic diversity has decreased dramatically among the Mexican gray population and a proper recovery plan could help save the wolves from extinction.

He added that 105 gray wolves are known to have been killed unlawfully between 1998 and 2019 following their reintroduction to New Mexico and Arizona.

PHOENIX -- A cooperative effort to restore habitats along the Lower Colorado River Basin is seeing the re-emergence of several threatened and endangered species.

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is part of a program, begun in 2005, that has reclaimed or restored more than 1,100 square miles of wetlands and woodlands along the river.

The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (MSCP) is designed to protect 27 species, including eight listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Chuck Cullom, Colorado River programs manager for the Central Arizona Project, said the 50-year project is a joint effort between Arizona, California and Nevada.

"We do that so that the species have a chance to recover from the impacts of building dams and operating diversions in the Lower Colorado River," Cullom explained. "We're paying the environment back for the service the river provides."

Cullom pointed out the program has created more than 6,500 acres of conservation habitat, planted thousands of cottonwood willows and honey mesquite trees, and has restocked the river with more than one million native fish.

He added restoring the habitat is part of the CAP's agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and he noted the program works much better when the states work together.

"Rather than the service coming in and saying, 'You need to do this and that,' we've spent about seven years negotiating with all the water users in the Lower Basin to figure out how to do this cooperatively," Cullom recounted.

Cullom emphasized the program has already seen the resurgence and return of several of the species it is designed to protect, including the "rediscovery" of the Northern Mexican garter snake, which has not been seen in the river basin for decades.

"We're learning a lot about these rare species because of the program and because we're learning about them, we can enhance their chance of long-term survival," Cullom asserted.

The program operates through funding provided by the U.S. government and from water and hydropower users in California, Arizona and Nevada. There are more than 30 participants in Arizona, including the CAP, which is the largest single contributor in Arizona.

BOISE, Idaho - Millions of pronghorn used to roam the West freely. But impediments like road and fences, as well as a changing climate, threaten the species' future.

A new web map explores the pronghorn's journey as it migrates the grasslands of the West.

Andrew Jakes - regional wildlife biologist in Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific offices for the National Wildlife Federation - said pronghorn need a connected habitat to thrive. And he noted that pronghorn aren't the only ones that flourish from habitat connectivity.

"Having a healthy and resilient ecosystem equates to having healthy and resilient rural communities," said Jakes. "It equates to having healthy water. It just equates to having really robust wildlife populations within these different ecosystems."

The website, known as a "StoryMap," is called On the Move and follows pronghorn migration from spring to winter. It was put together by the National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy.

Jakes said as many as 30 million pronghorn used to roam the West. After falling nearly to extinction in the early 20th century, numbers are now close to one million because of conservation efforts.

Kelsey Molloy is a rangeland ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. She said a suite of animals benefit from conservation of the grasslands.

"It's not just the pronghorn that benefit when we modify a fence," said Molloy. Mule deer are benefiting from that too. And when we make sure that a ranch stays intact, that means that grassland birds are benefiting too. So it's all connected."

Jakes said it's worth thinking about the landscape as a whole. He said pronghorn and other wildlife on the move don't think about whether they're on public or private lands or in the United States or Canada.

"So it's worth working with all these different entities to sustain this really important ecosystem," said Jakes.

Jakes noted that grasslands are the most imperiled ecosystem in the world.