A Little Education Goes a Long Way to Sparing Native Species in Lander’s Popo Agie River

The Popo Agie River, which flows through downtown Lander, Wyoming, has been plagued lately by human behavior that’s resulted in native plants and animals being injured or sometimes dying. For example, great horned owls have been caught in fishing nets; damage to the riparian area along the creek in town also means there’s less vegetation to help clean and cool the waters, contributing to higher water temps, which are dangerous to the trout that call the Popo Agie home. Led by a group of local artists-volunteers (Potters of the Wind River), a collective of several organizations—POWR, the Popo Agie Conservation District, Popo Agie Anglers, Healthy Rivers Initiative, Water for Wildlife, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department—came up with a plan to help solve these issues through education. Their plan: Build a tiled mosaic kiosk located at Lander’s Jaycee Park to educate residents about how to protect native plant and animal species found in the riparian ecosystem of the section of the Popo Agie. They just needed a little help to launch. LOR’s funding will help with the cost of equipment and professional services to construct the sign.

This project is fiscally sponsored by the Lander Community Foundation.