As the Wyoming Game and Fish Department enters the third phase of its elk feedground management plan, conservation groups are calling on the state to prioritize the health of the Greater Yellowstone region's wild herds and begin shutting down 22 state-run feedgrounds in northwestern Wyoming, where tens of thousands of elk are artificially fed each winter.

Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, said the move is essential for mitigating the spread of chronic wasting disease.

"And we know that chronic wasting disease is definitely going to have a significant impact on the herd health," Combs pointed out. "The feedgrounds just set up this perfect recipe for basically a petri dish for the proliferation of disease."

Comprehensive recommendations delivered this week by Combs' group and five others call for the agency to phase out all state-run feedgrounds no later than 2028. The biggest challenge to phaseouts has come from the state's livestock industry, which has long argued feeding elk keeps them away from cattle and grazing areas.

After a series of public presentations and meetings with designated stakeholders, Game and Fish is expected to issue a draft feedground management plan early next year. Combs noted Wyoming is the only western state still feeding wild animals, and there are other proven methods for keeping cattle and elk separated.

"Fencing around hay stores, or fencing to keep cattle and elk separate," Combs outlined. "Other states have certainly done that, and have relied upon landowners to take some responsibility for that as well."

Other groups urging the phaseout include the Gallatin Wildlife Association, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Sierra Club, Western Watersheds Project and Yellowstone to Uintas Connection.

The recommendations call for protecting existing elk migration corridors, and for restoring corridors disrupted by decades of artificial feeding. Conservation groups also want the new plan to recognize the important role native carnivores play in reducing the spread of chronic wasting disease and brucellosis.

"They pick up on these infirmities and are able to key into which animals are the weakest," Combs explained. "That has a cleansing effect on herds, and can pull out some of those animals that are sick before they have a chance to spread the disease."

An insect species which can evoke childhood memories is in trouble, and has just been added to the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

The orange and black migratory monarch butterfly population has dropped 95% from the 1980s to 2020.

Rebecca Quiñonez-Piñón, chief monarch recovery strategist for the National Wildlife Federation, explained effects from climate change meant milkweed was not blooming during the monarch's migration last spring, preventing the butterflies from laying eggs.

She said milkweed is not as common as it used to be across the U.S.

"The main issue is the fact that we continue to lose native habitat," Quiñonez-Piñón emphasized. "So, the monarch struggles to survive and maintain a really good population size."

Pesticides sprayed on crops also can inadvertently kill milkweed growing in nearby ditches. Advocates are urging lawmakers to pass the Monarch Action, Recovery and Conservation of Habitat Act to establish a rescue fund and create a conservation strategy.

Quiñonez-Piñón pointed out people can help the imperiled species by buying plants from nurseries following best practices for pollinators and turn their yards and gardens into monarch habitat.

"We can provide the native milkweed," Quiñonez-Piñón stressed. "We can provide native nectar plants that can help the monarchs also to have a source of food while they are migrating."

She believes many people have an emotional connection to the iconic butterfly, citing reverence for the insect In Mexico, where their migratory arrival in winter coincides with the country's "Day of the Dead" festival.

"It's a great ambassador; it's in so many different places," Quiñonez-Piñón noted. "That also creates that connection between different communities and cultures."

Advocates say the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, passed by the House of Representatives but awaiting a vote in the Senate, would dedicate almost $1.4 billion dollars to help save multiple wildlife species at risk.

The Missouri Department of Conservation wants public input on changes to its plan to manage Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), among white-tailed deer.

CWD is a fatal and contagious disease affecting members of the deer family, with no known treatment or cure. It was first detected in north central Missouri in 2010.

Jason Isabelle, cervid program manager for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said since then, it has spread to other parts of the state. He explained the plan calls for continued disease surveillance across the state, as well as making sure there are enough opportunities for hunters to get their deer samples tested.

"Deer are a cherished natural resource of the state and vital to the economy," Isabelle contended. "We have nearly half a million deer hunters in the state and lots of other folks that just enjoy the resource. So, there's a lot at stake here."

Other aspects of the plan include research, communication and management, including carcass transport
regulations, and giving hunters more opportunities to harvest deer. The public comment period on Missouri's plan runs through August 8.

Mike Leahy, director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation, said there is an important bill before Congress to use federal funds to tackle the issue. It has passed the House and is now before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

"The CWD Research and Management Act provides funding for states and tribes to research and respond to the threat of CWD," Leahy outlined. "Addressing the transmission, and detection and suppression, of the disease as well as applied research into management practices."

He added it includes a rapid-response fund for controlling outbreaks as quickly as possible. Current research shows CWD does not pose a health risk to humans, although scientists still recommend against consuming meat from infected animals.

An insect commonly seen flying through gardens is now closer to extinction. The migratory monarch butterfly has landed on an endangered species list, and a Minnesota city hopes other communities join the movement to save it.

This week's announcement from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said the popular orange-and-black monarch has seen population declines between 22% and 72% in the past decade. It cited climate change, development and pesticides as key factors.

North Mankato Mayor Mark Dehen has helped to lead habitat restoration in his city.

"With that big migratory process that they go through each year," he said, "it's just a clear example of whether or not we are promoting a healthy environment for the wildlife and the pollinators - and ultimately for us, as human beings."

After winter hibernation, the monarch migrates from Mexico all the way to Canada, with states such as Minnesota in the migration corridor. Several years ago, North Mankato joined the National Wildlife Federation's "Mayors' Monarch Pledge." Beyond habitat work, it calls on local leaders to educate residents about what they can do to create butterfly habitat.

Locally, Dehen said, some of their work has involved prairie restoration in the city's larger parks, and a new ordinance that allows for more "natural" yards on private property. While this week's news is disappointing, he said, North Mankato's efforts provide some hope.

"It's nice to see the butterflies and the monarchs floating around our environment now, as we're seeing them move from our parks and about the area," he said. "So to me, that's at least an observational sign that we are having some impact on our local pollinators."

Prior to these efforts, he said, land changes had reduced the amount of milkweed in the area. The plant is a key food source for the monarch, and Dehen said they've worked with local libraries to distribute milkweed plants to North Mankato residents for their gardens.