Daily Darwin

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<p>Zero chance this is going to end well…</p>

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 6, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

No chance this is going to end well...

Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 6, 2022

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, June 12th.  I’m Mac Watson

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A Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, park officials announced Thursday. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that a former park ranger, who patrolled the lake, says certain factors make the lake dangerous year round.

“Former Yellowstone park ranger Tara Ross said that what makes this lake extremely dangerous is very cold temperatures and wild winds. Ross said the water hovers between 40 and 50 degrees, even in the summertime, so if someone does go in the water, and they're unable to self-rescue, as in get back into the kayak and out of the water. They may only have 10 minutes, generously up to 20 minutes, before rescuers will be recovering a body. Park officials say that the man recovered was from Denver, and he was 41 years old.”

According to Yellowstone National Park officials, occupants of another vessel on the lake discovered the body of Brandon Rhea on Monday floating near Rock Point on the lake's northwest shore near Bridge Bay. 

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Wyoming’s state-level property tax board told counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports it will also refuse to certify this year's property tax assessment figures if the cap remains.

“So, they're saying, ‘Whoa, we've got homes in sluggish market areas that are being taxed way less of a rate than homes that look exactly the same that are in faster growing areas.’ And so, according to the board, this violates the women constitutions call for equal and uniform taxation, and so they're saying, ‘Hey, if you county assessors keep allowing this 4% cap, we're gonna not certify the tax values this year,’ which would mean you couldn't collect on property taxes. Dixie Huxtable, who's the Converse County Assessor, and speaks out for the Assessors Association often said, ‘I don't think anyone's getting a tax holiday. We're gonna figure out what our legal options here are and decide what to do.’”

The board’s two-person majority — Chair Jayne Mockler and Vice-Chair Marty Hardscog — wrote in the Thursday report that the 4% increase cap for residential property taxes has arbitrary impacts across the state. 

The Clinton-era Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands will be erased if Wyoming Republicans U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman get their way. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports Rep. Harriet Hageman says, “I have been fighting the Roadless Rule since the day it was handed down.”

“The Trump administration has already been pushing for this. Now Congress has stepped in. Senator Mike Lee of Utah added an amendment to a wildfire prevention bill that Senator Barrasso was already sponsoring, and that that amendment would just nullify the roadless rule, like Trump is trying to rescind it now. Congress is essentially trying to nullify it, and Congresswoman Hagman has a mirror bill to nullify it coming out of the House, so, so basically the roadless rule is facing a double threat from both the the the administration and the legislative branch, which, if you're if you're against it and you want to see it gone, that's good news. If you want to see it preserved, that's bad news.”

The Roadless Rule has forbidden new road construction on national forests across Wyoming’s high country. It also similarly prevented new road construction on 45 million acres of national forest lands across the West, and up to 60 million acres nationwide.

A letter to Republican candidates for Park County partisan offices, has a warning for candidates. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the letter states that if a potential candidate won’t commit to back at least 80% of the state GOP platform, they won’t receive an endorsement or support from the party.

“People have been saying that the party is developing a purity test. The proponents of this questionnaire, which basically asks if you agree with each party platform playing, the proponents are saying this is not a purity test, you know, organizations have standards, and the opponents are saying it absolutely is a purity test, and it's just the organization trying to perpetuate its ideals onto the next leaders of it. But, like, Sandy Newsom said, they can't take me off the ballot, she's running for precinct committee woman there in the Park County Republican Party, just like they can't take us off the ballot, so the people in my precinct are going to be the judge of how Republican I am.”

The state GOP passed a set of new bylaws in April which requires county and state committee iterations of the party to vet candidates for office on their commitment to the platform and “demonstrated loyalty to the Party’s principles.”

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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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The first job for Union Pacific’s new Trump-themed locomotive No. 4547 took it through Wyoming carrying the Artemis III rocket. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that nobody except railroad watchers noticed. 

“Stan Blake, who is a retired railroad guy, tells me what they're doing there is they're buffering the rail, the rocket pieces by separating them with a car that will have been loaded with inert material. So, those weren't empty, they were loaded with something, and then they are there to kind of buffer in between each of those rocket cars, and the rings around the first car, those are the size of the rocket cars, the tanks, you know, the pieces of the rocket, so that you know it's clear that I guess to make sure that the clearances are all in order. Wyoming is a particularly good state for crossing because there's plenty of Wyoming with the wide open spaces.”

