Daily Darwin

[{"type":"text","text":"Somedays it's better to just stay in bed..."}]

Darwin 6 24 23

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Saturday, June 24, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Somedays it's better just to stay in bed...

Daily Darwin: Saturday, June 24, 2023

 Somedays it's better to just stay in bed...

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

As June draws to a close, it has been a lively year for human-bear conflicts, with several people getting attacked, one fatally, and bears being killed, or captured and relocated.

Some observers worry it’s going to get worse if dry conditions push more bears looking for food toward settled areas.

Recently, a woman and her dog were approached and circled by a grizzly bear near Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The woman and dog escaped without harm, 

Similarly, in near Golden, Colorado on June 21, a black bear scratched a woman’s leg, and then 

 for about 30 minutes, despite her shouting and throwing rocks and sticks.

“It just seems to be that left, right and center, things are going on,” said Kim Titchener, president of Bear Safety and More, told Cowboy State Daily.

However, she noted that “20 or 30 years ago, we didn’t have phones with cameras.”

Now sketchy bear encounters are frequently caught on video, such as the woman’s run-in with the grizzly in Alberta, Titchener said.

And the videos blow up on social media, which can create an out-sized perception of problems with bears compared to the past, she added.

Despite recent rainstorms, including in Alberta where Titchener lives, it’s been a dry year overall in many places.

That’s led to questions over how bears’ natural food sources are being affected. And how that, in turn, might drive more conflicts, she said.

“Are there going to be berries (this year)?” she asked.

Regarding the grizzly moving in on the woman and her dog in Alberta, the consensus seems to be that the bear showed great interest in the dog, Titchener said.

In a video the woman took of the encounter, she repeatedly and sternly shouts at the bear, which gets just a few feet a way a couple times but never attacks the dog.

“It (the bear) was absolutely a threat to her and the dog,” Titchener said.

Some have questioned why the woman didn’t carry bear spray.

Spray is highly recommended in bear country, and Titchener said that two her knowledge, the woman has experience living and working around bears.

Apparently that day, “she was just taking her dog for a quick walk” and didn’t think to take her bear spray, Titchener said.

The incident highlights the need to never take for granted when a bear might appear, and being prepared with a defense mechanism, she said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ruckus In Grand Teton"}]

Grant Teton National Park spokeswoman Emily Davis said the uptick in human-bear conflicts in Grand Teton seems to be about a month ahead of schedule this year.

A 3-year-old female black bear was killed by wildlife agents on June 15 because it had been getting human-sourced “food rewards” in the Jenny Lake area, Davis said.

“I’m not sure that anyone was necessarily feeding it” directly, Davis said.

Instead, the bear might have gotten food from unattended backpacks, coolers and the like, Davis said.

The black bear “was approaching people too closely,” so the decision was made to euthanize it, she said.

Heather Reich, a biologist and bear conflict management expert, told Cowboy State Daily that bear activity and conflicts are up across the West, probably because of an abnormally warm winter.

, a breed originally from Finland that specializes in harassing and chasing bears away.

In 2023, the Reichs founded Bear-ier Solutions, based in Nevada.

They were recently called to Grand Teton to drive a young grizzly named Miracle away from the crowded Colter Bay area.

“The dogs gave it a good chase, and I think that was a very novel experience for that little kid (Miracle), Heather said.

However, that still wasn’t enough to convince Miracle to leave the area for good.

 Thursday and relocated to a remote site in the park, the first such relocation in Grand Teton since 2021.

From the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s perspective, it’s essentially been a normal year, large carnivore specialist Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily.

“I feel like things have been steadily busy with bears and conflicts, but nothing necessarily out of the ordinary,” he said.

“There were some higher-profile situations in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks that garner a great deal of media attention but aren't emblematic of conflict potential everywhere,” Thompson said.

Game and Fish works to prevent conflict through education, he said.

“The current dry state of the state is not lost on us, and what it may mean as the summer progresses for conflict potential between bears – black and grizzly – and people, he said.

