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

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, February 9, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

I used to watch Evel Knievel, I know what I'm doing...

Daily Darwin: Thursday, February 9, 2023

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Activists want the famous Mollie’s Pack spared from hunters this fall and say the matter is, once again, drawing worldwide attention to Wyoming’s wolf management policy.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday followed the Game and Fish Department’s recommendation and voted to approve a 20-wolf quota for the 2026 hunting season. Most hunts run from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31.

Prior to the vote, Lisa Robertson of Wyoming Untrapped and Marke Cooke of Wolves of the Rockies called in to the meeting via Zoom and admonished the commission to carve out an exception for Wolf Hunt Area 1, where the Mollie’s Pack is.

The commission unanimously approved the wolf hunting seasons as recommended, including for Area 1.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Mollie’s Pack Leaves Park"}]

Included in the 20-wolf quota are four tags in Wolf Hunt Areas 1 and 2 (Clarks Fork, North Fork).

For most of its 31-year history, the Mollie’s Pack has lived within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, where hunting is prohibited.

However, the pack strayed outside the park, probably late last year.

The Mollie’s Pack is denning and raising pups on the Shoshone National Forest, in Wolf Hunt Area 1.

Wolf advocates worry that members of the pack could get shot this fall, particularly Wolf 1090F. At age 12, she’s the oldest living Yellowstone wolf and has gained a global fan base.

The Mollie’s Pack is thought to be the first pack to form in Yellowstone, in 1995, shortly after wolves were reintroduced into the park. It was originally called the Crystal Creek Pack.

In 2000, the pack was renamed the Mollie’s Pack. That was in honor of the late Mollie Beattie, the first woman director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Emails From All Over"}]

Robertson and Cooke told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that they, and many others, haven’t given up on trying to save the Mollie’s Pack.

Wyoming Untrapped is leading a social media campaign to keep pressure on the Game and Fish Commission to change its stance. Wolves of the Rockies and other groups are joining in.

Robertson said the matter will likely be brought up again at the commission’s next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 21 and 22 in Evanston.

Commissioner Carlisle "Fonzy" Haskell said he’s received "dozens of emails" about the Mollie’s Pack, including some from across the United States and other countries.

He doesn’t think the campaign will die down anytime soon but isn’t certain if, or how, it might affect any decisions from the commission.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"What Could the Forest Service Do?"}]

Robertson is encouraging people to reach out to the Shoshone National Forest headquarters in Cody.

The Forest Service could possibly order that cattle on grazing leases there be moved away from the Mollie’s Pack to avoid any possible conflicts, she said.

And she thinks there’s a chance that the Forest Service could halt wolf hunting in that area.

There could be precedent for that. A similar move has been attempted before, albeit unsuccessfully.

In the spring of 2023, environmental groups sued to have the Forest Service declare a "no-kill zone" for wolves on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, near the Colorado-Wyoming state line.

That was proposed to protect wolves crossing into Wyoming from Colorado.

The Forest Service has authority to shut down wolf hunting in its jurisdiction—and indeed at one time shut down prairie dog shooting in parts of Wyoming, the Center for Biological Diversity claimed at the time.

A message left at Shoshone National Forest headquarters on Friday wasn’t returned by publication time.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Aggressive Policy"}]

The growing controversy over the Mollie’s Pack mirrors that over Daniel resident Cody Roberts running a wolf over with a snowmobile and then capturing, torturing and killing the animal in February 2024, Robertson said.

The push to save the Mollie’s Pack, especially Wolf 1090F, is gaining momentum, she said.

"This is an extreme situation, something nobody expected. We need to address this now, not later," she said.

"A $27 wolf tag could take her life, and the pack’s life, with a long-range rifle," Robertson added.

The Mollie’s Pack not only has great social value, it’s "the most studied wolf pack in history" and could still offer a wealth of scientific knowledge about wolves, she said.

Cooke said the goal isn’t to shut down the 2026 wolf hunting season altogether, but rather to push the commission to at least suspend hunting in Area 1 to ensure the pack’s safety.

He said that Wyoming and his home state of Montana have gained a reputation for being overly aggressive toward wolves and other predators.

"The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission botched an opportunity" to boost the state’s reputation by moving to spare the Mollie’s Pack, Cooke said.

 wolves have huge value for the tourism industry.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"'Humans They’ve Never Met'"}]

Haskell said he understands the tourism value of Wyoming’s wildlife, including wolves.

However, wildlife policy must be guided by the best available science, not sentimentality, he said.

"Do we not take the science into consideration just because it doesn’t match your socio-political viewpoint?" he said.

