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[{"type":"text","text":"Worth the watch..."}]

You still here 11 22 23

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

<title>You Still Here? Wednesday, November 22, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Worth the watch...

You Still Here? Wednesday, November 22, 2023

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Native American Tribes

Eastern Shoshone Tribal leaders on Friday voiced agreement with a directive of the Northern Arapaho Business Council that outsiders can’t conduct “recurring ministries” on the reservation without authorization.

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s statement follows more than three weeks of bitter controversy over a pastor who 

Foundations For Nations Pastor Sarah Lucas delivered that message July 5 in the church, which sits on private land within the Wind River Indian Reservation’s exterior boundaries. 

She had preached that “a pipe cannot hear your prayers” and “we know that Jesus is enough,” to a congregation containing several Northern Arapaho tribal members — and as the tribe finished its Sundance ceremony.

Foundations for Nations sits on the more Arapaho-concentrated side of the two-tribe Wind River Indian Reservation. Numerous Arapaho tribal members erupted into fury at the message, saying Lucas had condemned and misunderstood their traditional ways.

On Friday, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Facebook page published an unsigned letter under the tribe’s letterhead, voicing solidarity with 

“The Eastern Shoshone Tribe has both the responsibility and the authority to protect the health, welfare, cultural identity, governmental integrity, and traditional ways of life of the Eastern Shoshone people,” says the letter. 

“Therefore, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe calls on the Foundation for Nations church and any affiliated representatives to immediately stop all efforts directed at persuading Native children and families to reject traditional practices," it adds.

The letter urges the church to “engage in governmental consultation and authorization directly with the Eastern Shoshone Business Council (ESBC) before continuing or expanding any recurring ministry activities, especially where it concerns tribal member children.” 

It says the tribe is adopting a co-existing policy requiring outside organizations seeking to conduct 

recurring ministries, charitable services, outreach programs, or other organized activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe to consult with and seek government authorization from the tribe first. 

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s unclear if that move is lawful. "}]

The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 subjects tribal governments to First Amendment restraints, to protect people’s religious and speech rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not found an inherent right of tribes to regulate non-Indians on private lands within reservations, but it’s made two exceptions to that rule.

Those are: When the nonmembers enter consensual relationships with the tribe or its members; or when the non-Indians’ conduct threatens the tribe’s political integrity, economic security or health and welfare.

“It is a profound abuse of trust for any outside institution to be welcomed onto the Reservation, endear itself to our community, and then use that access to insult, diminish, or erase the people who offered that welcome,” the letter says. “Hospitality must not be repaid with contempt. 

"No organization should enter tribal communities under the appearance of service or fellowship while working to culturally cleanse tribal members of their ceremonies, teachings, or spiritual identity.”

Lucas told Cowboy State Daily in a past interview that she is sorry the message came off as an attack, but not sorry for preaching from the Bible.

The letter says the Eastern Shoshone Tribe “respects the individual constitutional rights of all people to practice their faith” but finds troubling the “use of religious expression as a cover for targeted efforts to undermine coexisting beliefs.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Lucas did not return a request for comment by publication."}]

Meanwhile, controversy between Arapaho members and Foundations for Nations continues.

A protest outside the church Sunday grew from about a dozen tribal members to more than 20 during the service. U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs vehicles sat, lights on, on roadsides at both ends of the protest.

Alice Thomas organized the protest, and told Cowboy State Daily that she had called BIA for standby and informed the Fremont County Sheriff of the protest.

[{"type":"text","text":"Thomas said her issue isn’t with the whole church, it’s with Lucas."}]

“I’m personally protesting Sarah Lucas, and for the blatant disrespect that she had for our people, and our traditions,” said Thomas.

Thomas said she’s also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and hasn’t been told “by any of the higher-ups” that the tribal traditions clash with God.

Within the church that day, Lucas gave an anecdote that would later spark more consternation.