“But we are prepared to deal with conflicts as necessary and continue our outreach and education across the state to inform the public on ways to reduce the potential for conflict with bears and other wildlife,” Thompson added.

Nobody has been mauled in Grand Teton this year. In May, there were grizzly attacks in Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park in Montana.  

 since 1998 when the body of Florida resident Anthony Pollio, 33, was found May 6 two days after he was reported missing.

His body was found about 50 feet from the trail he’d apparently been hiking.

 when they were attacked by a female grizzly with cubs near Old Faithful in Yellowstone.

A California man, Daniel Crago, said he was 

 by a grizzly before it finally let him go in an attack he sustained late last month in Glacier.

And on May 26, a man running on a trail in British Columbia was attacked by a female black bear with two cubs.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Garbage Raids In Durango"}]

It’s been tough keeping up with bear incidents in Durango, Colorado, and surrounding La Plata County, local resident Bryan Peterson told Cowboy State Daily.

Because of drought, “bears at lower altitudes don’t have anything to eat,” said Peterson, the director of Bear Smart Durango.

“It’s too early for their fall foods to be impacted. I don’t know how great acorn production and berry production is going to be in August,” he said. “Unless we get a ton of rain, July is gong to be super interesting, and this fall could be nuts.” 

Many of the conflicts are driven by bears raiding garbage cans and dumpsters, Peterson said.

There’s been a steady increase of bear conflict reports in Durango and the county over the past five years.

As of June 28, there are 77 reports, he said, compared to 35 on the same date in 2025, 25 in 2024, 40 in 2023, 53 in 2022 and 49 in 2021.

Of the 77 reports, 39 have involved bears getting into trash, Peterson said.

“Those have resulted in two citations and $100 in fines,” he said.

Peterson said that frustrates him because as he sees it authorities should be cracking down on people who leave garbage accessible to bears.

A fatal black bear mauling took place in the area in 2021, he added.

“A woman was out walking her dogs, and what happened (during the attack) nobody knows,” he said.

The attack was thought to involve a female bear with cubs, he said.

“At all the local retail stores, after that incident, their sales of bear spray skyrocketed,” Peterson said.

Bear in dumpster 6 29 26

<title>Human-Bear Conflicts Up Across West Could Signal More Attacks, Removals Coming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It has already been a busy year for human-bear conflicts in Wyoming, Montana and across the West, with people getting mauled and bears being euthanized or relocated. And it could get worse thanks to drought and other factors, some bear observers say.

Human-Bear Conflicts Up Across West Could Signal More Attacks, Removals Coming

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

What first appeared to be an ordinary construction delay on a lonely stretch of highway west of Casper quickly turned into one of the 

 many of those involved had ever witnessed.

By the time emergency crews reached U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58 Friday afternoon, two people were dead, seven others had been injured, and strangers were comforting survivors, checking on children, searching for fire extinguishers and handing out bottled water.

On Monday, the Natrona County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed as James Faris Cox, 74, and Susan Horn Cox, 69, of Golden, Colorado.

"That was my aunt and uncle killed in the wreck Friday," their nephew Lee Wolfe told Cowboy State Daily. "They were on the way to their house in Ennis, MT. They lived in Golden, CO."

[{"type":"text","text":"He said the couple was traveling alone."}]

"It was just my aunt and uncle in their truck, no survivors," he said. "My two cousins and their families were heading up there at a different time thankfully."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi, Multiple Vehicles Involved"}]

The Wyoming Highway Patrol said the crash involved multiple vehicles, including a semi-truck.

"Two confirmed fatalities. Seven injured. Seventeen people involved, two flown by helicopter, the others were taken to Wyoming Medical Center by ambulance," Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Aaron Brown said. "This is still an active investigation." 

As of Monday afternoon, investigators had not released a preliminary cause of the crash, and no criminal charges had been filed.

The Natrona County Coroner's Office said it is investigating the fatalities along with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Natrona County Sheriff's Office.

[{"type":"text","text":"Krista Nethercott of Jackson never saw the crash itself."}]

She had been traveling toward Casper with a neighbor after taking her son to enroll in college when traffic suddenly came to a stop.