"I think that’s a risk we run into when we try to humanize or name animals and make them somehow more special than other wolf packs," Haskell said.

"They (wolves) are a species of animal that doesn’t know they’ve been named by humans they’ve never met," he said.

He said that during Tuesday’s commission meeting, he was satisfied by the explanation from Ken Mills, a Game and Fish large carnivore biologist and wolf management specialist, regarding whether the Mollie’s Pack has special scientific value.

Mills indicated that all packs have equal value in that regard.

Haskell noted that some Wyoming animals, such as Grizzly 399, have gained celebrity status, particularly with the advent of social media.

Game and Fish field personnel should work according to hard science, Haskell said. That leaves the department’s top administrators and the Game and Fish Commission to deal with controversy or politics regarding wildlife.

The commission wants all sectors of the public to have a voice while also respecting the hard work and scientific approach of the Game and Fish Department, he said.

Game and Fish is obligated by state statute, in agreement with the FWS, to maintain a population of at least 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs in the state’s trophy game zone for wolves—adjacent to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, he said.

Mills and other Game and Fish biologists demonstrated a good plan to have at least 160 wolves and 13 or 14 breeding pairs by the end of the year, Haskell said.

Mollies pack 7 17 26

<title>Oldest Yellowstone Wolf Pack Strays Into Hunt Area, Activists Want Pack Protected | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Mollie’s Pack is Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack and includes the famous Wolf 1090F. The pack has strayed outside the park into a Wyoming wolf hunt area, and activists worry that 1090F will be shot this fall. They are requesting the pack be protected.

Oldest Yellowstone Wolf Pack Strays Into Hunt Area, Activists Want Pack Protected

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Business

 granted to Prometheus Hyperscale has been filed with the Uinta County District Court of the Third Judicial Circuit. 

The permits at issue cleared the way for Prometheus to build 

 located outside of Evanston near the Uinta County border with Utah.

The petition, obtained from the Uinta County Clerk, was filed July 16 by Christy Katzl, Wilhelm Katzl, and Marijke Rossi. 

It asks for an administrative review of Uinta County permits issued to Prometheus Hyperscale, and for those permits to be set aside.

The document alleges that representatives of Prometheus Hyperscale and certain county officials engaged in non-disclosed, non-public planning for the data center project and that some had familial ties to Prometheus Hyperscale founder Trenton Thornock.

The document also accuses county officials of failing to properly review the project for strain to the electrical grid, water supplies, noise pollution and wildlife disruption, and said the public was denied transparent and timely public disclosure of the project’s parameters and timelines.

Commissioner Mark Anderson denied all of the allegations in the document, and said the familial relationship he was accused of having is by marriage through a second or third cousin.

“Years ago, when Trenton Thornock came to the commission, I did not even know who he was or if he was tied to the community,” he said. “I do know some Thornocks in the area, but I’m not related to them.”

Anderson didn’t learn of his distant relationship to the Thornock family until opponents mentioned it, but said he doesn’t feel the relationship poses a conflict of interest, and that distant relationships like this through marriage aren’t uncommon.

[{"type":"text","text":"Anderson denied there were ever any “secret” meetings."}]

“Every time there’s been a Prometheus representative talking to any member of Uinta County, they have always been on a published work session meeting that is published prior to those meetings happening,” he said. “It’s all public record. There’s never been a closed-door meeting that anybody has been to. We followed our land use plan and every letter of the law.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Prometheus Responds"}]

A company spokesman for Prometheus Hyperscale said the company has been transparent about what it is doing and that it has no plans to pause its work.“Prometheus Hyperscale has participated in a transparent and public permitting process for our Uinta County project,” the statement said.

“That culminated in 13 safeguards and conditions as a part of the Conditional Use Permit. We will continue to move forward with the community in the same transparent manner as we have with the permitting process.”

Prometheus President Trevor Neilson said the appeal by the group “has no merit.”

The company declined further comment about the matter, including an update on the project’s construction progress.

[{"type":"text","text":"Growing Opposition"}]

Katzl told Cowboy State Daily she filed the petition to hold Uinta County accountable.

We decided to file this petition for administrative review because the citizens of Uinta County are completely exhausted by a closed system where a tight, interconnected network of local officials makes monumental decisions behind closed doors," she said in a prepared statement sent to Cowboy State Daily. "We filed this petition because public service is supposed to be about the public. If our elected officials refuse to uphold the Wyoming Open Meetings Act and basic ethical boundaries voluntarily, the citizens will use the court system to force that accountability."

Katzl has made many public comments opposing Prometheus Hyperscale’s data center project leading up to the petition filed on Thursday.

“This is a big issue that should be decided by a majority consensus and public discussion,” Katzl wrote in May on a Facebook poll that asked whether people in Evanston Wyoming Happenings are for or against a data center in Uinta County. 

“Are you in favor of having the Prometheus data center built here or not? Right now they cannot because the zoning is wrong for the land where they want to build it. However, a meeting is scheduled for next week to discuss rezoning the land.”

Thursday she posted a message inviting people to come to the Evanston Public Library to sign the petition for administrative review, as well as seeking people concerned about a “massive, 2,500+ bed worker camp (‘man camp’) planned for the 150-acre parcel located immediately adjacent to Bear River State Park.”

“If any of it will affect your life or activities in any way, you are needed,” Katzl wrote. “If you care about protecting our state park, water rights, property values, and community peace, we need your help to keep this fight alive.”

Katzl goes on to explain in her post that the petition is for an administrative appeal, not a trial.

“There are no juries or witness blocks,” she said. “You will not have to stand up in a courtroom. The case is handled almost entirely through written legal paperwork.”

The administrative review will only happen if brought by people directly affected by the decision, Katzl added. That includes nearby landowners or others directly affected by the action.

“By lending your name, you give our community the legal key required to open the courtroom door,” she said. “Without the local landowners (or other affected individuals) listed, the county’s lawyers can get the case thrown out on a minor technicality.”

In a subsequent comment on her post answering a question about timing, Katzl said she had received a number of inquiries from people who want to be involved.

“The landowners who did come to me, no one out there is happy about this,” she said, adding that she planned to start a GoFundMe to assist with filing fees and other expenses associated with the effort.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming Not Built By Scaredy Cats"}]

Not everyone is happy about the opposition to the data center’s construction.

Eric Wyatt, a resident and business owner in Lyman, is among those speaking up for Prometheus Hyperscale.

Wyatt stressed he’s only speaking for himself, as a citizen, but, as someone who has been involved in local economic development efforts, he’s personally aware of how difficult it is to attract new investments to the area.

In his view, the proposed hyperscale data center near Evanston represents a rare chance to diversify an economy that’s long been tied to the boom-and-bust cycles and shrinking traditional industries.

Wyatt doesn’t dismiss the worries raised by opponents to the data center. 

He understands there are questions about land, water, and power use, but he believes that can be mitigated and argues that preserving county heritage doesn’t mean saying “no” to every modern project that comes along.

“Wyoming wasn’t built by people who were scared,” Wyatt said. “It was built by people who took a chance. People who sat there and looked at this area.”

Prometheus has gone through all of the legally required steps, Wyatt added, including some that were not even required, such as the large community forum it sponsored in Evanston

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Well we haven’t heard of this,’ and I have pointed out to people that it’s in the newspaper, it’s on the agendas that the county posts online,” Wyatt added. 

“It’s just people don’t go to any of the public meetings that they’re allowed to…and then they say they haven’t heard of anything that’s happened or is going on, and they think that something’s trying to be fast-tracked around them, but it’s not. They just haven’t been aware of what’s going on.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Not Just A Job"}]

Wyatt has noticed that Prometheus and other contractors involved with the project are making an effort to hire local residents, and that’s something he appreciates.

“It’s not just a job,” Wyatt said. “There’s a family that’s benefitting from that job. It impacts a whole family, whether that family is just a husband and wife or a couple with children. And then that person goes and supports local businesses, because maybe they want a cup of coffee before they go to work. Or maybe they want to go to a movie on the weekend or go out to dinner … That benefits the area.”

The opportunity that data centers present for local jobs in a different sector than energy is something Wyatt believes his community cannot afford to simply pass up.

“I’m on the economic board, and I’m not speaking as a representative of them right now, but we’re constantly trying to find businesses to come to the area,” he said. “And it is a struggle to get businesses to come in. Lyman itself is suffering with decline of business.”

Wyatt has heard the refrain over and over again, “we used to have this, we used to have that.”

“Then when someone comes along, people don’t want it because it might change the fabric of what they’ve become accustomed to,” Wyatt said. 

“But I think Target, Prometheus — and I’ve said it in public meetings — this is a way for us to show the rest of the state and the country how to do this the right way.”

Evanston town hall 5 26 26

<title>Opponents Of Massive Data Center In Uinta County Launch Petition For Court Review | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Opponents of Prometheus Hyerpscale’s massive data center near Evanston are challenging permits and zoning for the project due to fears about water, energy, and land use. Supporters say the project is a rare lifeline for Uinta County’s struggling economy.

