WASHINGTON, D.C. — Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s decision to ensure Tribal access to a federal grant program that helps conserve and improve the quality of big game habitat and connectivity in the West is good news for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and other wildlife species that depend on our nation’s lands for survival. This collaborative, locally-driven approach to conservation is exactly what the biodiversity and climate crises demand.

“Habitat loss and fragmentation is a key driver of America’s wildlife crisis. This announcement affirms Secretary Haaland and President Biden’s commitment to recovering wildlife and ensuring our wildlife heritage endures for future generations,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We’re all in to partner with the Department of the Interior, state agencies, Tribes, sportsmen and women, and private landowners to reconnect big game habitat corridors year-round to ensure our nation’s most majestic species thrive in our rapidly changing world.”

“Wyoming has long been a leader in migration corridor conservation. We welcome the improved grant program to encourage big game migration corridor conservation,” said Dwayne Meadows, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. “We hope to continue our work with federal, state and Tribal partners in support of science-based policies that help retain and reconnect wildlife habitats that are essential to healthy populations of antelope, deer, and elk.”