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, she assumed the delay was caused by nearby road construction."}]

"There were these pylons on the right-hand side that kind of tell you there's construction," she said. "But there wasn't anything alerting you to slow down. There wasn't a flagger."

After waiting several minutes, she said she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She stepped out of her vehicle and walked toward the front of the traffic backup.

"That's when I could see there were cars on both sides of the road," she said. "I was like, 'Oh my goodness.'"

Nethercott said she immediately ran toward the wreckage to make sure someone had called 911 and to offer whatever help she could.

She said she told him, "I'm a funeral director. I'll help you. I'm not scared to see death." 

Working with another bystander, she checked on the occupants of one of the most severely damaged vehicles — the Coxes' pickup.

"The gentleman was immediately deceased," she said. "The lady probably lived a couple minutes."

[{"type":"text","text":"She said both appeared to have been wearing seat belts."}]

The truck was crushed so badly, she said, that she believed rescuers ultimately would need the jaws of life to remove the couple.

"If the woman had lived longer, I don't think this gentleman and I could have ever taken her out of the vehicle," she said. "That's how crushed it was."

Despite witnessing the aftermath firsthand, Nethercott said she has no idea what caused the collision.

"I don't know if the semi-trailer didn't slow down and ran into people, or if somebody was trying to pass too many vehicles. I couldn't ascertain that at all. It was just mass metal and cars," she said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Before The Sirens"}]

The crash occurred about 45 miles northwest of Casper, and Nethercott estimated it was roughly 30 minutes before ambulances and fire crews reached the scene.

"It seemed like it was a long time to see paramedics," she said. "But considering you're out in the middle of nowhere, I don't think they could have gotten there any quicker."

Long before emergency vehicles arrived, however, strangers had already organized themselves.

Nethercott estimated around 10 people got out of their vehicles and immediately began helping.

One man walked the line of stopped traffic asking whether anyone had a fire extinguisher. Another, who identified himself as working at a pediatric clinic, examined a young child who remained safely strapped into a five-point car seat while the boy's injured father tried to comfort him.

Others brought camping chairs for survivors to sit in while Nethercott handed out bottled water from her vehicle.

"There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used," she said. "Whether it's water, an emergency medical kit or a fire extinguisher."

[{"type":"text","text":"The scene itself was almost impossible to comprehend."}]

"There was debris all over the place," she said. "Food, toilet paper, paper towels ... it looked like somebody had been camping. There was glass everywhere, bumpers everywhere."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'The Wyoming Way'"}]

The Natrona County Fire District described responders arriving to "a very chaotic scene" involving multiple damaged vehicles, a large debris field, numerous victims and a large bystander presence.

The response included firefighters from the Natrona County Fire District, ambulances from Mills Fire Department, Banner Wyoming Medical Center and Evansville Fire/EMS, Wyoming LifeFlight, Guardian Flight, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, WYDOT crews, dispatchers and road construction personnel.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fire officials said 17 people were directly involved in the crash."}]

In a statement, the department singled out the motorists who stopped to help before first responders arrived.

"Crews would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the bystanders who assisted victims immediately after the crash, while waiting for help to arrive, as well as while responders were on-scene, offering shelter during the passing of a thunder cell, emotional support and minor patient care," they wrote. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day.\""}]

Nethercott said, "There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used. They didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do it."

[{"type":"text","text":"The moment she has replayed most, however, involved Susan Cox."}]

Although there was little anyone could do medically, Nethercott said she wanted to make sure the woman did not spend her final moments alone.

"We told her help was coming,” she said. "We don't know what happens when people are unconscious, but we wanted her to know somebody was there."

Only after that did she turn her attention to survivors who still could be saved.

Among those survivors is Kensi Van Patten. A 

 campaign organized on her behalf says she suffered serious injuries in the crash and faces a lengthy recovery while her family copes with mounting medical expenses. 

The fundraiser asks for donations to help with medical costs and lost income during her recovery.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol, Natrona County Sheriff's Office and Natrona County Coroner's Office continue to investigate the crash. 

