Land Protection Plan - Wyoming Toad Conservation Area/Chapter 2—Area Description and Resources

by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

Chapter 2—Area Description and Resources

FWS

Western Painted Turtle.

This chapter describes the physical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic resources of the WTCA that could be affected by the no-action alternative (alternative A) and the proposed action (alternative B). The WTCA consists of 43,200 acres within the Laramie Plains of southeastern Wyoming, which is part of the Wyoming Basin ecoregion (Bailey 1995) and the Great Northern LCC (USFWS 2012a).

Physical Environment

Below are descriptions of the climate and land features of the project area.

Climate

The Laramie Plains is a high, cold desert basin located at approximately 8,000 feet elevation between two mountain ranges, the Snowy Range and the Laramie Range. The average annual precipitation is 11 inches, most of which falls as snow in winter. Temperature extremes range from a record high of 97 °F in summer to a record low of −43 °F in winter (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2002). The area is known for persistent windy conditions and a short growing season that typically occurs between late May and early September.

Geology

The physiography of the Laramie Plains has been influenced by shallow, warm sea water; a crustal uplift that affected Colorado and southeastern Wyoming; the Laramie Orogeny Mountain building episode; volcanic activity in the Yellowstone area; and ice ages. Most of the stable landforms in the area were created within the last 100,000 years by glacial outwash waters. Many of the valley soils are rather deep and alluvial in nature, having been derived from the surrounding granitic mountains (USDA 1998). Soil texture near the mountains tends to be coarse, but it becomes progressively finer toward the basin center. The alluvial overburden is too thick to allow profitable petroleum development in most of the basin, although limited opportunities for such development do occur. The high, flat nature of much of eastern Wyoming is conducive to the development of strong winds, and several features on the land suggest that wind has played an important role in past geological development as well.

Minerals

Sand and gravel are the major mineral commodities in the Laramie Plains. Sand and gravel mines are scattered throughout the basin, with the biggest concentration near the southern part. Other minerals that are mined in the area include shale, gold, gypsum, and limestone. The potential for oil and gas exploration within the basin is rated as moderate, with scattered high potential areas outside the project area to the north. There are no active coal mining permits in the Laramie Plains at this time (Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality 2014).

Water and Hydrology

Over 82 miles of the Laramie River and a 41-milelong reach of the Little Laramie River flow through the proposed WTCA. The Laramie River’s headwaters are in the Rawah Mountain Range in Colorado (figure LPP-2), and the river itself ultimately empties into the North Platte River near Wheatland, Wyoming (USDA 1998). Smaller tributaries feed into the Laramie River from the Laramie Mountains to the east and the Medicine Bow Mountains to the west. The river is the primary source of water in the Laramie Plains. Because the open plains receive little precipitation, most surface and ground water is a result of snowpack runoff from the surrounding mountains. Historically, many of the natural wetlands were associated with riparian corridors and playa lakebeds. However, the number and area of natural wetlands in Wyoming have continued to decline, whereas the acreages of ponds and other human-created waterbodies have increased (Wyoming Joint Venture Steering Committee 2010). This holds true for the Laramie Plains as well. The Casper aquifer is an important water-bearing geological formation that underlies the entire Laramie Plains and supplies most of the drinking water for the city of Laramie and Albany County.

Biological Environment

This section describes the plant communities in the project area and the animals that they support. Table LPP-2 shows the habitat types in the proposed WTCA.

Table LPP-2. Habitat types within the proposed Wyoming Toad Conservation Area, Wyoming.
Habitat type	Acres	Percent
Barren Land	775	0.4
Forest, Deciduous and Evergreen	60	0.0
Developed, High Intensity	90	0.0
Developed, Low Intensity	1,990	1.1
Developed, Medium Intensity	1,370	0.7
Developed, Open Space	3,830	2.1
Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands	21,160	11.4
Hay/Pasture	29,620	15.9
Herbaceous	19,410	10.4
Open Water	2,360	1.3
Shrub/Scrub	101,610	54.6
Woody Wetlands	3,910	2.1
Total	186,185	100.0

Plant Communities

Vegetation communities within the proposed project area vary with topography and range from wetlands (which are often alkaline or saline) and riparian areas to wide expanses of shortgrass prairie and shrubland (see figure LPP-3). This section also describes the wildlife and species of concern found in these habitats. See appendix E for a list of species found in the project area.