Opponents Of Massive Data Center In Uinta County Launch Petition For Court Review

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Protesters will gather on the Wyoming Capitol steps Saturday as Cheyenne joins a nationwide day of demonstrations opposing the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers.

“We’re just being inundated by them,” said M. Lee Hasenauer, a 37-year Cheyenne resident and candidate for Laramie County commissioner.

The Cheyenne rally, planned for 1 p.m., is one of more than 120 protests planned in 41 states, according to Humans First, the conservative advocacy organization behind the nationwide event. More than 50 cities are participating. Cheyenne is the only Wyoming community hosting an organized event.

The group says the demonstrations are being planned because local communities should have greater control over where massive AI data centers are built.

The organization says the protests are intended to "call on local, state and federal politicians to protect our hometowns, our wallets and our way of life."

As artificial intelligence fuels unprecedented demand for computing power, communities across the country are increasingly pushing back against the large facilities needed to support it.

Opponents cite concerns ranging from increased electricity demand and water consumption to traffic, noise, environmental impacts and declining property values. Supporters counter that the facilities are essential to keeping the United States competitive in the global AI race while bringing investment and jobs.

The debate has become particularly heated in Cheyenne, where Microsoft is pursuing multiple data center developments.

[{"type":"text","text":"Petition Drive Planned"}]

Organizers plan to use Saturday’s rally to launch a petition drive aimed at overturning recent City Council actions on roughly 3,200 acres slated for Microsoft data center development. 

They intend to begin collecting signatures Sunday.

The petition seeks to block annexation and rezoning of the land. Organizers have 20 days to gather 3,000 signatures to force a repeal vote.

Organizers will have 20 days to gather the required 3,000 signatures to move forward with a measure to repeal. Hasenauer said he also hopes the signatures would be enough to put the repeal up for a vote by Laramie County residents.

"Our goal is going to be to turn in 5,000 to 6,000 signatures," Hasenauer told Cowboy State Daily.  

Saturday’s protest will be an opportunity to spread the word about the petition, he said, but it will also give disgruntled residents a voice.

"What we'll be doing at the rally is giving people who are so angry a chance to hold up signs and say no to data centers," he said.

Hasenauer argued that major annexation decisions should be decided by voters rather than elected officials.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I want the will of the people,\" he said."}]

Dr. Taylor Haynes, a Cheyenne urologist who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2018, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address. He did not return Cowboy State Daily's call before publication.

[{"type":"text","text":"National Pushback Growing"}]

Saturday's demonstrations come as opposition to hyperscale data centers expands well beyond Wyoming.

Earlier this week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced what state officials described as the nation's first statewide pause on new hyperscale data center approvals. The pause is meant to allow time for regulators to study data centers’ impacts on electric infrastructure, environmental resources and consumer utility costs.

The move drew sharp criticism from Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, who argued in a Cowboy State Daily 

 Thursday that Wyoming should embrace technological growth rather than slow it.

Quoting a saying he attributed to his great-uncle, Gen. George Patton – "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" – Gordon called New York's decision "political faintheartedness."

"America has had enough of 'Build Absolutely Nothing Near Anybody' dogma," Gordon wrote.

Rather than imposing a moratorium, Gordon has argued Wyoming should continue welcoming data center investment while ensuring projects comply with the state's existing laws and regulations.

“Right now, we have far too much wringing of hands, saying no to almost everything, and not enough leading,” he wrote.

[{"type":"text","text":"Different Visions For Wyoming"}]

Hasenauer rejects the notion that opposition to data centers is resistance to progress.

"Protests are driven by common sense," he said, arguing that local officials have stopped listening to residents.

He suggested the industry should pay additional taxes – 15% of all profits – to help fund local infrastructure and emergency services.

[{"type":"text","text":"Modern-Day Luddites"}]

Cowboy State Daily political columnist Rod Miller sees the debate differently.

 in Cowboy State Daily Friday, Miller described data center opponents as modern-day Luddites.

He said he saw a news piece about the national protest online but was not aware that Cheyenne had a place in the national event.

He said he doesn’t have a feel for the traction a protest against data centers could get nationally, but in Wyoming, people are resistant to change.

[{"type":"text","text":"“That’s Wyoming,” he said. “We resist new things.”"}]

In his column, Miller argued that Wyoming has repeatedly benefited from embracing major industrial development while insisting it occur on the state's terms.

