Daily Darwin

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, January 26, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Tow Truck Driver Of The Year...

Daily Darwin: Thursday, January 26, 2023

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, July 17th.  I’m Reece Cowan, filling in for Mac Watson

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

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A wall of water surged through East Thermopolis late Wednesday, stranding people and breaking a gas main after 4.5 inches of rain fell in an hour near the town. Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy reports that one resident said he heard a roaring coming in his direction.

“It was a really intense two hours Wednesday night. It was clear skies. When at 10 o'clock a flash flood hit. One resident described it as a wall. He called 911, by the time he got a hold of dispatch, the wall of water had already hit his house. Another resident, she was actually trapped in her house. Morgan talked about going outside to rescue her dog. Once she got back in her house, Morgan said that she could feel it moving, and she really thought she was going to die. Chief Cornwall said that this is the worst flooding he has ever seen.”

Meteorologist Straub said that the thunderstorm that caused all the damage developed about 10 miles east of Thermopolis and just kind of sat there for about an hour and a half. 

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Megan Degenfelder’s campaign for Wyoming governor released a video early Thursday of President Donald Trump doubling down on his endorsement of her. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the push comes with a month to go before Wyoming’s hotly contested Republican Primary election. 

“We've got a month before the primary election, which in Wyoming generally involves a huge standoff between Republicans of all stripes, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder garnered the Trump endorsement back in January. Well the president doubled down on Thursday, reiterating his endorsement. Trump varies on when he gives endorsements, Dagenfelder's is among the earliest that we've ever seen. Seven months before the primary election. She said that she was deeply honored to have the president's support and grateful that he took the time to speak directly to the people of Wyoming.”

Trump has not endorsed anyone in the hotly-contested U.S. House race, where 10 Republicans vie for the nomination. He also hasn’t endorsed in Wyoming’s Secretary of State race or for other top state executive-branch seats. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"–"}]

Seven teens were arrested Wednesday in a sweeping western Nebraska raid over illegal machine guns and drugs. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that investigators say they found Instagram posts of the teens posing with and firing Glock-style guns equipped with illegal switches. 

“Federal authorities say that illegal Glock switches have become one of the fastest growing criminal trends that they're seeing in America, with a near 800% spike in the last few years, and that is reflected in a recent criminal case where seven teenagers in Western Nebraska were arrested on Wednesday for possessing these illegal machine guns as well as cocaine. All of the teenagers appeared for their initial hearing on Wednesday afternoon in Scottsbluff County Circuit Court. This criminal case came to light when investigators flagged suspicious activity on social media where they saw the stolen guns posted in videos and a series of pictures online. One of the defendants was even seen pointing it at another defendant.”

According to ATF, recoveries of suspected machine gun conversion devices traced by ATF increased from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023. Agency spokesperson Ashlee Sherrill tells Cowboy State Daily “they present a significant public safety concern." 

More than 23,000 birds and bats were killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025, according to a report presented Wednesday to the state Game and Fish Commission. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that according to an official “They’re flying around and they’re not paying attention to those blades.” 

“Game and Fish, they don't set the policy. It's the Industrial Siting Commission that really says yes or no. They're the ones that have the power over the licenses for these operations. What Game and Fish does is before the project is built, they come in and they work with the developer to kind of give them advice on how to mitigate or avoid conflicts with wildlife, and then after the fact, they will do some monitoring as well and maybe suggest some solutions. I also talked to an eagle advocate in Laramie, and she said, although she appreciates what the game and fish is doing or trying to do, she doesn't think it's enough.”

Wyoming Game and Fish habitat protection program supervisor Will Schultz tells Cowboy State Daily that, in some cases, painting one blade of a wind turbine black helps birds see it before it’s too late, adding that hundreds of hours of work and research have gone into wind farm risk mitigation. 

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

Park County officials say a Wednesday flash flood nearly destroyed a bridge over the Shoshone River and cut off access for some county residents. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that one witness said “We watched a wall of debris build up and surging muddy water begin to overflow the banks.”

