CASPER, Wyo. — Casper-area elk hunters may be in luck this year as populations remain healthy with liberal hunting seasons. Meanwhile, pronghorn populations are recovering, mule deer populations are stable but below goals and white-tailed deer populations are rebounding from disease despite substantial die-offs, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s 2024 hunt forecast. […]
Outdoors
Posted inWyoming Game and Fish Department
Casper Game and Fish offers lymph node removal training for CWD testing
CASPER, Wyo. — Hunters are invited to a free training session on how to properly remove lymph nodes for chronic wasting disease testing. Hosted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the hands-on training will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 at the Casper Regional Game and Fish Office, 3030 Energy Lane. CWD […]
Posted inWyoming
1 woman dead, another missing in Flaming Gorge drowning incident
SWEETWATER COUNTY, Wyo. — A 60-year-old woman died in a drowning incident at the Flaming Gorge Reservoir this weekend and a 44-year-old woman is still missing. The women are mother and daughter and the names have not yet been disclosed. According to the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call was received by Sweetwater County […]
Posted inOutdoors
Grizzly bears relocated to reduce conflict
CODY, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently captured and relocated a pair of adult grizzly bears, one male and one female, which had been involved in separate livestock depredation situations. The male was captured on Aug. 19, while the female was captured the following day. The grizzly bears were relocated for involvement […]
Posted inOutdoors
Game and Fish Department monitoring wildlife impacts from wildfires
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is monitoring the effects that recent fires have had on regional wildlife. On Aug. 21, multiple fires started in northeast Wyoming after storms moved through the area. The largest of these currently is the House Draw Fire. The suspected lightning-caused fire was initially reported southeast of […]
Posted inLatest News
Johnson County Fire releases updates on House Draw Fire; fire 0% contained
BUFFALO, Wyo. — As the House Draw Fire continues to grow and consume more wildland across Johnson County, the Johnson County Fire Department has compiled information to be shared with the public regarding the status of containment efforts. As of Thursday, Aug. 22, the House Draw Fire is reportedly affecting 163,466 acres and is 0% […]
Posted inAnimals
Yellowstone warns visitors to use caution during bison mating season
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — The bison rut is in full swing, and Yellowstone National Park is reminding park visitors to exercise extreme caution around the animals. During the bison mating period, male bison become aggressive and fight for dominance by sparring. As a result, the animals are highly unpredictable during this time and should […]
Posted inWyoming
BLM wins two lawsuits, clearing way for elimination of two Wyoming wild horse herds
By Mike Koshmrl WHITE MOUNTAIN, Wyo. — “That’s a lot of horses,” lamented Cheyenne resident Robyn Smith from a high-desert ridgeline. It wasn’t her first exasperated exclamation. “Argh, oh crap,” was her immediate reaction to learning a federal judge had given the Bureau of Land Management the OK to proceed with plans to fully remove two wild […]
Posted inWyoming
Bernhardt named new North Riverton game warden
CASPER, Wyo. — Zachary Bernhardt is the new North Riverton game warden for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Bernhardt was born and raised in Parker, Colorado. He grew up in a family that enjoyed the outdoors and would frequently go camping, fishing and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Bernhardt attended the University of Wyoming, […]
Posted inCity
Council to consider hosting Pony Express collection, water rate structure at work session
The Fort Caspar expansion and designation as a National Pony Express Museum could add over $3 million annually to the local economy, the consultant said.