Wetlands

Wyoming is an arid state and lacks the surface water needed to support expansive wetland complexes (Hubert 2004). Before Euro-Americans arrived, wetlands covered about 3.2 percent of Wyoming (Dahl 1990); however, less than 2 percent of the historical wetlands remain today (Wyoming Joint Venture Steering Committee 2010). Although wetlands cover only a small area, about 90 percent of the wildlife in Wyoming uses wetlands and riparian habitats during some part of their life cycles (Nicholoff 2003, Copeland et al. 2010a). Within the Intermountain West, more than 140 bird species and 25 mammal species are either dependent on or associated with wetlands (Gammonley 2004, Copeland et al. 2010a). Although wetland complexes tend to have greater overall use by wildlife (Wyoming Joint Ventures Steering Committee 2010), isolated wetlands in arid environments, such as many of the wetlands found on the Laramie Plains, are also extremely valuable for wildlife because they provide a crucial water source as well as needed food and cover. In these environments, wetlands are a hub of activity for the terrestrial wildlife that inhabits the surrounding area (WGFD 2010). However, Copeland et al. (2010a) found that wetlands within Wyoming’s desert shrublands and grasslands are poorly protected and therefore vulnerable, especially in the face of anticipated future land use changes.

Wetlands in the Laramie Plains consist of small ephemeral ponds, stock ponds, irrigated and nonirrigated meadows, playas, lakes, and riverine oxbows and floodplains. These different wetland types provide important breeding, staging, and stopover habitats for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and colonial waterbirds each spring and fall (Copeland et al. 2010b). Wetlands provide food-rich habitat so that these species can acquire the energy and nutrients needed to complete the long flights from wintering grounds to breeding grounds and back, as well as places to rest. Many bird species also use the wetlands in the Laramie Plains for breeding.

Many other wildlife species are dependent on these wetlands as well, including amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians, including the Wyoming toad and other species of toads, frogs, and salamanders, need water for breeding and larval development as well as to prevent desiccation. Reptiles such as garter snakes also prefer wetland habitats because they can feed on aquatic species.

Irrigated and Nonirrigated Meadows and Pastures

Privately owned wet meadow habitats are some of the most important unprotected wetlands in the Intermountain West. Since the early 1900s, flood irrigation has created many wet meadows in western North America (Peck and Lovvorn 2001). Irrigated wet meadows that are hayed and grazed annually (hay meadows) represent a particularly important subset of wetland habitat. These privately owned wetlands typically occur at mid- to high elevations (4,500 to 8,500 feet) in landscapes that are dominated by intact wetland, grassland, and shrub habitats. These areas are often made up almost entirely of native plant communities and can support high nesting densities of wetland- and grassland-nesting birds. These areas provide brood habitat for waterfowl and other waterbirds by supplying both protective cover from predators and productive foraging sites for rapidly growing ducklings and chicks. Wet meadows also provide crucial foraging habitat for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. The quality and availability of spring migration habitat has direct implication for the survival and breeding productivity of migratory birds. The Laramie Plains provides important complexes of wet meadow, flooded pasture, and hayfields used by many species of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other waterbirds, including northern pintail, Clark’s grebe, white-faced ibis, American bittern, Wilson’s phalarope, American avocet, marbled godwit, long-billed dowitcher, and sandhill crane. The irrigated meadows and floodplain of the river are also believed, based on Baxter’s observations, to be important historical habitats for the Wyoming toad.