“We were in prayer Friday night as a team,” began Lucas, according to the church’s YouTube 

. “Somebody had said in that prayer meeting — and I’m not saying this to boast in any kind of way about who I am — the Lord had said to one of the people: ‘For God so loved the reservation, that they sent Sarah.’ And that spoke to my heart.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Lucas went on to say that she loves the community."}]

The comment appears to be a reprise of the famous Gospel verse John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Darci Quiver, Thomas’ sister, delivered a strongly-worded critique of Lucas’ anecdote.

“Sarah has No Respect for God or herself,” said Quiver in a Friday message to Cowboy State Daily. “Blasphemy comes to mind. Her opinion of herself is high as if she sits at Gods (sic) side. Even if she didn’t say it she repeated it. 

"She’s boasting because she loves the attention. Mocking her own faith. Sarah doesn’t speak for God.”

Regarding the Shoshone Tribe’s letter and Quiver’s criticism, Lucas declined Friday to comment to Cowboy State Daily.

Lucas had declined to allow Cowboy State Daily to report on the church service Sunday, citing the advice of her attorney.

She told congregants that Andrew Wommack Ministries was in the church filming that day.

In the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the flat pipe is associated with the Creator, and some sun dance rituals center on the pipe and treat it as a sacred object.

Cowboy State Daily has received conflicting statements from tribal members on whether they pray to the pipe, or through it.

[{"type":"text","text":"Another Battle"}]

The Eastern Shoshone Business Council that was regularly elected is in a court battle to retain authority, as the Shoshone General Council — a democratic gathering of adult tribal members — voted in January to oust them and replace them with Wade LeBeau and other new governors.

LeBeau confirmed Friday to Cowboy State Daily that the legal battle between the council he leads and the one he calls the “ousted” is ongoing.

He also said the “ousted” are beyond their authority by taking legislative action as an executive branch, and is in violation of a court order commanding them not to act as the ESBC during the ongoing challenge.

The panel’s spokeswoman did not respond by publication to an email request for responses to those statements.

As for the order itself, LeBeau said, “It’s against constitutional law. They’re violating the constitutional rights of these people.”

LeBeau theorized that the Northern Arapaho tribal leaders urged the Shoshone panel to enter the controversy so that the Arapaho have more legal grounds.

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe won the Wind River region via 

. LeBeau has long said the Arapaho don’t have treaty rights to the region.

Foundations for nations 7 21 26

<title>Shoshone Join Arapaho In Telling Church To Stop Preaching Against Tribal Beliefs | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Eastern Shoshone leaders on Friday voiced agreement with the Northern Arapaho Business Council in telling a church to stop preaching against tribal beliefs. Outsiders can’t hold “recurring ministries” on the reservation without approval, the tribe says.

Shoshone Join Arapaho In Telling Church To Stop Preaching Against Tribal Beliefs

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Agriculture

an eastern Wyoming irrigation district warned

 that irrigation water for its ranchers and farmers could disappear by early August, that prediction is becoming reality.

The Pathfinder Irrigation District announced Thursday that its main Interstate Canal will shut down Aug. 7 because of historically low water supplies, ending an already abbreviated irrigation season for farmers and ranchers across eastern Wyoming and the Nebraska Panhandle.

The district operates an extensive canal system that diverts water from the North Platte River at Whalen Dam, delivering irrigation to more than 100,000 acres of farmland. That water originates in Pathfinder Reservoir southwest of Casper.

For district supervisor Rick Miller, the early shutdown came sooner than even he expected.

"I tend to be conservative when I give estimates," Miller told Cowboy State Daily. "Even being conservative, I didn't think we'd be shutting it off by Aug. 7.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Our loss has just been tremendous this year,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Season Unlike Any Other"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The district has been hit by a one-two punch this year."}]

An exceptionally dry winter produced the worst recorded peak snowpack in the upper North Platte Basin — the source of roughly 75% of the North Platte River's water — according to George Finnegan, North Platte water scheduler and civil engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation.

Then, on June 8, a severe storm damaged multiple sections of one of Pathfinder's canals, delaying water deliveries while repairs were completed.