“Monsoonal moisture is moving into western Wyoming. That manifested as several short-lived but intense thunderstorms on Wednesday afternoon, and a mudslide and just an intense amount of flash flooding that came out of the mountains along the South Fork of the Shoshone River took out a bridge that serves a number of people and residences on a county road that's pretty far removed from Cody. Without that bridge, they have no access to the rest of the world. I spoke to the Cowboys State Daily meteorologist Don Day, and he said that the risk of monsoonal moisture and flash flooding is going to extend into the next week at least.”

The Park County Public Works Department hoped to have a temporary bridge installed across Boulder Creek by the end of Thursday. Park County engineer Brian Edwards told Cowboy State Daily that the compromised wooden bridge had already been “high on our priority list for replacement.”  

Although manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, gun rights activists are alarmed. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Buffalo's Mark Jones, of Gun Owners of America, says it violates the Second and Fourth Amendments.

“There's software that's it's been around for a few years. It's been used in schools. It's software that helps camera surveillance cameras, pick up guns, firearms that that have been drawn or the out of a holster. The the idea being at least in the school it can help maybe catch a school shooting earlier. Hobbs, New Mexico, has expanded this to a municipal application. They've got about 70 cameras at different points around the city that have this software. I reached out to some some Second Amendment advocates and also a gun control advocate, and none of them are really fans of it.”

The technology has potential to do good, but only within narrow parameters that protect gun owners’ rights, said George Mocsary, University of Wyoming law professor and co-founder of the UW Firearms Research Center. 

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Yellowstone on Thursday was felt by people as far as 30 miles away. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that it’s the largest earthquake of the year so far in the national park.

“A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was detected in Yellowstone National Park around 720 a.m. this morning. So Yellowstone, on average, experiences between 15 120 500 earthquakes every year. This is the largest earthquake detected in 2026 so far, but that's not even that big of an earthquake by Yellowstone standards. The largest earthquake last year was a 3.9 and even that wasn't very big. So while a lot of people get apocalyptic, while a lot of people get apocalyptic any time they hear something about something shaking in Yellowstone, earthquakes are an almost everyday occurrence, and a 3.3 is indicative of nothing to be alarmed about.”

What the earthquake doesn’t indicate is any significant change in Yellowstone’s volcanic systems. Even at a depth of 4 miles, Thursday morning’s quake was too shallow to indicate anything volcanic, which is true for most of Yellowstone’s earthquakes. 

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The Galloping Horse is galloping again — or at least it will be when someone at The Wrangler turns the power on. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that after years of being inoperable, the iconic 400-pound folk art cowboy was fixed, refurbished and put back in place Thursday morning. 

“The iconic galloping horse that for decades has sat over the entrance to the Wrangler Western Wire store in downtown Cheyenne hadn't been galloping for the last few years. A Cheyenne man who whose office is just across the road, finally decided, you know what, it needs to gallop again. So him and his brother and son got together and spent about 90 hours each, about almost 300 hours between them to restore this thing. They got a pretty prominent Cheyenne artist to paint it again to look pretty much original. And on Thursday morning, they put it up again, so they would be ready for Frontier Days.”

Thursday was a proud moment for Dennis, who explained he had the idea to get the Galloping Horse galloping again because he saw it every day and “every day I wished it was moving again.”

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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 Reece Cowan, in for Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 7 17 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include

*Flood Wreaks Havoc In Thermopolis
*Trump Endorses Degenfelder For Second Time
*Teens Arrested For Machine Guns Near Wyo Border

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 17, 2026

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Wyoming legislators say they’re working on a groundbreaking bill to give Wyomingites property rights over their own personal data — and another 

bill to restrict license plate reader data usage

The vow intersects with rising concerns about license plate reader cameras like Flock, Motorola and other brands operating in some Wyoming communities. 

It also follows eight years of a tech-oriented legislative committee’s work to safeguard people’s personal data from being indiscriminately sold on internet channels.

Both bills are set for a more thorough hearing at the University of Wyoming during the Sept. 28-29 meeting of the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology.