Riparian Areas

Riparian areas are vegetation communities that are immediately adjacent to and influenced by the hydrology of creeks, streams, and rivers. Riparian plant communities can be dominated by trees, shrubs, herbaceous vegetation, or a combination of these types. Riparian areas account for less than one percent of the western landscape, but they can be relatively more productive than other ecosystems (Svejcar 1997). Breeding bird densities can be up to 10 times greater in riparian areas than in adjacent, nonriparian habitats (Lohman 2004, Copeland et al. 2010). It is estimated that riparian habitat covers less than 2 percent of the State of Wyoming (Merrill and Fishery 1996).

Riparian habitats support high species diversity and density as well as promote the exchange of energy, nutrients, and species between riparian, aquatic, and upland systems (Johnson and McCormack 1979, Gregory et al. 1991, Poff et al. 2011). It is estimated that about 90 percent of the total wildlife species in Wyoming use wetlands and riparian habitats either daily or seasonally and about 70 percent of Wyoming bird species depend on wetlands or riparian areas (Nicholoff 2003). Riparian areas are important migration and dispersal corridors that enable species to readily move through harsh grassland and desert environments.

Many bird species use the riparian corridors of the Laramie Plains during spring and fall migration, and many others stay through the summer to breed. Insect production is high in riparian communities, leading to locally abundant concentrations of insectivorous birds and bats. In the Laramie Plains, narrow-leaf cottonwoods and several willow species are adapted to the natural flow dynamics of the streams and rivers in the area, but throughout the west, many riparian areas have declined because of widespread damming and water diversion. Many riparian and wetland areas within the Laramie Plains now support a variety of exotic and invasive plants, such as Russian olive and Canada thistle. Both the ranching and wildlife conservation communities have devoted significant resources in efforts to control invasive plants in the region.

Grasslands and Shrublands

The composition and structure of grasslands are affected by short growing seasons as well as frequent and occasionally intense natural disturbances such as drought, fire, and herbivory (Nicholoff 2003). Between 1950 and 1990, the grasslands west of the Mississippi River declined by 27.2 million acres (Conner et al. 2001). The greatest threats to grassland and shrubland ecosystems are oil and gas development, increasing urban and agricultural development, and invasive species. Usually dominated by grazers, grasslands are known to support large numbers of wildlife and have a significant influence on the plant and animal composition of grassland habitats (WGFD 2010).

In Wyoming, prairie grasslands usually occur below the elevation of 7,000 feet, but the Laramie Plains, which is at approximately 8,000 feet, contains the highest elevation grasslands in Wyoming (Knight 1996). Grasslands in Wyoming are characterized by interspersed short- and mixed-grass prairies and are typically unsuitable for farming; however, they provide an abundant grazing resource for cattle and sheep. Most of Wyoming’s prairie grasslands are privately owned (WGFD 2010).

Prairie grasslands support an impressive array of wildlife. White-tailed prairie dogs thrive in recently disturbed areas, living in large colonies, digging burrows, and keeping the surrounding vegetation short. Their burrows and open patches of ground create habitat for other wildlife species, including the black-footed ferret, long-tailed weasel, swift fox, mountain plover, and burrowing owl (Kotliar et al. 1999, Kotliar 2000, WGFD 2010). Prairie dogs also provide a prey base for species such as black-footed ferret, ferruginous hawk, and golden eagle.

Pronghorn in the uplands of the Laramie Plains.

FWSPronghorn in the uplands of the Laramie Plains.

Wyoming once represented the western edge of the range for many species such as mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, swift fox, and pronghorn. Intensive conversion of grassland in the Great Plains resulted in the loss of these habitats outside of Wyoming. Populations in Wyoming have remained largely intact, and the core of these species’ distributions is now considered to be in Wyoming (WGFD 2010).

Shrublands in the Laramie Plains are dominated by greasewood, saltbrush, and rabbitbrush, as well as some sagebrush. Shrublands are often intermixed with the prairie grassland community. Greasewood shrubland and saltgrass meadows are characteristic of the playas and other comparatively wet depressions (Knight 1996) that are scattered across the Laramie Plains. Shrubland communities provide habitat for a suite of wildlife species, including golden eagle, prairie falcon, mountain plover, Brewer’s sparrow, jackrabbit, coyote, bobcat, badger, pronghorn, and mule deer. Pronghorn are more common than deer in salt-desert shrub vegetation; however, both are highly mobile and use associated habitats, especially sagebrush and grasslands (Blaisdell et al. 1984).

