One More For The Road

Excited to have purchased a new RV, Bill Sniffin -- unfortunately -- attempts a U-turn on a bridge...

One more for 12 15 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Friday, December 15, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

One More For The Road: Friday, December 15, 2023

 Excited to have purchased a new RV, Bill Sniffin -- unfortunately -- attempts a U-turn on a bridge...

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, August 12th.  I’m 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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U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner on Tuesday called for the defeat of "Freedom Caucus losers." Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Rep. John Bear, a prominent member of the group, had a harsh rebuke, saying Rasner is a "failed career candidate who has brought division, dysfunction and political games to our state.”

“Reid Rasner came out strong on Tuesday, basically calling for Wyomingites to defeat the Freedom Caucus at the upcoming August 18th election, and in response, Representative John Bear had strong words back for him, and when I was doing research on this, and I wondered how the other House candidates, U.S. House candidates, feel about the state-level Freedom Caucus, and I found pretty much widespread disapproval. Secretary Gray, who is endorsed by the caucus, did not comment by publication. The other candidates I interviewed all voiced disapproval.”

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a controversial group of Republicans in the state House of Representatives. Proponents praise the caucus for proposing bold reductions to the state budget and efforts to pass socially conservative policies into law. Opponents accuse it of over-relying on its national network and advancing sloppy or generic legislation.

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The Weiser Knoll fire near Lander has exploded to be Wyoming's largest wildfire with 0% containment on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the fire started by an overheated wheel bearing on Highway 28 on Sunday.

“It's up to over 16,500 acres. Still 0% contained, about 200 personnel involved, and I talked to some townspeople in Lander, then a couple of ranchers told me they've seen slurry bombers and helicopters out there and the BLM confirms that they have been dropping water and fire retardant on it as well as having crews fight it on the ground, so it's kind of all hands on deck response at this point.”

According to state and federal fire agency reports, the fire was sparked at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday on Highway 28 about 13 miles southeast of Lander. The overheated bearing caused three initial fires to spring up alongside the road at a spot known as Johnnie Lee’s Corner, according to reports. 

The Big Horn County Coroner's Office is reopening the cold case of a man found floating in the Greybull River near Basin in 1973. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that investigators still don't know the man’s name or how he died, but have released photos of what are thought to be his belongings.

“The coroner's office did not reveal why they are choosing to reopen this case now, but they are saying the circumstances of John Doe's death are suspicious and could have been a homicide. Authorities are saying that the man had brown hair, brown eyes, and a reddish mustache. He was around five feet six inches tall, and an estimated 150 to 160 pounds. The coroner's office said they are considering DNA testing as a last option, but the items that were found have been handled so much in the past 50 years that the DNA is likely eroded. The coroner's office said that they are also considering exhuming the body, which is buried at the Basin Cemetery.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Big Horn County Coroner’s Office.

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At the school board meeting in Rock Springs on Monday night, a parent presented the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees with a petition calling for Cole Wright's removal as board chair. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports the petition was signed by 105 people.

“Cherell O’Driscoll says that school board chair Cole Wright has violated the district's ethics policies, committed open meeting violations, and behaved unprofessionally. At Monday's board meeting, Odrisco presented to the board a petition with over 100 signatures asking for the school board chair's dismissal of his position as chair, she made it clear that she doesn't necessarily she's not pushing for him to be off the board entirely, just that she doesn't believe he's doing his job as the chair. The Goldwater Institute, a think tank that represents individuals' First Amendment rights, got involved when O'Driscoll reached out asking for legal advice. They have said that the Sweetwater County School District is misusing its recently revised public comment policy to quote unconstitutionally silence critics.”

According to Parker Jackson, an attorney at the Goldwater Institute, the district faces possible litigation if it does not fix the alleged violations. That could mean lawsuits in state or federal court – or both – based on violations of the First Amendment and state law.

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

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Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

A crowd gathered in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley on Monday as three rangers used kitchen knives to dismember a bison carcass. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that a tour guide said, “They opened up her belly and backside to expose more flesh and blood for the predators to smell.”

“There wasn't an easy way to haul it out of that spot, so three people with the bear management team went out there with seven-inch kitchen knives, and they dismembered it. They cut off all the legs and dragged them away, and then they opened up the back, the belly, and the backside so that it would attract more predators. People who enjoy watching what happens at carcasses get the experience of seeing the grizzlies and the wolves and other animals show up to enjoy the free meal.”

Within 30 minutes, the bison had been butchered, and the three bear management men were back at their vehicles.

A woman was hospitalized Monday after a presumed black bear attacked her while hiking with her dogs near Teton Pass. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Game and Fish officials, who closed the trail, described the incident as a "defensive encounter."