Instead of beginning irrigation in April as it typically does, the district didn't start delivering water until June.

[{"type":"text","text":"Since then, every drop has counted."}]

"The evaporation and the seepage means we just couldn't gain anything," Miller said.

Seepage occurs when parched ground swallows the water before the water reaches intended farm or ranch land.

Compounding the problem, drought conditions have fueled vegetation growth inside canals, making it even harder to move limited water efficiently through the system.

The drought has brought weeds, Miller said, which further interferes with getting the water where it needs to go.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Drought Felt Differently Across Wyoming"}]

Water shortages vary widely across Wyoming depending on geography, said Gail Whitman, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Irrigation Districts.

Districts west of the Continental Divide operate under different hydrologic conditions than those drawing from the North Platte system in eastern Wyoming.

The North Platte feeds Pathfinder, Alcova and Seminoe reservoirs before supplying irrigation districts from Natrona County east to Goshen County. Each district receives a predetermined allocation from those storage reservoirs.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Water conservation is a huge concern,\" Whitman said."}]

The Wyoming Association of Irrigation Districts, formed in 2023, now represents districts in nine counties encompassing more than 482,000 irrigated acres and over 10,000 water users.

The Wheatland Irrigation District typically enjoys a 90- to 100-day water delivery season.

[{"type":"text","text":"This year, the season lasted two weeks, from mid-May to June 1."}]

“It was terrible,” district director Nathan Graves said.

[{"type":"text","text":"The district allotted a scant .15 feet of water per acre."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“We get more from the sky than we can give, almost,” Graves said."}]

The delivery season was by far the worst since 2002, he said. That year, the district had just 18 days of water delivery.

Graves said producers knew months ago this would be an extraordinarily difficult year.

Some still planted corn, knowing they likely wouldn't harvest a full grain crop.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, many will chop the drought-stressed corn for cattle feed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Yields will be way down,\" Graves said."}]

With the irrigation water soon to dry up, many farmers and ranchers will lease water from other users who aren’t planting this year, Miller said. Most who have planted also rely on supplemental wells.

Graves added that ranchers will move their stock to where the water is. Herd numbers are way down, however, 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Relief Came, But Not Enough"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"On July 11, an annual silt run provided relief."}]

During the silt run, water is released through reservoirs at higher flows to stir up and carry sediment downstream. As the silt settles into canal bottoms and banks, it reduces seepage losses.

This year, the silt run increased the canal’s water supply from 14 feet to 240 feet, Miller said.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It helped tremendously this year,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Even so, the improvement wasn't enough to lengthen the irrigation season."}]

The Pathfinder district considered leasing additional water but decided against it.

"The amount we'd have had to lease wouldn't have been enough to finish growing a crop in Wyoming," Miller said, noting leased water also comes with a hefty price tag.

With irrigation water about to disappear, many producers are scrambling to finish the season.

Some farmers will lease water from neighbors who chose not to plant crops this year, Miller said. Others will rely on supplemental irrigation wells where available.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Reservoir Continues To Fall"}]

The Pathfinder Reservoir, just under 24% full three weeks ago, now sits at 18.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Despite the grim conditions, Miller praised the district's irrigators for stretching every available gallon.

"This is their livelihood," he said. "They've been so workable. They've got to be frustrated. They've done their very best."

[{"type":"text","text":"The district echoed that sentiment in Thursday's announcement."}]

"Our water users have demonstrated exceptional cooperation, patience and responsible water management," the statement said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hoping This Year Is An Exception"}]

Nearly all of Wyoming remains in drought after the state's fifth-driest winter since records began in 1895. About 46% of the state is currently classified in extreme drought.

“I don’t know that people could sustain another year like this,” Graves said.

The Pathfinder Irrigation District called the 2026 irrigation season one of the most difficult in its history because of the exceptionally limited water supply.

Still, district leaders are hoping the historic conditions prove temporary.

"We remain hopeful that this is a one-year event and look forward to more favorable water conditions in the future," the district said.

