Migration Routes of Elk in the Piney Herd in Wyoming

Migratory movements of elk within the Piney herd unit, a large area encompassing the eastern side of the Wyoming, include short (i.e., 10 miles) to medium (i.e., 30 miles) distance migrations. These elk migrate from low elevation elk feedgrounds and native winter ranges in the Upper Green River Basin to high elevation summer ranges in the Wyoming Range. In summer, some elk head further west into the Grey’s River Basin from the Bench Corral and Forest Park feedgrounds. Challenges for Piney elk include energy development, especially in the southern portion of the herd unit.
These data provide the location of migration routes for Elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Piney herd in Wyoming. They were developed from Brownian bridge movement models using 306 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 158 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2-8 hours.