Wildlife

The habitats within the Laramie Plains support a wide variety of wildlife. Appendix E lists the species that are known and suspected to occur within the project area.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Due to the cold, arid climate, amphibian and reptile diversity within the Laramie Plains is low compared with other areas of the country, but there are several species that thrive here. The shrublands are home to the short-horned lizard as well as several species of snakes. Because of the arid nature of the region, amphibians are restricted to the riparian and wetland areas; these areas provide habitat for the tiger salamander, boreal chorus frog, Wyoming toad, and northern leopard frog. Although the northern leopard frog was once abundant throughout its range, it has experienced significant declines in the west (Smith and Keinath 2004a). A variety of factors, including habitat loss, disease, chemical contamination, introduced predators, and general environmental degradation have been linked to observed population declines, but no one primary factor has emerged as the cause of the decline, and most likely it is caused by multiple factors that can vary from site to site (Smith and Keinath 2004a). This species is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the WGFD (2010). See the discussion of Wyoming toad under species of special concern below.

Birds

The Laramie Plains provides migratory and breeding habitat for many bird species, many of which are not found in any other area of Wyoming. The National Audubon Society (2011) has designated the Laramie Plains Lakes Complex as an Important Bird Area because of the diversity of birds found within the basin, which highlights the regional and continental significance of the area. Thirty-eight of the 55 birds on the WGFD Species of Greatest Conservation Need List and 59 of 97 birds on the Intermountain West Joint Venture priority species list occur in the Laramie Plains. More than 146 species of birds have been documented on the refuges. Some of these birds are year-round residents, but many migrate through the basin on their way to and from breeding and wintering grounds. Others come to the basin to breed or spend the winter.

Given the scarcity of water in the semi-arid landscape of the Laramie Plains, it is not surprising that wetlands within the basin are regionally important to both resident and migrant waterbirds (NicholoffFWS

Northern pintail

2003). The marshes and open water of the basin support 26 species of waterfowl, including canvasback, northern pintail, Barrow’s goldeneye, lesser scaup, and redhead, all of which are Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming (WGFD 2010). Many waterfowl species are also known to breed in the basin, including American wigeon, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, canvasback, northern pintail, green-winged teal, lesser scaup, gadwall, ruddy duck, common merganser, and Canada goose. American avocet and Wilson’s phalarope are shorebirds that migrate from their winter ranges in Mexico and Central and South America to breed in the wetlands of the Laramie Plains. At least 22 other species of shorebirds use these wetlands as either stopover or breeding habitat. Two shorebird species that migrate through the basin, the long-billed curlew and the marbled godwit, are focal species for the USFWS Migratory Bird Program and are USFWS Region 6 Birds of Conservation Concern. Seventy percent of Wyoming bird species are wetland or riparian obligates (Nicholoff 2003).

The upland areas in the Laramie Plains provide essential habitat for many bird species. Shrub and grassland habitats support species such as golden eagle, burrowing owl, Brewer’s sparrow, sage sparrow, and grasshopper sparrow. Prairie falcon is a common resident and uses the upland areas for feeding and resting. The mountain plover, a tier I Species of Greatest Conservation Need within the State of Wyoming, breeds in at least five concentrated areas in Wyoming, one of which is the Laramie Plains. The mountain plover is affected by the loss of breeding habitat as a result of fire suppression, conversion of native grasslands to croplands, and habitat loss to urbanization (WGFD 2010). Figures LPP–4 through LPP-7 show migratory bird concentrations for wetland birds, grassland birds, riparian birds, and raptors (Pocewicz et al. 2013). Pocewicz et al. (2013) used current migration literature and expert conservationists to get a clearer picture of where important bird migration habitat is throughout the region.