In late 2027, four members of the crew for Artemis III will launch aboard an Orion spacecraft. It's a demonstration flight in a low Earth orbit that will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of the Human Landing System being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Public backlash against a reported kill order may have saved a bison that killed a woman in Custer State Park last month. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that advocates for the Bison say he was acting within his wild nature on his home turf when he killed the 70-year-old Canadian tourist.

“The Bison who killed a 70 year old woman last month got a stay of execution this week after public backlash. People were acting on rumors that the state had planned to put this bison down or euthanize it because of the of the bison's actions with this woman and a lot of people were saying, you know, this this animal, he's it's wild and it acted, you know, appropriately given that it was really roaming on its own turf.  But the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game Fish and Parks confirmed that they are taking custody of this bison and that the bison will live out the rest of his days on the Rosebud Reservation, which is outside of Custer State Park.”

The South Dakota Governor’s Office did not confirm whether a kill order had been placed on the bison, nor did the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department.

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Crusoe, a founding partner in the huge 2.7-gigawatt Project Jade data center near Cheyenne, quietly pulled out months ago. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that hasn’t slowed the project, which is going “full steam ahead,” according to  remaining partner Tallgrass Energy.

“Project Jade never missed a beat, they didn't pause for a minute, they just kept right on going. They're now working directly with the data center client, which it hasn't been officially announced yet, and so there's been no pause, there's no lost time, they're still on track for what they're planning to do there, and you know it's a massive, massive project. 2.7 gigawatts, that's almost three times the energy that Wyoming, as a state, uses.”

Crusoe, the company that was constructing the buildings for the massive data center, packed up its stuff and left. The exit happened quickly and quietly, without the fanfare of press releases and company statements that had preceded the project.

Canada’s favorite grizzly, called The Boss, has lived a storied life, brawling with other males and surviving getting hit by a train. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that his latest stunt was removing an electronic tracking collar that wildlife agents had just put on him.

“We've reported previously on that huge grizzly bear, 700 pound grizzly bear that lives up in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. They call him ‘The Boss.’ His latest antic is they collared him on May 13th, and he ditched that collar within a week, and I talked to a photographer that follows the boss very closely, and said, ‘Yeah, he did that in true boss fashion. That sounds like that bear.’”

The Boss is formally known to researchers as Grizzly 122. His chief rival in Banff is Grizzly 136, called Split Lip.

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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 12 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, June 12, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include:
* Kayaker Dead In Lake Yellowstone
* Custer Bison Escapes Death Penalty
* Wyo Tax Board Says Cap Is Unconstitutional

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, June 12, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional, and the counties shouldn’t let taxpayers have that exemption.

The State Equalization Board will refuse to certify this year’s property tax assessment figures if counties keep that cap on them, the report says.

It also disproportionately insulates high-end homes, and disfavors homeowners in more sluggish market areas, the report asserts.

But the report’s main point, and conclusion from the past two years’ tax data, is that the 4% cap violates the Wyoming Constitution’s call for equal and uniform property taxes within each class of property.

The board hasn’t yet issued an order requiring Wyoming’s county assessors to rework their pending tax bills without the cap.

But it expects to do so in the coming weeks after working with counties, Mockler told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday phone interview.

“We issued this report today that says if that cap doesn’t come off, Marty and I can’t vote to certify residential property taxes. Because they’re not uniform,” said Mockler. “It’ll be followed with an order ... (and) our goal is ultimately to remove the cap.”  

Mockler noted that the board isn’t targeting the other, narrower exemptions with this report — like the 25% property tax cut passed in 2025 or the long-term homeowner exemption.

More than half of the state’s residential property tax values fall under the 4% increase cap, the report says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"But We Don’t Get A Tax Free Year"}]

This kind of push from the state board is unprecedented, Converse County Assessor Dixie Huxtable told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

But Wyomingites shouldn’t expect a tax-free year over the maneuver, she said.

“Everyone’s in agreement there will be residential property taxes for 2026,” she said. “This … is just a step in the process of getting different values the board feels is appropriate.”

The pending mandate leaves Wyoming counties somewhere between following the 4% cap requirement in state law and following another state law that tells assessors to obey the state board, she said.  

“You’re asking us to go against the law? Under the law we have to apply the 4% cap and you’re saying we can’t,” she reflected from the report.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s so bizarre it’s funny,” Huxtable added. "}]

She said she was digesting the report Thursday afternoon, and had just been to a phone meeting with the board officials, assessors, and county attorneys.

Two days earlier on Tuesday, Huxtable had just urged the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee to approach more changes to the state’s property tax law with caution, because assessors are always trying to keep up with the many changes lawmakers have brought in recent years.