“Apparently, it was a classic surprise at close range sort of thing. There's been bears and it's cropping up all over. We just had that incident, or I guess a couple of incidents in the Bighorn Mountains with a black bear. The game and fish ended up killing that black bear because it had already torn up one camp, and then it just kept coming into another camp.”

In a statement, Game and Fish says the unidentified woman was well-prepared and successfully deployed bear spray during the incident. Following the encounter, she was able to walk back to the trailhead and was subsequently treated at a local hospital for her injuries.

A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 100-mph chase that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that investigators found fake urine and a sex toy in the wreckage.

“The case of a Colorado man who is being accused of a 100 mile per hour car chase that ended in a crash, and the death of one of his passengers on july 23 is now advancing. James Moore's case is being bound over to district court, but one of the charges is not. a second degree murder charge is not going to be bound over. For now Moore is being held at the Laramie County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond. His next court appearance will be for an arraignment.”

James K. Moore, born in 1999, now faces aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, along with property destruction, two aggravated fleeing charges, reckless driving and a taillight violation in connection with the July 23rd crash south of Cheyenne.

Long before he built his cabin in Savery, Jim Baker led two dozen men in an 1841 fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that now his far-flung descendants and a tiny museum are fighting time, money, and rotten logs to save the frontier scout’s last home.

“This guy was every bit the equal of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, people whose names we know. You say Jim Baker outside of Wyoming, and people are like Jim Baker who? They don't know him, and it's not because he didn't do legendary things. Jim Baker survived not just a grizzly bear attack, but an attack by two grizzly bears at once. And you know, the Battle Mountain is named Battle Mountain and Savory is named that because of a fight Jim Baker led him and 24 scouts based on hundreds of Indians.”

Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons tells Cowboy State Daily that members of HistoriCorps and other volunteers in the Savery area spent last summer hand-hewing cottonwood logs to replace water-damaged logs at the cabin. But, the work is not finished.

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

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

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

News image 8 12 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wednesday's headlines include:
* Rasner Calls Freedom Caucus ‘Losers’
* Lander-Area Fire Grows To Over 16K Acres
* Black Bear Attack Leaves Woman Hospitalized

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Chance of rain, partly to mostly cloudy, areas of smoke in Wyoming on Wednesday. A chance of rain overnight. Highs from the mid 70s to low 90s. Lows from the mid 40s to low 60s.

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Slight chance of rain, areas of smoke, mostly cloudy today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, areas of smoke before midnight, a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., areas of smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 86 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, areas of smoke before midnight and a low near 58.

  Slight chance of rain, patchy smoke, mostly cloudy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 10 p.m., areas of smoke before midnight and a low near 54.

  Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 79 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 50.

   Chance of rain mainly after 4 p.m., patchy smoke, partly sunny today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight, a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

 Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 4 p.m., becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, widespread smoke mainly before midnight, a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Chance of rain, areas of smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 77 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 48.

 Rain likely, patchy smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 81 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 48.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., patchy smoke, gradually clearing today with a high near 78 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 47.

 Chance of rain, areas of smoke, mostly cloudy today with a high near 76 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 49.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., widespread smoke mainly before 10 a.m., gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 47.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Widespread smoke mainly before 8 a.m., gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 76 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight and a low near 41.

Chance of rain, areas of smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain, areas of smoke before midnight and a low near 59.

:  Slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., widespread smoke mainly before 2 p.m., gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 7 p.m., areas of smoke before midnight, a low near 57 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

  Chance of rain before 11 a.m., widespread smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain, areas of smoke before midnight, a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

   Chance of rain, areas of smoke, mostly cloudy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, areas of smoke before midnight, a low near 60 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

   Chance of rain mainly after noon, patchy smoke, mostly cloudy today with a high near 87 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before midnight, areas of fog after midnight and a low near 56.

:   Chance of rain after noon, patchy smoke, gradually becoming mostly sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke, areas of fog after midnight and a low near 56.

Chance of rain, areas of smoke before noon, mostly cloudy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 56 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

   Chance of rain after noon, areas of smoke before noon, becoming cloudy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

:  Chance of rain after noon, areas of smoke before noon, mostly cloudy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 55 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., partly sunny, breezy and hot today with a high near 92 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Increasing clouds and breezy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 59 and wind from 15-20 mph before midnight.

   Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., mostly cloudy and hot today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

  Chance of rain after noon, areas of smoke before noon, mostly cloudy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 56 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

   Chance of rain after noon, mostly cloudy today with a high near 88 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 57.

  Chance of rain after noon, mostly cloudy and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before midnight and a low near 52.