Sugar Beet harvest 7 31 26

<title>Historic Drought Ends Irrigation Season Early For Eastern Wyoming Farmers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Pathfinder Irrigation District will shut off its main canal next week after record-low snowpack and historic drought have left too little water to finish the growing season in eastern Wyoming. Around Wheatland, users had just 14 days of water.

Historic Drought Ends Irrigation Season Early For Eastern Wyoming Farmers

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Public Lands

Horse advocates are alleging that the Bureau of Land Management rushed rounded-up mustangs through holding corrals near Lander and sent them to dealers who subsequently sold them for slaughter.

Oregon-based Skydog Sanctuary has filed a complaint with the BLM. The group alleges the horses passed through the Lander Public Off-Range Pasture, also known as the Wind River Ranch, before they were sent to dealers in other states and sold for slaughter. 

The BLM confirmed it sends horses to the Wind River 

"We do have a contract with that sanctuary, which is authorized to offer horses for adoption and direct sale,” BLM spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman said in an email to Cowboy State Dai

Groups of horses, totaling 24 animals, arrived at the pasture in May and July. The Wind River Ranch is supposed to be a “long-term care” facility for mustangs rounded up off the range in Wyoming and other states, according to Skydog

But the horses were quickly sent to a dealer in Colorado, with no public notice of sale, Skydog claims.

“The horses whose sales were recorded were sold the same day as they arrived at Lander, indicating that the buyers were aware in advance that they were arriving,” according to Skydog.

Among those horses was at least one from Wyoming’s Salt Wells Creek herd, according to Skydog. That herd includes rare curly-haired mustangs.

“Nothing is as magnificent as the curlies that come out of Wyoming and the Salt Wells Creek herd,” Skydog founder Clare Staples told Cowboy State Daily.

She’s adopted several Wyoming mustangs, which live on her 9,000-acre horse and burro sanctuary near Bend, Oregon.

Staples said the latest complaint is the eighth Skydog and other wild-horse advocates have filed against the BLM recently.

However, the latest allegations stand out because of the status of the Wind River Ranch.

“This was unusual, because that’s supposed to be a semi-sanctuary facility,” she said. “Having the horses allegedly moved through so quickly and snatched up by one buyer really isn’t normal, like anything we’ve ever seen.” 

She also noted that some of the horses allegedly later sold for slaughter were young and healthy.

“Horses that absolutely could find some wonderful homes, but they’re not being offered a chance,” she said.

Wild-horse advocate Suzanne Roy told Cowboy State Daily the complaint claims the BLM broke its own rules by sending horses to a dealer known to sell horses for slaughter.

Advocates contend the BLM is not to knowingly send horses to slaughter or knowingly send or sell them to dealers who might do so, said Roy, founder of American Wild Horse Conservation based in Davis, California.

There are no longer any horse-slaughter plants in the United States, so horses are shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico.

There is an overseas market for horse meat. Belgian chef Alfons Gulickx previously told Cowboy State Daily 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Continuous Check-Ins'"}]

Whiteman said the BLM prioritizes getting mustangs adopted

Adopted horses’ titles remain with the BLM for a year, during which time the agency conducts “continuous check-ins” to ensure the horses are well-cared for before the title is transferred to the new owner.

Even when horses can’t be adopted, the BLM looks out for their welfare, Whitman said. 

"A horse may only be offered for direct sale after it has been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times. With a direct sale comes an agreement where the buyer agrees they intend to keep the horse humanely, then a transfer of title,” she wrote. "BLM ensures all adopted and sold wild horses have met these conditions, and we investigate any complaints that come to us. After a horse's transfer of title, it is no longer under our jurisdiction. However, we do look into complaints regarding buyers or adopters potentially breaching the terms of their contract.” 

Those who have concerns about the fate of mustangs should contact the BLM directly, Whiteman said. 

