The Bates Hole/Shirely Basin IBA is located in both Natrona and Carbon counties, southeast of Casper, WY. Landowners include the Bates Creek Cattle Company (BCCC), Two-Bar Headquarters, and Garrett Ranch, however the majority of the land is federally owned and falls under the jurisdiction of the BLM.

The Bates Hole/Shirely Basin IBA is important because it provides critical and large contiguous sagebrush habitat for sagebrush and obligate species. The Greater Sage-grouse populations and historic range is a fraction of what it once was. The sage-grouse have experienced dramatic declines over the last half of the 20th century and have been extripated in five states and one Canadian province, moreover, populations have declined 33% since 1985 over the remainder of it's range in the west (Connelly and Braun 1997). The declines have alarmed many in the conservation/wildlife management field, and has lead to a petition to the USFWS to become and endangered or threatened species. The predominant reason for the declines in abundance and distribution are permanent loss, degradation, and fragmentation of the shrub-steppe ecosystem, the habitat type found within the Bates Hole/Shirely Basin IBA site and therefore is of particular concern. The area is also part of the Greater Sage-grouse local conservation planning area designated by the Wyoming sage-grouse state conservation plan. The Bate Hole/Shirely Basin site will be one of the first areas (in the conservation plan) to address the problems and possible solutions for sage-grouse declines in the area. In addition to sage-grouse, the area also supports the host of other sagebrush obligate species such as Sage Thrasher, Brewer's Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow.

Weed management is needed as well as sagebrush treatment to revive decadent stands. Wildlife and livestock use have the potential to damage riparian areas and vegetative communities. More work needs to be done in the way of determining, what level of use affects sage-grouse nesting habitat, wintering habitat, etc. Energy development and recreation can impact sage-grouse in the IBA. Habitat impacts can occur from off-road vehicle use. Energy development and various mining activities (gravel, bentonite, uranium) can negatively impact sage-grouse through habitat disturbance and habitat loss degradation.