WYOMING _ 
Weather and Water Conditions | 
The nesting season of 1957 was characterized by wet weather and 
high water. The picture was somewhat different in 1958 for in the stock- 
pond country of northeastern Wyoming surface water was below normal. How- 
ever, other areas compensated to some degree. For example, on the Laramie 
Plains of southern Wyoming an abundance of water areas was carried over 
from the summer of 1957. | 
Throughout the remainder of the state water areas appeared to be 
about normal. 
Runoff from the mountains varied from above normal in some regions 
to way below in others. The runoff in most areas was about two weeks early 
this year and was not considered to be as Lengthy as in 1957. 
Summer rains have maintained most brooding habitat at a normal — 
level. . 
Breeding Population Indices 
Table I presents @ summary of the duck breeding ground survey for 
1958. The estimated breeding pair population for 1958 falls 13.97 below 
the number recorded for 1957. However, the estimated population is up some 
6.9% from the four-year average. 
In computing the total duck population during the nesting season 
we have combined the breeding pairs with birds that were found in groups. 
It will be seen in Table I that the total population for 1958 is 23.2% 
greater than 1957 and 9.5% greater than the four-year average. Undoubtedly 
many of the birds which are placed in the group category are potential 
nesters which move into tke higher elevations as the country opens up. 
Unfortunately at this time we have no way of measuring how many of these 
birds do this. 
Table 2 shows the long-term breeding ground trend for Wyoming 
geese. For the state as a whole there is no change from 1957 numbers and 
the state-wide total is 14 per cent below the long-term average. Attention 
is directed to the two Wyoming drainages which have been down in recent 
years (the Green and the North Platte). The 1958 count on the Green River 
registered no change from the levels of 1956 and 1957 and was 26 per cent 
below the long-term average. The North Platte drainage showed a substan- 
tial increase over the all-time low of 1957 and is now 20 per cent below 
the long-term average. Both of these drainages are still far below the 
levels existing prior to the beginning of the recent downward trend. 
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