"Our law enforcement and wild horse and burro specialist staff investigate these complaints thoroughly and seriously,” she wrote. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Tip Of The Iceberg’"}]

As a method of population control, the BLM frequently rounds up mustangs in Wyoming and other states.

The agency’s mission should be to adopt those horses out to people who will give them good homes, Roy said.

However, she said she thinks the agency is moving away from that and toward funneling horses to slaughter dealers.

“They don’t call them ‘adoption events’ anymore. They call them ‘placement events,’” she said.

“We’ve tracked large groups of horses going straight from events to ‘kill pens,’ where they’re sold for slaughter,” she said.

Advocates claim about 320 horses have been sent to kill pens across the country, Roy said.

“That’s probably just the tip of the iceberg,” she added.

According to Skydog, Wyoming mustangs that have allegedly gone to kill pens include:

• A 7-year-old gelding from the White Mountain herd, sold at a kill pen in Oklahoma on June 22.

• A 5-year-old mare from the Steward Creek herd, sold May 30 in Colorado.

• A 4-year-old gelding from the Salt Wells Creek herd, sold May 8 in Texas.

• An 8-year-old mare from the Divide Basin herd, sold in Oklahoma on March 25.

Wild horses 7 31 26

<title>Mustang Advocates Claim BLM Funneled Wyoming Wild Horses To Dealer For Slaughter | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Mustang advocates are alleging that horses were funneled from a Bureau of Land Management holding facility near Lander to dealers in other states, who subsequently sold them for slaughter. A BLM spokesperson says the agency prioritizes adoption.

Mustang Advocates Claim BLM Funneled Wyoming Wild Horses To Dealer For Slaughter

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man wanted on 78 felony child exploitation charges was arrested Tuesday while working at a Saratoga sawmill, where authorities say he had been living and working for about five weeks before investigators tracked him to Carbon County.

Joshua Frasier, born in 1982, was taken into custody without incident after Saratoga Police Chief John Moore received a call from a Montrose County, Colorado, investigator around 12:30 p.m.

The investigator told Moore authorities received information that Frasier was working at Saratoga Forest Management, a sawmill on the south side of town.

Moore confirmed the felony warrant, obtained Frasier's driver's license photograph and asked a Carbon County Sheriff's Office deputy to assist with the arrest.

About 50 minutes later, the officers arrived at the mill and arrested Frasier while he was on the job.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He was cooperative through the arrest,\" Moore told Cowboy State Daily."}]

Frasier was transported to the Carbon County Detention Center, where he was booked on the Colorado warrant.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Living At Campground"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A warrant for Frasier's arrest was issued July 10 in Montrose County."}]

During the arrest, Frasier told officers he had been in the Saratoga area for about five weeks and had been staying at the Saratoga Lake Campground, Moore said.

Frasier also told officers they had previously gone to his parents' home in Montrose looking for him. According to Moore, Frasier said he believed that visit was related to a family-services matter and did not appear to know a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

According to court records, Frasier is charged with 50 counts of procurement of a child for sexual exploitation and 28 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Colorado law defines procurement of a child for sexual exploitation as "causing, inducing, enticing or permitting a child to engage in sexually exploitative conduct for the production of sexually exploitative material."

The charging documents filed in Wyoming do not describe the allegations supporting the case.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Waived Extradition"}]

Frasier appeared Wednesday in Carbon County Circuit Court, where he waived his extradition hearing.

By waiving extradition, Frasier agreed to return to Colorado without contesting the transfer in Wyoming court.

Colorado authorities now have 10 days to take custody of him and transport him back to Montrose County to face the charges.

Cowboy State Daily sought the arrest affidavit and other investigative records to learn more about the allegations in the Colorado case.

The Montrose County courthouse said the affidavit could only be obtained in person.

Ed Thompson, records supervisor for the Montrose County Sheriff's Office, declined to release investigative records, telling Cowboy State Daily the agency does not release documents that "may hinder a case getting prosecuted."

As a result, the allegations underlying the 78 felony charges were not immediately available Friday.

A comment from the Montrose County District Attorney's Office was not returned. 

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