Study Reveals Wyoming Pronghorn Vulnerable to Decline from Oil Development and Increased Tree Cover, Researchers Warn.

A study by scientists from the University of Wyoming, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and University of Florida has found that the state’s iconic pronghorn, known as antelopes, may be more vulnerable to population decline due to oil and gas development and an increase in trees in parts of Wyoming. The researchers found that productivity of the mammals’ fawns relative to 100 adult females in each herd has decreased significantly in 43 percent of Wyoming herds between 1984 and 2019. The biggest factors driving this decline were an increased increase in tree cover in some areas and increased oil production. The study was published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation.