The April 13 article "Drilling where the antelope play" captured the challenges Americans face in accessing energy while protecting wildlife spectacles for future generations. In this case, pronghorn - America's only indigenous hoofed species - migrate more
The April 13 article "Drilling where the antelope play" captured the challenges Americans face in accessing energy while protecting wildlife spectacles for future generations. In this case, pronghorn - America's only indigenous hoofed species - migrate more than 250 miles round-trip between Sublette County gas fields and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Throughout the Western Hemisphere, the only mammal that migrates farther is the Arctic caribou. If we wish to conserve this valuable icon of Wyoming and Western history for future generations and to prevent antelope extinction from an American national park, corridor protection is urgent.
However, it is also critical to address human concerns, which include private property rights. Protecting the "Path of the Pronghorn" should involve federal land, not private property, which comprises less than 10 percent of the 90-mile route. Landowners can then decide what they want to do about these benign, lithe creatures on their own property.
Joel Berger, PhD
Wildlife Conservation Society
Teton Valley, Idaho
Finally, a (dare I say) fair and balanced report on the nexus between the oil and gas industry in the West and conservation efforts for sage grouse and other wildlife. As this and other recent Monitor articles show, oil and gas development and wildlife conservation can and do coexist. And contrary to some in the doom-and-gloom 