Mammals

Many species of small mammals live in the region, including the white-tailed prairie dog, muskrat, and American beaver, as well as multiple species of ground squirrel, mouse, vole, and shrew. The white-tailed prairie dog is considered a keystone species because species including black-footed ferret, swift fox, American badger, ferruginous hawk, and several other large raptors depend on prairie dogs as prey; species including black-footed ferret, burrowing owl, and swift fox depend on prairie dogs to provide burrows as cover and den substrate; and species including mountain plover and McCown’s longspur depend on prairie dogs for shortgrass and semibarren habitats. Black-footed ferrets, in particular, depend so strongly on prairie dogs that ferret recovery and management is, in effect, prairie dog management.

Four of Wyoming’s seven big game species, mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and pronghorn, are known to reside in or migrate through the project area.

Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates

Fish and aquatic invertebrate populations that were present before Euro-American settlement are not well known in much of the west, and the North Platte River basin, which contains the Laramie Plains, is no exception. The list of aquatic species in appendix E is short and likely incomplete, especially in regards to aquatic invertebrates. It is well accepted that there were no sport fish in the Laramie Plains, or elsewhere in the entire North Platte River basin, before Euro-American settlement (WGFD 2010). Small fish such as hornyhead chub and Iowa darter probably dominated fish assemblages, but these species were greatly affected by the deliberate introduction of various trout species and other exotic taxa, including carp, beginning during early Euro-American settlement and continuing until the present. It is believed that hornyhead chub is found only in the North Laramie River and the Lower Laramie River, and it is believed to be extinct in Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas (WGFD 2010). Populations of native aquatic invertebrates were probably also dramatically changed by the introduction of nonnative fish.

Species of Special Concern

Several federally listed species live in, or have home ranges that overlap, the conservation area.

Wyoming Toad

The project area now supports one endangered species, the Wyoming toad (Anaxyrus (Bufo) baxteri). First described in 1946 by Dr. George T. Baxter, it is thought to be a glacial relict. The toad once flourished in the Laramie Plains, but in the 1970s the population dramatically declined, and by the 1980s, individuals were extremely rare (Baxter and Stromberg 1980, Stromberg 1981, Vankirk 1980, Baxter and Meyer 1982, Baxter and Stone 1985, Lewis et al. 1985). The species was federally listed as endangered in 1984 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). In 1993, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, Mortenson Lake Refuge was established for the protection of the last known Wyoming toad population. It is considered the most endangered amphibian in North America (IUCN 2012).

The historical distribution of the Wyoming toad, based on scientific records from Dr. George Baxter and Ronald Beiswenger’s research, includes the floodplain ponds and small seepage lakes associated with the Big and Little Laramie Rivers as well as other wetlands within the shortgrass communities of the Laramie Plains in Albany County, Wyoming (figure LPP-8). Current distribution is limited to Mortenson Lake Refuge and one nearby Safe Harbor Act site. There are very few Wyoming toads thought to be in the wild and approximately 500 in captivity. The small number of individuals is considered one of the severe threats to the toad. Another major threat to the Wyoming toad is infectious disease, including the amphibian fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) which has been linked to amphibian declines worldwide (Berger et al. 1998). Bd was documented in wild Wyoming toads from Mortenson Lake in 2000 and in 2001 (USFWS 2013). The other severe threat to the Wyoming toad that is discussed in the recovery plan is the lack of perpetually protected habitat. The proposed action directly addresses this severe threat to the Wyoming toad by protecting habitat that is needed for the next step of recovery and which is important for the future of Wyoming toad conservation.

Little is known about the habitat requirements for the Wyoming toad but the current thought is that the toad historically occurred in rivers and associated floodplains (lotic habitats) of the Big and Little Laramie Rivers and ponds and lakes (lentic habitats). Ongoing research, supported by the Service and a multitude of public and private partners on the Wyoming toad recovery team, is focused on practical aspects of Wyoming toad recovery, such as defining optimal habitat for the early stages (egg, tadpole, and metamorph) of the toad’s life cycle in terms of thermal regimes, and devising optimal early stage rearing pens that will optimize the survival of released tadpoles.

