Zinke aims to protect big-game migration

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he is taking steps to study and preserve habitat and migration corridors in Western states for big-game animals such as elk, mule and deer, a move that hunters and some experts applauded but that critics called an effort to cover up damage.

Zinke’s order calls on his agency to work more closely with states and private landowners. He announced it Friday during a trip to Utah, where he had recommended a downsizing of two national monuments, a reduction that President Donald Trump approved.

Hunting groups joined him for his announcement at a hunting and conservation expo in Salt Lake City and said the plan would add important protections for animals such as deer and elk.

The Interior Department will study migration habits and devise ways to improve habitat, Zinke said, which could include getting ranchers to modify fences and collaborating with states on sagebrush restoration.

Matthew Kauffman, a University of Wyoming associate professor and big-game wildlife-migration expert, praised the move. It comes as researchers using advanced technology can document migration corridors and the roads, fences and housing developments that impede them.

“The science is there. We know how to map these,” Kauffman said.

The Center for Western Priorities, a conservation group, acknowledged that it’s important to plan for wildlife migration but noted that Zinke has inflicted major damage to lands by supporting the oil industry and recommending reductions to national monuments.