Assessors are at the mercy of state law and are working hard to follow it, she’d said.  

Reflecting on the board’s Thursday report, Huxtable told Cowboy State Daily that assessors are now trying to gain clarification on what to do in the coming weeks.

“We’re on standby,” she said, adding that from her meeting with the board, her impression is, “They’d be tickled pink to go to court” on this issue.

Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz said Thursday that he doesn’t know of any litigation on this currently, “but if there is a challenge, we will support what the Legislature did.”

Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, who has since become a state senator, was the sponsor on the main bill the board’s Thursday report derides as unconstitutional.

Crago did not return a Thursday afternoon voicemail request for comment by publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Different Homes, Different Taxes"}]

The board’s report points to inconsistencies across the Wyoming property tax structure.

People who upgrade their homes by changing the footprint of those homes lose the cap exemption to a reset that year, while people who upgrade only the interior do not, says the report.

It says some homes have had their tax bills so thoroughly capped, they’re paying less than half of the state-mandated property tax rate.

“The caps, by design, generate highly disparate tax consequences for 

It accuses the law of discriminating arbitrarily between different homeowners across Wyoming.

“The demarcation between taxpayers receiving a tax windfall, versus those who do not, serves no rational basis,” the document adds.

Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that she had voted for the 4% tax cap during the tax hikes of 2024. But she views the law as more of a short-term fix. 

"It was a tourniquet; it was a short-term fix," she said. "Butif you leave the tourniquet on, you damage the body." 

Storer's home region of Teton County accounts for huge property tax revenues in Wyoming. She has tried over the years to get lawmakers to stop applying property tax breaks to people's secondary homes. 

Of the $860.2 million in exemptions the 4% cap is expected to cause this year, Teton County accounts for $507.9 million, says a Department of Revenue memo Storer sent to Cowboy State Daily. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Lawsuit That Wasn’t"}]

The board warned lawmakers before the 4% cap bill’s passage that board members believed it’s unconstitutional.

 “the die was cast,” says the report.

The board examined the residential assessment values and looked for inverted valuations, that is where higher-valued properties were assessed at lower taxable values than other, similarly situated properties.

The board during the 2025 tax calculation process had just two members, Mockler and Hardscog. They voted that year to certify the tax values, but said that those values were probably invalid. Still, they wanted to gather one more year of data to be sure, the report says.

They also planned to release a Nov. 13, 2025, order requiring assessors to stop giving the exemption.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s office asked the board not to issue that order, the report says.

In November and early December, the governor’s office and Wyoming Attorney General’s Office met with Hardscog and Mockler to talk about filing an action asking a court to judge the issue.

The governor’s office and AG’s office agreed the state board should file that court action, the report says.

The litigation was slated to be filed Jan. 20. Gordon’s office asked for multiple delays, at first to communicate the lawsuit with legislative leaders. 

When Gordon’s office asked for another delay two days later, Hardscog and Mockler said they wouldn’t certify the property tax values after the June tax calculation process, “without a working resolution of their constitutional concerns,” says the report.

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<title>Wyoming Tax Board Says 4% Cap On Property Tax Is Unconstitutional, Won't Accept It | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming’s state-level property tax board told counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional and it will refuse to certify this year's property tax assessment figures if the cap remains.

Wyoming Tax Board Says 4% Cap On Property Tax Is Unconstitutional, Won't Accept It

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

Wildlife

The bull bison that attacked and killed a 70-year-old woman in Custer State Park last month will not be euthanized.

Instead, he will live out the rest of his life in the care of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks. The relocation will allow the bison to continue in his natural life in a secure environment away from the public.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe agency announced the decision Wednesday, which effectively lifts a death sentence for the bison. 

The announcement followed fierce public debate over whether the bull should be put to death after it 

attacked and killed a 70-year-old Canadian tourist

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Weighs In"}]

Dave Scragg, a photographer who lives in Custer and frequently is in the area getting images of local wildlife, told Cowboy State Daily he’s heard rumors the bison was targeted to be put down.

[{"type":"text","text":"He’s glad that won’t happen. "}]

The South Dakota Governor’s Office did not confirm whether a kill order had been placed on the bison, nor did the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department.

When asked if he could confirm whether a kill order had been put in place, Nick Harrington, communications manager for the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department, said in a one-sentence email that “all options were being considered and evaluated.”

Scragg, believing along with many others that the bison was facing death, encouraged his followers on social media to plead with the South Dakota Governor’s Office, the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and Custer State Park to not euthanize the bison.