If it passes, the data privacy bill would be “the first of its kind in the world,” Committee Co-Chair Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, told his colleagues during a Wednesday meeting in Casper.

“There’s nothing even close. It would be far and away the strongest privacy right on the planet,” said Rothfuss. “I’d love to be the state that does it, if we can get there.”

But Rothfuss warned the other lawmakers to prepare for immense backlash from the tech private sector.  

“If we implement it, candidly, it will make a lot of companies mad,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Data Would Be Your Property"}]

None of that fury descended on the public comment segment of Wednesday’s meeting. Rather, a few proponents offered suggestions and feedback.

That’s because this was only the unveiling of the bill, said Rothfuss in a Thursday phone interview. 

He said he’s spent significant time this year tuning the bill, titled the Wyoming Personal Data Ownership Act, to account for property-rights scenarios across the legal spectrum.

It’s unique because rather than codify consumer protections pertaining to social media or other vendors’ products, it proclaims that a person’s data is his or her own property, said Rothfuss. 

That means the government’s request to use someone’s data would function like an easement; a private company would have to get permission to borrow it.

“Unauthorized processing or possession of personal data is an interference with the data owner’s exclusive rights and a concrete and particularized injury,” says the bill draft. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Those breaches resemble trespass or conversion, the draft adds."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Some Carveouts"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The bill contains carveouts as well."}]

For example, a media outlet could still use a photograph of someone in reporting. People can use available data in communication, commentary, criticism, analysis, scholarship, indexing, discovery, preservation, or creating expressive work, under the bill. 

But none of those uses could involve “commercial exploitation” of individualized information.

Sensitive data would fall under a more stringent category than personal data. Some of that, like genetic and neural data, and personal data for kids under 13, would be barred from use as a “commercial instrument.”

People’s biometric identifiers and precise geolocation couldn’t be used without affirmative consent, and then for no more than one year. The government would have to get a warrant on probable cause to access those.

People’s data on personal health, religious beliefs, political affiliation, financial accounts and any personal data of teens would require affirmative consent and be capped at a year’s use as well. But the government would only need a “court order on judicial review” for access.

All other personal data could be used for up to two years but not retained for more than three years, and could be pulled into the legal process through a subpoena.

People could demand companies delete their data “at any time” if this bill passed. 

If an active access authority or a law precluded that, the entity using the data would have to let the person know within 30 days of the demand for deletion.

The committee’s co-chair from the state House side, Republican Rep. Daniel Singh of Cheyenne, told Rothfuss on Wednesday that he supports the groundbreaking bill.

[{"type":"text","text":"Next Up, License Plate Readers"}]

Singh presented a bill that sought to restrict license plate reader usage as well as biometric and geolocation data usage.

Under the bill as drafted Wednesday, law enforcement agencies could only access biometric or geolocation data for investigating violent felonies, upon probable cause; helping to find a missing or endangered person; or helping to identify a person believed to be dead. 

[{"type":"text","text":"All those causes would still require a warrant."}]

Law enforcement agency representatives opposed the bill vocally, with most lamenting that all those topics were lumped into one bill.

[{"type":"text","text":"Singh acknowledged the bill is broad."}]

“I think we’re actually holding in our hand, like, four or five different bills,” he said. “We may need to divide and conquer.”

Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, suggested tackling the license plate reader controversies this year, and addressing the biometric data part until a later session cycle.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rothfuss agreed."}]

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Commander Ryan Cox had listed numerous active, and some mandated, uses for biometric data. 

Law enforcement agencies take fingerprints and palm prints when registering sex offenders. Fingerprints are part of background checks for numerous entities, including those bringing in volunteers or employees to work with kids.

Cox noted that in disaster scenarios like floods and tornadoes, law enforcement wouldn’t be able to get a warrant to identify a decedent as the bill contemplates, because those aren’t crime scenes.

Sheridan Police Chief Travis Koltiska said that a lot of crimes not classed as violent felonies are still considered public safety risks, like stalking, domestic violence, protection order violations fraud and identity theft.

Cox referenced child pornography crimes as well, which, though “horrific,” aren’t classed as violent felonies.