  Chance of rain after noon, otherwise partly sunny and hot today with a high near 91 and mostly cloudy overnight with rain likely and a low near 57.

   Partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 85 and afternoon wind from 15-20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before midnight and a low near 56.

   Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., becoming cloudy today with a high near 81 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain and a low near 51.

   Chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 50.

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<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

An elk calf made a decision that could have been fatal by ignoring a wildlife-friendly panel on a ranch fence and trying to plow through the middle of another section, only to become hopelessly entangled.

Luckily for the calf, the ranch hand and his wife were out for a walk and found the calf in time to free it. 

Apparently wiser after its near-fatal mishap, the calf scrambled toward the crossing panel and leapt over it to freedom. 

The ranch hand, Logan Wilson, told Cowboy State Daily that as far as he’s concerned, freeing the calf was just part of his job. 

“We care about all of the wildlife living out here,” he said.

Wilson is a former resident of Buffalo and frequently hunted mountain lions in the Big Horn Mountains. He’s since moved to the Diamond Cross Ranch near Birney in southeast Montana. 

The ranch is in prime wildlife habitat, with ample numbers of elk and deer. 

Wilson said he and his wife were “going on a daybreak walk” when they happened upon the calf. Its back legs were entangled in fence wire, and it was squealing loudly. 

“That sucker was caught. It wasn’t going anywhere,” he said. 

While his wife took video, Wilson went about freeing the calf. 

He started by placing a jacket over its eyes to calm it. 

That’s an effective tactic. Wildlife researchers frequently blindfold animals to keep them calm during field examinations or transport by helicopter. 

Willson freed the calf in short order. Once it got its feet underneath it, the calf took off running. 

This time, in the right direction, toward the panel designed to help elk cross the fence safely. 

“It’s a panel with a ramp on the elk side (outside of the field) to assist herds in crossing," he said. 

The ranch installed the elk crossing panels to help ease some pressure on the fence and to protect elk. 

“The elk go into the fields at night and back out in the morning,” Wilson said. 

Most of the time the herd funnels toward crossing panels. But not always. 

“We had a bull caught in the fence once. A big bull, but we got him out,” Wilson said. 

It’s kind of chaos when a herd of elk get to a fence and they get all balled up,” he said. 

“They can tear up the fences and eat the hay crops,” Wilson said. “It’s a constant thing; we have to follow around and fix fences behind the elk.” 

Wilson said he doesn’t resent that at all. 

He loves seeing the elk, “and they bring in a lot of revenue” from hunters and outfitters given permission to hunt on the ranch, he said. 

Wildlife-friendly fencing has been a boon for game herds across Wyoming and the West, biologist Kevin Monteith told Cowboy State Daily. 

Fences can be built in several ways to make them safer for wildlife. That might include smooth lower wires to allow pronghorn to crawl under. Or upper wires strung at heights that allow deer to jump over, said Monteith, a biologist with the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming.

“Anything that can enhance the freedom of movement” helps herds find the best habitat and migration routes, Monteith said. 

The calf getting stuck in the middle wires of a fence sounds typical, he said. 

“Especially when they’re young like that, they try to pass through the middle of fences,” he said. 

Elk calf 3 8 11 26

<title>Hooray! Ranch Hand Rescues Squealing Elk Calf Entangled In Barbed Wire | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An elk calf got entangled in barbed wire over the weekend at a ranch in southern Montana but thankfully a ranch hand from Buffalo, Wyoming, heard it squealing and rescued it. “We care about all of the wildlife living out here,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

Hooray! Ranch Hand Rescues Squealing Elk Calf Entangled In Barbed Wire

Wildlife

A woman suffered “non-life-threatening” injuries Monday when she was attacked by a black bear while hiking with her dogs on a trail near Jackson, officials reported. 

The incident resulted from “a surprise encounter with a presumed black bear with at least one cub" on the History Trail on Teton Pass, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

“She was well-prepared and successfully deployed bear spray during the incident. Following the encounter, she was able to walk back to the trailhead and was subsequently treated at a local hospital for her injuries,” according to Game and Fish.

The Forest Service subsequently closed the trail. 

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“The encounter occurred in an area characterized by dense vegetation and low visibility. Investigators did not locate any bears upon returning to the site, and no further management actions are currently planned,” according to Game and Fish.

“Our thoughts are with the individual who was injured, and we wish her a full and speedy recovery,” said Jackson Regional Wildlife Supervisor Brad Hovinga in a statement from Game and Fish. “We are grateful she was well-prepared and carried bear spray, which can make all the difference in these unpredictable situations.”  

Though they are generally considered to be more docile than grizzlies, black bears can also be dangerous. 