Black-footed Ferret

The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is a nocturnal predator that is an extreme habitat-prey specialist, meaning that it lives only in prairie dog burrows and it eats mostly prairie dogs. First described in 1851 by Audubon and Bachman, the ferret was listed in 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act and was listed in 1973 under the current Endangered Species Act (Esch et al. 2005). In 1981, a small population was discovered near Meeteetse, Wyoming (USFWS 1988), and captive breeding and reintroduction efforts began that continue today.

Although the species does not now live in the project area, there are black-footed ferret colonies to the north that could expand to the Laramie Plains within the next few years from the original reintroduction center in the Shirley Basin. The project area is within the historical range of the black-footed ferret, and Albany County has been identified as a possible reintroduction area by the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Team. While all of the colonies in the Laramie Plains have not been formally surveyed and monitored, an informal assessment of the area in 2010 noted that most prairie dog colonies were active. On Hutton Lake Refuge alone, 541 acres of white-tailed prairie dog colonies have been mapped.

Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse

The Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) is a small rodent in the Dipodidae family and is one of 12 recognized subspecies of Zapus hudsonius, the meadow jumping mouse. The range of the Preble’s subspecies in the Laramie Plains of Wyoming has not been documented with certainty, but there is some chance that it co-occupies the basin with the closely related and physically indistinguishable western jumping mouse (Zapus princeps). Preble’s meadow jumping mouse lives in areas of lush riparian vegetation, usually with some woody overstory in the form of trees or shrubs, immediately next to streams, ditches, ponds, or lakes. The subspecies will range occasionally into upland habitats, but always returns to and centers its activities in dense vegetation near water. In WyoFWS

Black footed ferret.

ming, Preble’s meadow jumping mouse has been definitively documented east of the Laramie Mountains in eastern Albany, western Laramie and Platte, and southern Converse Counties. If Preble’s meadow jumping mouse is documented in the future, the proposed action will have direct and positive effects on the subspecies’ recovery by providing and maintaining high-quality riparian habitat.

Little Brown Bat

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), which is one of the most common bats in southeastern Wyoming, may use the project area. The species roosts during the day in cavities and other sheltered areas in a wide variety of substrates—buildings, caves, cliffs, boulders, trees (both live and dead), downed logs, and similar habitats—and feeds at night on a variety of insects over wetlands and riparian corridors. The little brown bat does not migrate, but rather hibernates through the winter in secure cavities. The species is now being reviewed for listing under the Endangered Species Act due primarily to huge losses in little brown bat populations in the eastern United States that have been caused by an exotic fungus, termed “white-nose syndrome.” The fungus and associated syndrome have been moving steadily westward over the past 6 years, but have not yet reached Wyoming or affected Wyoming bat populations (Griscom et al. 2012). However, there is reason to assume that this fungus will eventually threaten bats in the region. Preservation of wooded riparian corridors that provide roosting and feeding habitat, asFWS

Little brown bat

well as wetlands and wet meadows that provide feeding habitat, would help alleviate the possible negative effects of “white-nose syndrome.”

Mountain Plover

The mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) is a migratory shorebird that is native to shortgrass prairie and shrub-steppe habitat of the western Great Plains and Colorado Plateau. The plover nests in regions that were historically affected by a variety of herbivores, including prairie dogs, bison, and pronghorn. Breeding and wintering habitats for the species often reflect some measure of disturbance, be it through fire, grazing, or the presence of digging or burrowing mammals such as prairie dogs (Smith and Keinath 2004b). In Wyoming, five mountain plover breeding areas have been identified, including one in the Laramie Plains.

Cultural Resources

Archeological remains representing 12,000 years of human occupation have been found in the Laramie Plains. Although there have been few formal investigations completed in the area, evidence from the earliest Paleo-Indian occupation through the advent of rural and agricultural development by EuroAmericans in the early 20th century has been documented in a variety of geographical settings. Although these sites exhibit a wide range of artifacts and features, definite trends in site types and changes through time are clear.