“Our main goal was to save the animal,” he said, adding that people responded by calling officials with the state of South Dakota, Custer State Park and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.

Scragg said he doesn’t know how many people made calls, but he believes the public input made the difference and saved the bison’s life.

“When this all started, the word from the top was that putting this animal down was the plan,” he said in a statement. "We didn’t accept that, and we made sure our voices were loud enough to reach the people who could actually make a change.” 

Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, And Parks Takes Over

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks department extended its condolences to the family of the deceased woman. 

It also acknowledged that bison are wild animals, and that the one who attacked her was “acting in accordance with its wild nature."

“We will honor both our cultural obligation to protect our relative and the need of keeping the public safe,” the tribe's statement reads.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks for comment but had not heard back by publication.

Chad Kremer, the bison herd manager for Custer State Park, thanked the tribe for providing a safe home for the bison, sharing on social media that he has been the “steward and caretaker for this bull’s journey of life thus far.”

“As a prey animal, unfortunately, pressure was placed on him that caused him to REACT, not attack, but he didn’t deserve to be destroyed,” he said.

Kremer declined to comment further to Cowboy State Daily pending approval of Custer State Park officials for him to speak to the press. Phone calls to Custer State Park were not returned prior to publication.

Scragg called the decision not to euthanize the animal a “total win for the community and a win for our wildlife.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"South Dakota Game, Fish, And Parks Respond"}]

“Herd management decisions are made with public safety at the forefront, and we will continue to take necessary action to protect human life,” Harrington said in his statement.

The best management decision was to remove the bison from the park to ensure public safety, he said.

“We are grateful for Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s willingness to work with us to relocate the buffalo to a location that is suitable for the animal and away from interaction with the general public,” Harrington added.

Custer State Park Phil Gould via Alamy 6 1 26

<title>Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Public backlash against a reported kill order saved a bison that killed a woman in Custer State Park last month. Advocates for the bison say he was acting within his wild nature on his home turf when he killed the 70-year-old Canadian tourist.

Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Lands

A 41-year-old Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, a body of water that veteran guides say can turn from picture-perfect to perilous in a matter of minutes, Yellowstone National Park officials reported Thursday.

Occupants of another vessel on the lake discovered the body of Brandon Rhea on Monday floating near Rock Point on the lake's northwest shore near Bridge Bay, according to Yellowstone National Park officials.

National Park Service rangers recovered Rhea's body along with a capsized kayak and personal belongings. The incident remains under investigation, and park officials have released few additional details.

For those who spend their summers on Yellowstone Lake, the discovery is a reminder that one of Wyoming's most iconic destinations can also be one of its most unforgiving.

Park officials have released few details about the incident and did not respond to additional questions before publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Little Margin For Error"}]

For retired Yellowstone ranger Tara Ross, the reputation of Yellowstone Lake being potentially dangerous is justified.

"What makes it so dangerous is the extreme cold and wild winds," Ross said.

Ross spent several years assigned to Yellowstone Lake boat patrol while stationed in the Grant Village area. She said the lake conditions can overwhelm paddlers long before rescuers have an opportunity to reach them.

"The water is extremely cold," Ross said. “You may only have 10 minutes to survive it."

That reality creates one of the greatest challenges for emergency responders.

"By the time somebody from offshore notices — if the person can't self-rescue … that person is probably not going to make it," she added.

The lake often remains ice-covered well into spring, a reminder that Yellowstone's waters stay cold long after visitors begin arriving for the summer season, said Ross. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lake Changes Fast"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Dylan Schneider has spent the past 15 summers on Yellowstone Lake."}]

He began working aboard boats on the lake and has spent the last six summers guiding kayakers through its bays and shorelines for Prismatic Tours. 

The biggest lesson he tries to teach visitors is not to trust what they see.

"It looks calm, but in 10 minutes it could be totally different," Schneider told Cowboy State Daily about Yellowstone Lake.

Surface water temperatures typically range between 40 and 50 degrees, even during the summer, he said.

"They say you have about 20 minutes before hypothermia sets in if you find yourself in the water," Schneider said, adding that the danger isn't limited to cold water.

Schneider said some of the most challenging conditions develop on warm, sunny days when visitors least expect trouble.

"Especially on those deceivingly nice days, the wind can pick up with very little warning," he said.

Large bays can become hazardous when winds build, and natural features around the lake can create wind tunnels that funnel gusts toward paddlers who may suddenly find themselves much farther from shore than they intended.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Respect The Lake"}]

Yellowstone Lake spans more than 130 square miles and sits at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level.