Devon Brubaker, director at Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, said airports will use license plate readers — but not tap them into the larger LPR networks lately causing concern — for parking verification uses. 

They’re also trending toward using biometric data, and may need to use it to comply with U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal safety requirements, he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"What Are Private Companies Doing?"}]

Rothfuss told law enforcement agency representatives that his key concern is what private companies are doing with the license plate reader location data that they gather for law enforcement.

“Your mission is to serve and protect. Their mission is to make money off data,” he said. “And there’s our challenge.”

Allen Thompson, director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, quipped that “might be why some of them are offering a very cheap service to law enforcement.”

Rothfuss parried: “You’re either the customer or you’re the product.”

James Halverson, deputy state director for Americans for Prosperity, acknowledged that the bill needs work, but said his group is in favor of the concept.

Sen. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, worried aloud that the Legislature could run afoul of constitutional provisions by restricting private companies’ data-gathering ability altogether. 

This fell under the context of location points and vehicle images shot by license plate reader cameras. Crago gave the example of trying to stop a person sitting with a camera, filming activity on a public highway.

“We can limit the government from contracting with those third parties, but I question, can we constitutionally limit the third party from recording the data, keeping the data — and if so, what does that look like?” asked Crago.

Rothfuss referenced the property rights bill he presented at that meeting, saying that could be a “hook” to protecting data, “but it takes a couple of interesting steps.”

Chris Rothfuss 7 16 26

<title>Groundbreaking Bill Would Give Wyoming Residents Property Rights Over Their Data | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming legislators are working on a bill to give Wyomingites property rights over their own personal data — and another to restrict license plate reader usage. "It would be far and away the strongest privacy right on the planet,” said a lawmaker.

Groundbreaking Bill Would Give Wyoming Residents Property Rights Over Their Data

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

Ed Herschler was Wyoming’s governor during a period of unprecedented growth in our energy sector. Coal, oil and gas extraction were booming in the 1970s, and folks were nervous as hell about how to handle it. Herschler’s motto during those times was, “Growth, on our terms.”

State government put in place systems and controls to manage the boom cycle, to ensure that growth benefited the Big Empty, instead of running rough-shod over us. Almost fifty years later, we Wyomingites are still reaping those benefits on “our terms.”

It seems like every new advance in human technology is met with fear, trepidation and pearl-clutching skepticism. The unknowns scare us spitless, and we resist anything new. Until a leader like Gov Ed comes along and puts some steel in our collective spine and tells us that, if we impose our terms, change can be a good thing.

Data centers are no different. I read today that some Luddites are planning a nationwide demonstration against data centers. Imagine what Wyoming would be like today if, back in the 1970s, we had banned coal mines and told the oil and gas companies that the Overthrust Belt was off-limits.

Without the wealth produced by those developments, we’d all be eating prairie dogs and paying state income tax now., and our kids would high-tail it to greener pastures after the sixth grade.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no expert on the intricacies of data centers. I do know that they gobble up vast amounts of electricity and water, and they produce artificial intelligence. 

The AI part doesn’t worry me a bit, since it is just the human mind on steroids. And, whether we like it or know it or not, AI is already an integral part of our daily lives. 

I ran an experiment a couple of years ago, and asked AI to 

 . The AI chatbot didn’t do a bad job, but the piece lacked my certain savoir faire, my folksy charm and my acerbic wit. All in all, I don’t worry about AI replacing me.

But there are many in our population who cower under the covers and blow snot bubbles of fear anytime something new pops us. They have nightmares of apocalyptic scenarios that never happen.

Those folks were convinced, when the kerosene industry killed the whale oil industry, and the internal combustion engine deep-sixed the buggywhip business, that civilization was doomed. Yet here we are. 

It is in our nature to shy away from revolutions whether agricultural, industrial or information, but to eventually embrace and enjoy each advancement to human culture that they provide.

So, I don’t have nightsweats about artificial intelligence, or the output of data centers. I’m more concerned with the inputs...the water and electricity. That is the arena in which we citizens of Wyoming must insist on our terms.

