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

Wyoming Project


A survey of current distributions for Wyoming crayfishes

May 2020 - December 2021


Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Wyoming Game & Fish Department

Many North American crayfishes are highly imperiled with an estimated 48% at some level of extinction risk. For most Wyoming crayfish species, abundance and population status is unknown. Crayfish can play an important positive role in ecosystems through consuming detritus and serving as forage food for fish, but nonnative species, such as rusty crayfish, can have serious negative effects. An understanding of native crayfish distribution and early detection of nonnative crayfish is critical for management and control. In collaboration with Wyoming Game and Fish Department we are updating Wyoming crayfish distributions to refine range maps and species of conservation need rank. A better understanding of crayfish ecology is crucial for preserving native species and preventing nonnative species introduction.