Double Fatal Crash Go Fund Me 6 29 26

<title>Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An older Colorado couple have been identified as the two people killed in a Friday multi-vehicle crash west of Casper. "We made sure she wasn't alone,” said a Jackson woman who was among those who stopped to help the couple and others hurt in the crash.

Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

In the arena of political criticism, a new political action group has declared war on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Casper-based attorneys Emily Madden and Scott Ortiz co-founded the Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming political action committee (PAC) in March. The PAC has raised six billboards across larger Wyoming towns urging people to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda” and vote in the Aug. 18 primary election.

 against popular conservative ideals like lower taxes, voter ID, protections for female athletes and school choice.

“They never define the ‘agenda’ they oppose because it’s popular,” says a June 4 post by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Former Caucus chair and current member Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, posted 

 Friday saying "(I'm) out here in front of this billboard because the people who put it up seem to

. We love it. It's got our name all over it, and we like talking about our agenda." Bear also listed popular conservative ideals and claimed, "I guess these folks are against all that." 

But the Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming PAC countered, saying the billboards actually criticize more local, more harmful policies - not the national hot-button topics the Freedom Caucus has emphasized for years. 

“They have great national talking points, which is why they were so popular in the first place, but you can't make American First if you leave Wyoming behind,” said Madden in a Monday email. “Gutting funding for schools, police, fire, EMS, hospitals, UW, and the Business Council, that's just saying you don't believe Wyoming's best days are ahead.”

The Wyoming Business Council is a state agency that gives grants and loans to businesses and communities. Its supporters call its work important economic development, and its detractors call it an overgrowth of government. 

“We welcome people to take a look at the website and the videos. We are pro-Wyoming; we believe our best days are still to come,” said Madden.  

[{"type":"text","text":"The Battle Raging On Facebook"}]

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a controversial and populist-leaning group of state House Republicans. It contains 

, but its position often prevails in the 62-member House of Representatives.

Common Sense Republicans’ billboards highlight the divide between the WFC’s more populist faction and other Republicans. That divide has wracked multiple primary election cycles now, as the GOP primary election in August is generally more decisive in deep-red Wyoming, than the general election held in November.

The caucus’ member Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell 

 June 23 to counter the PAC and tout caucus’ members’ support of residential property tax cuts, election security measures, “immigration accountability,” protection of women and girls’ public spaces, and what Hoeft called legislation in defense of the family and the Second Amendment.

“Don’t let the folks that are working in the shadows, chippin’ away at the things that matters to you most,” said Hoeft in his video. 

The PAC fired back in its own series of Facebook videos 

Madden rebutted the suggestion that she and Ortiz are in the “shadows,” and pointed to 

, which identifies Ortiz and Madden, shows a photo of them and shares a mission statement.  

Hoeft had called Freedom Caucus members the elected “grass roots” helping their constituents.

Madden countered, noting that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus receives staffing and help from its national umbrella network, the State Freedom Caucus Network.

[{"type":"text","text":"But First, Who Are These People?"}]

Madden told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday phone interview that she was born and raised in Torrington, Wyoming; graduated from the University of Wyoming law school and cherishes the state deeply.

Both Madden and Ortiz have been registered Republicans since at least 2012 when the Natrona County Clerk’s Office adopted its newest registration system, Clerk Tracy Good confirmed Friday.

“Scott and I got involved because during the 2026 budget session we saw a lot of policies, of the Freedom Caucus, that were detrimental to the Wyoming that we know and love,” said Madden. “For Scott it really hit home with him, with the local services impacted by the property tax cuts.”

The Freedom Caucus, and other Republicans, backed multiple residential property tax cuts and relief laws passed over the past three years. Property taxes fund local communities and public schools.

The cuts have impacted different communities differently. The Carbon County Library System said it took a 53% 

Meanwhile, the state’s wealthiest county, Teton, still funds its services without levying maximum property taxes, and a recent report from the State Board of Equalization concluded that some properties in Teton County benefit disproportionately from a property tax increase cap that the Legislature passed in 2024.

“For me,” Madden continued, “it was the University of Wyoming and the judiciary.”

