Pronghorn productivity declining in Wyoming

CASPER — Wyoming is home to a whopping 50% of the world’s pronghorn, the iconic ungulate so named for its laterally flattened, blade-like horns. But that may not be the case forever, as a new study shows that Wyoming is becoming a less friendly place for pronghorn to foster offspring.
A team of researchers this week published a study showing that pronghorn herds in the Cowboy State are experiencing long-term declines in productivity as a result of two primary factors: oil and gas development and the widening encroachment of trees throughout the sagebrush steppe.
The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, analyzed fawn production over a 35-year period from 1984 to 2019 using population surveys from Wyoming Game and Fish Department.