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Migration Routes of Elk in Wiggins Fork Herd in Wyoming

Metadata Updated: September 24, 2025

Elk (Cervus elpahus canadensis) within the southernmost section of the Absaroka Range, just north of the Wind River Range, display altitudinal migration (fig. 71). In the spring, they migrate from the southern foothills near Dubois up into the mountains, and in the fall, they head back down to lower elevations. The herd, which numbers around 6,000, primarily winters between the Absaroka Range to the north and the Wind River Range to the south. Winter ranges consist mostly of shrubs, largely supported by private land with smaller areas of BLM and Wyoming Game and Fish land. During migration animals travel an average one way distance of 32 mi (51 km) ranging from as little as 8 mi (13 km) to as far as 69 mi (111 km). In spring, animals migrate off winter range and head north and northwest up the southern side of the Absaroka Range following clearings between the pine trees. Summer ranges consist of evergreen forests that are predominantly lodgepole pine with smaller areas of open herbaceous grasslands and low growing shrubs. The summer range is almost entirely within the Shoshone National Forest, however, a large portion of the herd group off and head northwest into the Teton National Forest. The population size of the herd has remained relatively steady over the last decade. While there is a higher concern for the animals on their winter range because it largely consists of private land, their migration routes are much safer because they do not cross any highways and are for the most part within the Shoshone or Teton National Forests. The group that migrates northwest into the Tetons may encounter route 26, which could pose a threat of collision with motorists. Additionally, some individuals may winter in the Wind River Indian Reservation. Most of the herd will summer within the boundaries of the Shoshone and Teton National Forest and are therefore under much less threat during those months. These data provide the location of migration routes for elk in the Wiggins Fork population in Wyoming. They were developed from 80 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 16 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2 hours.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 24, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 24, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-620e4abdd34e6c7e83baa368
Data Last Modified 2022-04-07T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 702f8fe5-c93b-46aa-930f-bdcf317d57cf
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -110.3209, 43.4217, -109.2932, 44.1781
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash d48ac0c92655328ddf6f4fcc3f9e49e11ef3958829fb8e8e2ae34fc066febdca
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -110.3209, 43.4217, -110.3209, 44.1781, -109.2932, 44.1781, -109.2932, 43.4217, -110.3209, 43.4217}

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