Current archaeological evidence shows that the earliest humans, called the Paleo-Indians, migrated to the region at the close of the last Ice Age approximately 12,000 years ago, and, although the record is thin, there was probably significant use of the area by indigenous people (Larson and Letts 2003). These people had a highly mobile lifestyle that depended on big game hunting, including for such now-extinct species as mammoths and ancient bison. The hallmarks of most Paleo-Indian sites are the spear points that are generally recovered from animal kill and butchering sites and small temporary camps. Evidence of the Paleo-Indian occupation of the Laramie Plains area is sparse and most often consists of isolated spear points.

There was a gradual but definite shift in the pattern of human use of the region beginning about 9,000 years ago. These changes were because of regional climatic fluctuations and an increasing human population, coupled with tremendous social change and technological innovation. Although this stage, which is referred to as the Archaic stage, lasted until about 2,000 years ago, it is better represented in the archaeological record than the preceding Paleo-Indian stage. The interpretation of the remains is difficult. On many sites, evidence of a greater diversity of tools and increased use of native plants is found, but the remains also suggest a more localized and less mobile population.

Approximately 1,500 years ago, the use of the bow and arrow marked the beginning of the Late Prehistoric Period. The increase in the number of known archaeological sites for this period may show a growing human population or the influx of peoples from other regions, or it may just reflect our ability to locate these more recent sites. Remains of these early occupations include fire hearths, lithic scatters (stone tools and the byproducts from making them), quarry sites, and stone circles that are probably tipi rings. Fewer than 20 of these sites have been formally recorded in the Laramie Plains.

Euro-American diseases such as smallpox and influenza probably affected Native American populations in the region far in advance of direct contact with Euro-Americans themselves, possibly as early as 1600. Similar dynamics may have occurred with Eurasian livestock diseases and native ungulates. Rocky Mountain tribes adopted the horse, imported by early Spanish colonists, as a central advancement by approximately 1750. By the early 1800s, Euro-Americans were becoming more common in the area and evidence of trade with the Native Americans in horses, firearms, and ornamental items is increasingly evident in the archaeological record. Native American tribes, including the Crow, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho, lost their lands with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and many were relocated to reservations outside Wyoming.

As is the case with much of the West, the early Euro-American exploration of the Laramie Plains owes much of its beginnings to the fur-trapping trade. In 1820, Jacques Laramie trapped along the river that now bears his name. Although thousands of Euro-Americans traveled through what is now the State of Wyoming in the 1840s and 1850s, most were heading farther west on the nearby Oregon, California, Overland, and Mormon trails, and few of them settled in what would become Wyoming. From 1862 to 1868, approximately 20,000 people per year traveled along the Overland Trail, which ran approximately 3 miles north of what is now Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The stage stations established by the Overland Stage Company became the first permanent Euro-American structures in the area (Larson and Letts 2003).

The first homestead in the basin was built in 1864 by Phillip Mandel along the Little Laramie River. It also served as a stage station for the Overland Trail. Mandel sold replacement stock to travelers and later cut and sold hay to soldiers at Fort Sanders, which was established in 1866 just south of present-day Laramie and about 10 miles northeast of Hutton Lake Refuge. Until 1882, when the fort closed, it helped protect the early settlers and travelers in the basin during the many conflicts with Native Americans. The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad through the area in the late 1860s was one of the most influential events in the history of the region. The development of the railroad lead to the growth of Laramie and was the catalyst for expanding the cattle and sheep ranching industries that are still present today.

The Service has a trust responsibility to Native American tribes that includes protection of tribal sovereignty and preservation of tribal culture and other trust resources. The Service does not now propose any project, activity, or program that would result in changes in the character of, or adversely affect, any historical cultural resource or archaeological site. When such undertakings are considered, the Service takes all necessary steps to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The Service complies with Section 110 of the act by surveying, inventorying, and evaluating cultural resources

Socioeconomic Environment

Landownership, property taxes, public use, and wildlife-dependent recreational activities of the Laramie Plains are discussed in this section.