Ross said that prevailing southwest winds routinely sweep across the lake, while shifting weather patterns can create unexpected waves and rough conditions.

[{"type":"text","text":"Those conditions are familiar to people who work on the water."}]

Schneider said visitors often arrive expecting a leisurely paddle across one of the nation's most scenic lakes. Most leave with a newfound respect for how quickly the environment can change.

For those who know Yellowstone Lake best, its beauty and its danger are inseparable.

The circumstances surrounding Rhea's death remain under investigation, but Schneider's warning is one he gives paddlers every season.

"It looks calm," he said. "But in 10 minutes it could be totally different."

Yellowstone lake 6 12 26

<title>Floating Body Of Denver Man Recovered From Yellowstone Lake Near Capsized Kayak | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, park officials announced Thursday. Former ranger Tara Ross, who patrolled the lake said extreme cold and "wild winds" make it dangerous. "You may have 10 minutes to survive," she said.

Floating Body Of Denver Man Recovered From Yellowstone Lake Near Capsized Kayak

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

The Beartooth Highway was closed at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday because of snow and extreme conditions at the highest points of the 10,947-foot-high All-American Road.

As of Friday afternoon, the entire 68.29-mile expanse still wasn’t fully open with no estimated time of reopening. That’s because it was still snowing across northwest Wyoming and southern Montana, with no signs of stopping.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) posted pictures of deep snowdrifts covering the two-lane mountain pass and several inches of fresh snow across the landscape. The agency told tourists traveling between Wyoming and Montana to take the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway to reach Red Lodge, Montana, and beyond.

[{"type":"text","text":"And, above all else, MDOT posted, “Please do not use map apps.”"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not That Late"}]

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day hadn’t seen any snow totals reported from the Beartooth Highway. Based on pictures and reports out of Yellowstone National Park, he had a reasonable guess of how much snow had fallen at nearly 11,000 feet.

“It's probably in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 inches of snow, with a lot of wind and cold slicking things up,” he said. “There should be a fair amount of wind up there, and it’s chilly enough to make things icy.”

Meanwhile, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for southern Montana, including the Beartooth Highway, until 9 a.m. Thursday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches was anticipated, along with wind gusts as high as 55 mph.

Tourists might be baffled to hit a snow-caused road closure in mid-June, but that’s the reality on the Beartooth Highway. It doesn’t happen frequently, but it does often enough, and sometimes even later in the summer.

“It snows every month of the year up there,” Day said. “I can remember some Fourth of July where they've had snow-related issues on the Beartooth Highway.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Its Own Climate"}]

Day believes people underestimate the elevation changes they experience when exploring northwest Wyoming. Drivers ascend from 5,200 feet to 10,947 feet in just 12 miles.

The Beartooth Highway sits at the northern edge of the Yellowstone Plateau, a massive landform that covers northwest Wyoming and southern Montana. An area that vast, high, and rugged is its own environment

“If you’re entering from the east, you go from the steppe desert of the Bighorn Basin to the cool, lush forests of Yellowstone, to a high-elevation mountain terrain very quickly,” Day said. “That terrain lifts the atmosphere and makes its own weather.”

It’s not uncommon for people to be driving through triple-digit temperatures in Cody, Greybull, and Lovell only to find snow flurries at the highest point of the Beartooth Highway later that day.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Beartooth Highway wasn’t the only road closed by snow."}]

Yellowstone’s Dunraven Pass and Craig Pass, a section of the Grand Loop Road between the West Thumb Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, were closed to all travel on Tuesday night due to winter weather. Both corridors were reopened by 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Then, Craig Pass was closed again at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday due to “adverse road and weather conditions.”  The entire park was covered with snow by Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was anticipating snow showers all day Wednesday on the Beartooth Pass, with wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Daytime highs were in the 30s.

While astonishing to many, especially tourists, Day wasn’t surprised to see snow closing the Beartooth Highway. He was reminded how inhospitable the mountains can be, regardless of the season.

“I got a note from a guy who remembers treating people for frostbite in Rocky Mountain National Park in June 1976,” he said. “We tend to get these June patterns, and there’s another one coming.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Anticipated Closure?"}]

Plowing the Beartooth Highway is handled jointly by MDOT and the National Park Service. Both agencies had plows ready to clear the highway, but it’s still a day-long effort to get the road safe for vehicles, including massive RVs and tour buses.

More than 69 miles of the Beartooth Highway are still closed because of a late spring snowstorm in southern Montana. Road officials warned motorists not to use “map apps” as people have become stranded like a German couple who got lost in Wyoming. 

Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 6, 2022

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