Posted inLatest News
Yellowstone visitor at Old Faithful charged with stealing park truck, drunk driving, property destruction
CASPER, Wyo. — A Virginia man was charged with numerous offenses in Yellowstone National Park last weekend. According to federal court records, Alan Bowling, born in 1967, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Mammoth on Monday and will appear in federal court in Cheyenne on Tuesday. He is charged with theft of a tow […]
Posted inOutdoors
Game and Fish releases new sage grouse hunter requirements
CASPER, Wyo. — Starting this year, all licensed sage grouse hunters will be required to carry a free, annual sage grouse hunting permit. This new regulation aims to enhance the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s efforts to survey sage grouse hunters and gather data on their hunting experiences. People who need the free sage grouse […]
Posted inEmergency
Pleasant Valley fire fully contained; statewide wildfires continue to burn
CASPER, Wyo. — The Pleasant Valley wildfire in eastern Wyoming has been fully contained, though fires throughout the state continue to burn as the coming week gets underway. The Pleasant Valley fire, the largest of the recent Wyoming wildfires, was reported as being 100% contained in an update by the Bureau of Land Management on […]
Posted inOutdoors
Sybille Wildlife Research Center working on CWD composting study
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Anyone who has driven along Highway 34 through Sybille Canyon recently may have seen what has been described by many as “giant coffins” outside of the Game and Fish Wildlife Research Center at Sybille. Rather than coffins, these are actually compost bins, designed to conduct research to evaluate the ability of the […]
Posted inCommunity
PHOTOS: Athletes climb, crawl and run through 307 Bison Stampede
“I hope it continues to build… and hopefully the Casper community will have a new hobby,” Mcdaniel said.
Posted inStatewide
Wyoming allows snowmobilers to run down wildlife. Despite global outrage, it may stay legal.
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile Don Hall is an avid snowmobiler, but instead of heading for the hills each winter in search of deep powder, he takes an older snowmachine to lower elevations nearer the snow line. There’s a reason the Riverton resident prefers the lower zones despite the rocks, fences and sage most riders avoid: That’s […]
Posted inOutdoors
Game and Fish Department relocates grizzly from Wilson area
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured and relocated a subadult male grizzly bear that had been encroaching on the Wilson community. The bear was captured and relocated preemptively because it frequented developed areas on private lands in the Wilson area. The grizzly bear was relocated to the Camp Creek drainage approximately […]
Posted inOutdoors
Historic release of Trojan male brook trout to save cutthroat in Game Creek
JACKSON, Wyo. — In a big step forward for native cutthroat trout conservation efforts in Wyoming, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently finished a historic release of 3,600 male Trojan brook trout in Game Creek in the upper Snake River drainage. Brook trout, which displace native cutthroat due to competition, have inhabited Game Creek […]
Posted inWyoming
Yellowstone closes Biscuit Basin for the season following hydrothermal blast
By Katie Klingsporn Yellowstone National Park has closed the Biscuit Basin area for the season after a hydrothermal explosion strewed boiling water and rocks skyward Tuesday morning, destroying a section of boardwalk and spurring frightened tourists to flee. No one was injured in the blast at Black Diamond Pool, which was caused by hydrothermal conditions and not volcanic […]
Posted inAnimals
New study sheds light on sage grouse breeding habits in presence of wind farms
CASPER, Wyo. — A recently released study, authored in part by a University of Wyoming professor, suggests that wind energy developments may have similar impacts on the mating rituals of the greater sage grouse as other forms of energy facilities when turbine density is high. Dr. Jeffrey Beck, from the university’s Department of Ecosystem Science […]
Posted inAnimals
2,577 horses rounded up in BLM North Lander horse gather
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Bureau of Land Management’s efforts to control horse populations in the North Lander Complex is complete, with 2,577 total horses rounded up. According to a BLM Facebook post, the creatures were gathered from BLM-managed public lands and adjacent private lands where they had moved outside of the complex. As for […]
Posted inAnimals
Chronic illness is depressing bighorn sheep numbers, new study suggests
by Christine Peterson, WyoFile Wandering through the rolling foothills of the Wind River Range near Dubois, lives a bighorn sheep herd famous for both its abundance and scarcity. A herd that once helped reseed bighorn sheep populations around the West has struggled for the last 30 years to sustain its own numbers. Ewes barely maintain their […]
Posted inWyoming
Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin temporarily closed due to hydrothermal explosion
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — On Tuesday morning, a localized hydrothermal explosion occurred near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, just north of Old Faithful, temporarily closing the basin for safety reasons. The Grand Loop Road remains open. No injuries were reported and the extent of damage is unknown at this time. Park and USGS staff […]