The proposed project area is located in Albany County, Wyoming, which has a population of 36,299 (U.S. Department of Commerce 2011). Most of the population (30,816) lives in Laramie, the largest city in Albany County. Wyoming has a population of 563,626 (U.S. Department of Commerce 2011). Over a 10-year period (2000–2010), the population of Wyoming increased by 14.1 percent and the population of Albany County increased by 13.4 percent. In 2010, the county’s population rose 6.8 percent or by 2,320 persons. Within this 10-year span, 84 percent of the growth was within the boundaries of the city of Laramie (see figure LPP-9).

The economy of the project area is tied to the city of Laramie. The presence of the University of Wyoming strongly influences Albany County’s occupational demographics, with 41 percent of the 2010 population working in management, professional, and related occupations (including education) (see figure LPP-10). Farming, fishing, and forestry account for 0.13 percent of the workforce, a reduction from 1.4 percent in 2006 (Wyoming Department of Workforce Services 2012) (see figure LPP-10).

Landownership

The agricultural trend within the Laramie Plains follows statewide trends. From 2002 to 2007, the number of farms in Albany County increased from 320 to 448, a 40-percent increase. Although the number of farms increased, the acreage being farmed decreased by 22 percent, indicating that while there are more farms, they are smaller in size (USDA 2007).

Wyoming ranks eighth among States in total acres (42.3 percent) owned by the Federal government (U.S. General Services Administration 2010). The State government owns 6 percent (3,854,800 acres) of all Wyoming lands.

Property Taxes

Property taxes constitute the largest source of local government revenue (Urban Institute and Brookings Institution 2008) and are not expected to be substantially affected by conservation easements in the proposed WTCA. Property taxes are assessed based on the value of property. For most types of properties, county assessors use fair market value to calculate property tax liabilities; however, agricultural land is often assessed differently. In many States, the assessed value of agricultural land is calculated based on the productive value of the land rather than on the fair market value of the property.

The fair market value of a property is calculated by an appraisal. This value includes both the productive value of the land and any speculative value associated with the possibility of developing the land. Conservation easements reduce the fair market value of property by removing the speculative value associated with possible development; however, conservation easements generally do not affect the productive value of agricultural land.

Wyoming landowners now pay property taxes on their private lands to the counties. These taxes are based on a fair market value, and agricultural land is taxed based on the land’s productive capability under normal conditions. Since most of the properties within the proposed project area are classified as agricultural land and any easements would allow private landowners to keep ownership, there will be little effect on the current property tax base for Albany County.

The buying of any fee-title lands will reduce the amount of property tax revenue collected by local governments because the Service is exempt from taxation on its property holdings. However, counties would qualify for reimbursement of some property tax revenue through the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act of 1935, which allows the Service to make annual payments to local governments in areas where fee-title purchases have removed land from the tax rolls. Payments are based on the greater of 75 cents per acre or 0.75 percent of the fair market value. The exact amount of the annual payment depends on Congressional appropriations, which in recent years have tended to be substantially less than the amount needed to fully provide the authorized level of payments. In fiscal year 2010, actual payments were 22 percent of authorized levels.

Public Use and Wildlife-dependent Recreational Activities

Residents of and visitors to the Laramie Plains are attracted to the area, in part, by the abundance of wildlife. This area offers many wildlife-dependent activities, including hunting, fishing, birding, and wildlife photography, which generate millions of dollars for the State’s economy (Hulme et al. 2009).

In 2006, the WGFD estimated expenditures of $107.7 million by resident and nonresident hunters pursing the six big game species in the State: white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. Resident hunters accounted for 67 percent of the total (Hulme et al. 2009). The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (USFWS 2008) found that in 2006, $137.3 million was spent in Wyoming by both resident and nonresident hunters. Wildlife watchers, both residents and visitors, spent a total of $394.9 million in the State of Wyoming that year as well (USFWS 2008).