Red Canyon Wildlife Habitat Management Area

Red Canyon Wildlife Habitat Management Area. . The Red Canyon Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) before you is a crucial part of the entire winter range complex along the Southern Wind River Mountains in the Lander Area. The 1785 acres of the Red Canyon WHMA were purchased in 1958 primarily for use as critical elk winter range. However, many other species of wildlife benefit from this habitat area including mule deer, pronghorn antelope, moose, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, song birds and small mammals. Depending upon winter snow conditions, as many as 650 elk utilize the steep hillsides to escape heavy snow cover and find needed food. Along with most of the adjacent private, state and federal lands, this WHMA is considered a mountain shrub and grassland habitat. Those habitat types exhibit a variety of grasses and shrubs including sagebrush, bitterbrush and serviceberry. This diversity of plans is important to all wildlife and their survival. Elk, in particular, utilize the grasses during light snow cover, while the shrubs increase in important when the grasses are covered with deep snow and are not available as forage. It is important for all animals to have suitable wintering areas such as the Red Canyon WHMA. The protection and management of habitats like Red Canyon are an important part of the formula that helps maintain Wyoming’s open spaces and free-ranging populations of wildlife.