Those Wildlife Conservation license plates Ray Hageman just told you about are helping make our highways safer for both people and wildlife. Vehicles kill hundreds of big game animals on Wyoming roads every year, but $150 from the sale of each of those license plates goes to funding safe crossing points for wild animals.
Wyoming is home to several wildlife species that make long migrations every year, including the longest mule deer migration corridor ever recorded. Those migration routes have to cross busy highways and even Interstates.
In some areas, signs warning drivers are all that is needed. For busier highways, fencing can help. But in other cases, the crossing needs an underpass or even an overpass to get the animals from one side of the road to the other.
Deer and elk will use underpasses, but pronghorns rarely do. They prefer to go over the road, which is why there are two big overpasses on Highway 191 near Trapper’s Point north of Pinedale. That’s a major antelope migration corridor, and the fences funnel the speed goats to the overpasses, where they can get to the other side of the highway safely.
It all takes money to build, though, and that’s where the license plates help. One hundred fifty dollars from each of those plates goes to wildlife crossing projects. That alone is a good reason to get these plates for your vehicles, but there’s an added benefit, too. By showing proof you have a Wildlife Conservation plate, you can get discounts from Maven Optics, Weatherby, West Laramie Fly Store, Rocky Mountain Discount Sports, and a lot more places. Visit the Game and Fish website for more information, and then fill out your Wildlife Conservation license plate application on the WYDOT website.