He pointed to former Gov. Ed Herschler's "Growth, on our terms" philosophy during Wyoming's energy boom in the 1970s. Miller worked for Herschler for nearly a decade.

"It seems like every new advance in human technology is met with fear, trepidation and pearl-clutching skepticism," Miller wrote.

Still, Miller said legitimate questions remain about how data centers affect Wyoming's electrical grid and water resources.

"We don't want Wyoming ratepayers subsidizing Mark Zuckerberg," Miller told Cowboy State Daily. "We want it to go the other way."

If data centers can pay their own way, comply with Wyoming's water laws and avoid shifting costs onto residents, Miller said, "I've got no problem with them."

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Box Of Rocks\""}]

Miller laughed heartily when told Hasenauer was one of the chief organizers of the event.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He's dumber than a box of rocks,\" Miller said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I wasn't going to go but maybe I will now,\" he said, while laughing."}]

State Rep. Landon Brown (R-Cheyenne) said Hasenaeur's involvement in the protest damages the credibility of the event.

"I think having him as the point person is not a good look for the valid concerns that citizens have with data centers and I think it takes away from the credibility of the effort in general," Brown said.

"I think the voices of Laramie County would be better served with a more rational voice on these matters," he added.

For protesters gathering Saturday in Cheyenne, the immediate goal is less about shaping national AI policy than influencing the future of their own community.

Texas has the most protests planned as part of the national event, with 17. Three protests are planned in Colorado, with two in Montana, two in Nebraska and one in Utah.

Data center protest 7 17 26

<title>Cheyenne To Join National Protest Against Data Centers; Detractors Laugh | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Protesters will gather on the Wyoming Capitol steps Saturday as Cheyenne joins a nationwide day of demonstrations opposing data centers. Organizers say it's a way to protect "our way of life" while detractors lampoon them as "modern-day Luddites."

Cheyenne To Join National Protest Against Data Centers; Detractors Laugh

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

 to bring a 12-year-old Oklahoma girl back to Wyoming has pleaded no-contest to three felony charges, ending the criminal case short of trial and leaving prosecutors free to seek the maximum possible sentence.

Christopher Steven Gravenmier, 31, entered no-contest pleas Wednesday in Lincoln County District Court to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of kidnapping.

Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred and Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Ember Oakley prosecuted the case.

Rather than agreeing to a negotiated prison term, the plea leaves sentencing open, allowing both sides to argue for the punishment they believe is appropriate.

"We're really pleased with this because we can argue up to the maximum," Oakley told Cowboy State Daily. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Sentencing is scheduled for July 29."}]

If the court orders the sentences to run consecutively, Gravenmier faces mandatory prison terms of 25 to 50 years on each of the two first-degree sexual abuse convictions, along with up to 20 years on the kidnapping conviction — a combined maximum of 120 years in prison.

[{"type":"text","text":"No-Contest Plea "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Several other felony counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement."}]

Although a no-contest plea differs procedurally from a guilty plea, it has the same legal effect in a criminal case.

"'No-contest' is legally the same as a guilty plea," Allred said. "No-contest pleas basically mean the defendant does not contest the charges against him, but it acts the exact same way as a guilty plea. He's still convicted of those counts. It's procedural. He says, 'I don't contest those charges,' but it acts the same way as a guilty plea."

By entering the plea, Gravenmier gave up his constitutional right to a trial, and the case now moves directly to sentencing.

[{"type":"text","text":"Taken From Home"}]

 April 22 when the girl, who had been reported missing from Oklahoma days earlier, called her grandmother from a Wyoming gas station and said she had been abducted.

Investigators initially encountered Gravenmier after the girl said she had borrowed his cellphone. But once she was safe, authorities say she identified him as the man who had brought her to Wyoming.

The girl told investigators she had communicated with Gravenmier for months on Snapchat before he drove from Kemmerer to Oklahoma. She alleged he told her he knew where she lived, prompting her to leave home with him because she feared what might happen if she refused.

Prosecutors allege Gravenmier drove the girl back to Wyoming, where he sexually abused her during the trip and after arriving in Kemmerer. Charging documents also allege he threatened her, attempted to prevent anyone from tracking her cellphone and warned her not to report what had happened.

Gravenmier was arrested later that day and charged with multiple felony counts. Several of those charges were dismissed as part of Wednesday's plea agreement.

A Kemmerer man accused of driving 16 hours to Oklahoma to bring a 12-year-old girl back to Wyoming pleaded no-contest to kidnapping and two sex abuse charges and now faces up to 120 years in jail. The affidavit said he told police he was "really sorry."

Daily Darwin: Thursday, February 9, 2023

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