We have, since the energy boom of the 70s, legislated checks and balances on large-scale developments, and have laws regulating the extent that such projects can impact our state. We have almost fifty years of experience applying “our terms” to industrial development. If we apply those terms to data centers, we’ll enjoy the growth they bring without being gobbled up by them.

But our governmental entities need to have the balls to impose those terms on huge companies that flash wads of cash at them for data centers. They need to be tough statesmen like Gov Ed. Companies wanting to do business in Wyoming must be made to know that they will pay their fair share, and won’t be allowed to screw up the Cowboy State for profit.

And both government and industry must have their feet held to the fire to be completely transparent with Wyoming citizens about data center developments and their impacts to their neighbors. The recent water contamination caused by construction of a data center near Cheyenne, and the secrecy surrounding it should drive that point home to everyone.

A lack of transparency will create doubts in citizens’ minds at a time when a new industry can least afford it. One of “our terms” must be that we are fully informed all the time. 

If the data center industry is willing to develop in Wyoming on our terms, I see no reason why it wouldn’t be a good thing. It’s kind of exciting stuff. 

Rod miller headshot scaled

<title>Rod Miller: Lions and Tigers And Data Centers, Oh My! | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Rod Miller writes, "Some Luddites are planning a nationwide demonstration against data centers. Imagine what Wyoming would be like today if, back in the 1970s, we banned coal mines. We'd be eating prairie dogs and paying state income tax."

Rod Miller: Lions and Tigers And Data Centers, Oh My!

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

Federal authorities say illegal Glock "switches" have become one of the fastest-growing firearm threats in America, with recoveries of the tiny machine gun conversion devices soaring 784% nationwide in the last four years.

That national trend came into sharp focus not far beyond Wyoming’s eastern border this week when a monthslong western Nebraska investigation ended with seven arrests.

Investigators allegedly found Instagram photos and videos showing young men posing with — and in one case firing — Glock-style pistols equipped with the illegal devices, which modify semiautomatic handguns into fully automatic machine guns. 

The investigation culminated Wednesday morning when SWAT teams and dozens of officers served search and arrest warrants across Scottsbluff, Gering and Bayard, Nebraska. By the end of the operation, seven people — two adults and five juveniles — were in custody.

Authorities report that the Western Nebraska Intelligence & Narcotics Group (WING) began investigating after receiving information that adults and juveniles were allegedly involved in drug trafficking while possessing the modified fully automatic firearms.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Instagram Trail"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Court records show law enforcement soon turned to social media."}]

Investigators secured a warrant for an Instagram account they believed belonged to Preston Torres, who is one of the adults arrested Wednesday. 

When Meta returned the account records, deputies say they found multiple photos and videos allegedly showing Torres holding and firing a Glock-style handgun equipped with an illegal switch. 

A second affidavit says investigators later searched another Instagram account and found a photograph showing Rochne Gukeisen, the other adult arrested, holding a similarly modified Glock pistol. 

The affidavit says the photo showed Gukeisen pointing the handgun at Torres, who deputies had already identified in other social media posts. 

Investigators wrote that based on their training and experience, the visible conversion devices transformed the pistols into machine guns under Nebraska law. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Gang Allegation"}]

Investigators also asked a judge to temporarily seal the arrest warrants until they could be served, writing that both men were known members of the 308 BOYZ gang and that keeping the warrants confidential was necessary to safely apprehend them. 

Authorities arrested 18-year-old Torres-Isles and 19-year-old Gukeisen, each on suspicion of possessing a machine gun.

They also arrested five juveniles — three 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old.

Scottsbluff County Attorney Dave Eubanks said three of the juveniles also are accused of possessing machine guns, while two face allegations of distributing cocaine.

Sheriff Mark Overman told Cowboy State Daily the investigation remains active and declined to discuss additional evidence or whether more arrests are possible.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tiny Device, Big Threat"}]

Although ATF was not involved in the Nebraska investigation, agency spokesperson Ashlee Sherrill said it has documented a dramatic rise in machine gun conversion devices nationwide.

