The Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office located in Lander, Wyoming, has provided fishery assistance to the tribes since 1941. In 1972, at the request of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes while being supported through congressional action, the office was enlarged to provide both fish and wildlife management assistance.
Today, the Lander Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office provides fish and wildlife management assistance to the Wind River Reservation and National Wildlife Refuges in Wyoming. The 2.2 million acre Wind River Reservation contains some of the most pristine mountainous areas in the lower 48 states with over 250 lakes and reservoirs and over 1100 miles of rivers and streams most of which provide some of the highest quality trout fisheries in the lower 48 states.
Wildlife resources are equally as diverse with six big game species(elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and moose) and two trophy species (mountain lion and bear) are managed to the extent possible as well as waterfowl, upland game bird and furbearers. The Lander Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office provides population and management recommendations to the Tribes annually for their fish and wildlife codes.
Activities include Wind River water rights negotiations, habitat protection, wild and stocked fish population management, recommendations for fish and wildlife regulations, big game transplants, fish stocking, stream, wetland and riparian habitat restoration and providing youth and adult education opportunities to Tribal members.