Freedom Caucus members on the House Appropriations Committee in January advanced a proposed $40 million cut to UW’s state block grant. The full Legislature rejected that proposal.

The committee also held an executive discussion to consider winnowing the Wyoming Supreme Court from five justices to three, 

. Lawmakers did not run legislation about that, however.

“For him and I both, we’re Wyomingites,” said Madden of Ortiz. “And those policies are not supporting or allowing the Wyoming that we grew up in – or that we want to live in – to thrive.”

Ortiz told Cowboy State Daily that he’s been a “Reagan Republican since the ‘80s,” was raised in Wyoming and is a product of the UW law school. 

The Freedom Caucus has called both Ortiz’s and Madden’s GOP credentials into question, calling Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming a “Leftist trial attorney PAC” and pointing to past social media posts by Madden in which Madden indicated support for Democratic candidates.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Ortiz, the “leftist” attorney charge is laughable."}]

“It’s hilarious they call me a leftist attorney,” he said, adding that he’s been representing Wyoming trucking companies, energy companies, and other red-blooded entities around the state. “It ruins their credibility because anybody that knows me would laugh out loud.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Ortiz said his daughter has, in fact, laughed at the charge. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“She doesn’t even think I’m a moderate,” he said."}]

“I love that once we point out you can be a conservative Republican and totally disagree with everything the Freedom Caucus is doing, they just resort to name-calling,” Ortiz added.

[{"type":"text","text":"In The Past…"}]

Regarding Madden, WFC Chair Rachel Williams, also known as Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, sent Cowboy State Daily a statement calling Madden a supporter of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The State Freedom Caucus’ Network’s Wyoming director Jessie Rubino, who has also coordinated floor maneuvers with Freedom Caucus members, sent the statement on Williams’ behalf.

“She’s free to support these people of course, but proves that she’s out of step with the majority of Wyomingites and should raise questions about her self-proclaimed label as a ‘common sense republican,’” says the statement.

In response, Madden said in a Friday email: “This election is about what is happening to Wyoming today. Wyoming’s biggest threat is not a democratic candidate who lost. It’s the Freedom Caucus.”

The PAC does not focus on federal or presidential races; only state races.  

Madden said she’s excited to engage with anyone about her opposition to the caucus, and to discuss policies and issues directly impacting Wyoming.

“And that includes the Freedom Caucus policies that threaten the future of our state,” she added.

“I hope that someday the Freedom Caucus will stop with the ideological purity tests and talk about real laws and the real consequences of their policies,” Madden added.

Rubino sent Cowboy State Daily screenshots showing what appear to be posts by or involving Madden, in support of national Democratic candidates. 

“Throwback to inauguration 2016 when I got a bunch of tickets because we thought Hillary would win,” says the caption under a photograph of Madden and another woman, reposted under Madden’s Instagram handle.

Another photograph depicted under Madden’s Instagram handle shows a KTLA5 News shot of former President Joe Biden clasping Vice President Kamala Harris’ fist overhead, as if in victory.

Another post shows a meme which casts arguing with Trump supporters as irrational.

As of Monday, Cowboy State Daily has not gained viewing access to Madden’s Instagram account.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus touted the tenets of its agenda again in Rubino’s Friday text-message copy of Williams’ statement.

“Representative Hoeft’s response speaks for itself. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus believes in robust public debate in furtherance of the truth, especially during election season,” says Williams’ statement. “In fact, the caucus welcomes more billboards like these – we see them as invitations to showcase our ‘agenda,’ one that is popular with 80% of Wyoming Republicans, and includes tax relief, election integrity, and keeping illegal aliens off our highways.”

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus has backed these measures. But it hasn’t spearheaded all of them nor carried them all alone.

[{"type":"text","text":"Property tax relief became a hot-button issue starting in about 2021."}]

A new political group called the 'Common Sense Republicans' have erected six billboards urging voters to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda." Rep. John Bear, a well-known member of the Freedom Caucus, says he "loves" the billboards.

Daily Darwin: Saturday, June 24, 2023

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