Known as Glock switches or auto sears, the parts are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. But once installed, they can allow a semiautomatic pistol to fire continuously with a single pull of the trigger.

Under federal law, the devices themselves are legally considered machine guns, even if they have not been attached to a firearm.

"They present a significant public safety concern," Sherrill said, because they allow handguns to fire at rates comparable to fully automatic weapons, dramatically increasing the danger to people and responding officers.

According to ATF, recoveries of suspected machine gun conversion devices traced by the agency increased from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023.

As the devices have become more common, Sherrill said ATF has expanded training for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to help officers identify the devices, understand trafficking trends and properly recover and trace them.

Nebraska machine gun arrests 7 16 26

<title>7 Teens Arrested In Western Nebraska SWAT Raid For Illegal Machine Guns, Drugs | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Seven teens were arrested Wednesday in a sweeping western Nebraska raid over illegal machine guns and drugs. Investigators say they found Instagram posts of the teens posing with and firing Glock-style guns equipped with illegal switches.

7 Teens Arrested In Western Nebraska SWAT Raid For Illegal Machine Guns, Drugs

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

A Wyoming hunter is on a mission to untangle confusion over public and private land boundaries after repeatedly encountering "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs where the public should legally be allowed to travel or recreate.

Cheyenne resident Jon Farris says the issue isn't about advocating for hunters to ignore private property rights. It's about making sure public lands remain accessible when they legally should be.

"I want other people to be able to enjoy public lands the same way I do," Farris told Cowboy State Daily.

To help, Farris has created an email address where hunters, anglers and other outdoors enthusiasts can report locations they believe may be incorrectly marked as private. 

He hopes to research each case using county records, state maps and conversations with local officials before forwarding legitimate concerns to the appropriate agencies.

"If we can streamline that process, maybe we can get some of these corrected," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Signs That Sparked Questions"}]

Farris said his interest in the issue began in 2024 while traveling in Carbon County.

A county road led toward national forest land, but along the route he encountered a sign declaring the road was crossed and private property.

"That was really what got me started in wondering how often this type of thing occurs," he said.

Since then, he said he has noticed similar situations in Carbon, Goshen and Laramie counties.

One example, he said, involved state land in Laramie County that was eventually reposted as public after previously being marked private.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Sometimes they won't be marked right,\" Farris said."}]

He said he also believes about 160 acres of state trust land within the historic Whitaker Ranch in Laramie County is marked in a way that could confuse visitors into believing it is entirely private.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Land Doesn't Always Mean Public Access"}]

Even when land is publicly owned, that doesn't necessarily mean the public can legally reach it.

That's one point emphasized by Rob Weppner of the Whitaker Ranch, where nearly 40,000 acres of ranchland include parcels of state trust land.

Weppner acknowledged there are "No Trespassing" and "No Hunting" signs throughout portions of the property.

"The disconnect that I see in our area — I talk to a lot of hunters — is that in various places there's state land," he said. "But to have state land (for hunting), you need to have public access to it."

Many state trust parcels are effectively landlocked, surrounded by private property that cannot legally be crossed without permission.

"Knowing which roads in this county are actually public is really challenging," Weppner said. "It's very difficult to know what's what, which roads actually have legal access and which roads don't."

He said while a county road passes through part of his ranch, portions beyond that become private property, making the transition difficult for visitors to identify.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Do Your Homework"}]

Farris said he never encourages people to ignore posted signs or assume property is public. Instead, he urges hunters to verify land ownership before setting foot on questionable ground.

"Don't take 'No Trespassing' signs at face value," he said. "Go home and do your research."

His first stop is typically OnX, the popular digital mapping platform widely used by hunters and outdoor recreationists.

Farris photographs signs he encounters in the field, then compares their locations with OnX mapping and the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments' GIS maps.

A Wyoming hunter is on a mission to undo confusion after repeatedly encountering "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs where the public should legally be allowed. "Knowing which roads are actually public is really challenging,” said a landowner.

Daily Darwin: Thursday, January 26, 2023

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