Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Wyoming
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Wyoming Project


Great gray owl habitat selection and home range characteristics during the breeding and post-fledging periods

November 2017 - June 2023


Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Grand Teton Association
  • Teton Conservation District
  • Wyoming Game & Fish Department
  • UW-Biodiversity Institute
  • Meg & Burt Raynes Wildlife Fund
  • Wyoming Governor's Big Game License Coalition
  • UW-National Parks Service

The Great Gray Owl is a species of conservation concern in Wyoming, and associated with older-aged, boreal forest habitats which are affected by wildfire, disease and beetle outbreaks, drought, climate change, logging and development. Very little is known, however, about Great Gray Owl habitat requirements and territory size during the nesting and post-fledging periods. The primary project partners are the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Teton Raptor Center, with cooperation from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Information generated from the study will significantly enhance the state's ability to address the unknown aspects of the species' biology, update the species’ account in the State Wildlife Action Plan, and provide insight for the implementation of future monitoring efforts and management strategies.

Presentations Presentation Date
Gura, K., G. Liston, A. Reinking, B. Bedrosian, K. Elder, and A. Chalfoun. 2024. Locked-pasture snow conditions modulate movement behavior and fitness by a facultative migrant, the Great Gray Owl. ​Gordon Research ​Conference, Predator-Prey, Ventura, CA. January 2024
Gura, K, G. Liston, A. Reinking, B. Bedrosian, K. Elder, and A. Chalfoun. 2023. Using novel snow data to understand wildlife movement responses to limiting winter conditions. Wyoming Chapter of The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Laramie, WY. April 2023