Game and Fish personnel on July 23 killed a black bear that showed no fear of humans at camp on Forest Road 15 in the Bighorn Mountains. 

Lab tests later confirmed that it was the same bear that tried to enter two tents occupied by Shonna Kaye Dehl of Lovell and Maggie Bassett of Powell on July 5 at another camp off Forest System Road 178 near Fool Creek.

The distance between the two camp sites is approximately 4.5 air miles.

Canada has also seen increased bear activity this summer. A black bear reportedly mauled a toddler Sunday in the town of Maple Ridge, British Columbia. 

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Dogs can sometimes make bear encounters worse, bear biologist Tom Smith of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, previously told Cowboy State Daily. 

Smith and a team of researchers analyzed 326 

 across North America. The incidents happened from 1901 to 2023 and involved black bears, brown bears (including grizzlies), and polar bears. 

In some cases, dogs irritated bears and then ran back toward their owners, with the bears on their heels, he said. 

In other cases, the dogs simply sat and watched, Smith said. 

Dehl and Bassett told Cowboy State Daily that during their encounter on July 5, their four dogs retreated as they tried to drive the bear out of their camp by shining lights at it, yelling, and shooting at the bear. 

Bear tetons 8 11 26

<title>Black Bear Attacks Woman Hiking With Dogs Near Jackson, Hiking Trail Closed | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A woman was hospitalized Monday after a presumed black bear attacked her while hiking with her dogs near Teton Pass. Game and Fish officials, who closed the trail, described the incident as a "defensive encounter."

Black Bear Attacks Woman Hiking With Dogs Near Jackson, Hiking Trail Closed

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

Andrew Rossi

A bison carcass in Yellowstone National Park attracts the usual crowd of grizzlies, wolves, ravens, and tourists. One recently attracted a pack of bear management staff, who thoroughly dismembered it before carrying the pieces away.

Joseph “Jojo” Kaul, owner of Kaul of The Wild Yellowstone Tours, 

 in the Lamar Valley near Soda Butte Creek on Monday. The female bison, which died of natural causes, was around 220 yards from the road.

“It wasn’t really close, but with the proximity of fly fishermen and hikers, it presented a situation that was possibly chaotic,” Kaul told Cowboy State Daily. “They wanted to know how to speed up the process of this bison being consumed.”

Using three sharp kitchen knives, three men from Yellowstone’s bear management started “quartering” the carcass, according to Kaul.

“They cut off all four of her legs at the joint, and dragged them to four different areas, probably about 100 to 150 yards away from the main carcass,” he said. “Then, they opened up her belly and backside to expose more flesh and blood for the predators to smell.”

Kaul described it as “the best-case scenario” under the circumstances, which he explained to the crowd of people watching it unfold.

“There were around 30 people there, and I explained that they were doing everything they could to allow us to enjoy this,” he said. “Instead of completely removing the carcass, they left it so the wildlife watchers and enthusiasts of the park could enjoy it.”

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Carcass management is a critical component of managing Yellowstone's natural landscape. 

 are the go-to tools, but sometimes rangers have to get their hands dirty.

 is familiar with dismembering carcasses in Yellowstone. During his tenure as a Yellowstone ranger, he did it multiple times.

“Most people I worked with didn't like doing it, and I did, so I ended up doing a heck of a lot of it,” Henry told Cowboy State Daily. “I found the physiology and forensics interesting.”

. Every spring, he’d document every bison, elk, and other animals that died over the winter as they began to thaw out of the deep snow.

Usually, the carcasses were left for the grizzlies to devour as they emerged from hibernation. On occasion, Henry and his peers were asked to get hands-on and take carcasses apart.

One instance stands out: In December 1986, Henry single-handedly butchered a bison at Fishing Bridge Junction to an audience of television cameras and Yellowstone’s top staff.

“There was a grizzly bear, Bear 83, that refused to den that year,” he said. “She stayed around Lake Village late into the fall. She chased me when I was on my snowmobile once.”

After Grizzly 83 and her cub were captured and relocated, Henry was given a new assignment: shoot and dismember a bison and scatter the pieces across Pelican Bay.

“The powers that be sent me and another ranger out to shoot a bison,” he said. “We found and shot a bull near Indian Pond and dragged it back to Fishing Bridge.

By then, the grizzly relocation and bison butchering had become a national news story. Several news agencies traveled to Fishing Bridge to see it, as did “a lot of National Park Service big shots,” according to Henry.

“They came from Mammoth to be involved, but when it came time to cut up this bull bison, none of the so-called GS99s wanted to step forward and do the dismemberment. So, it all fell on me.”

Using nothing but his personal five-inch hunting knife, Henry cut up the entire bull. Because that part of the park was closed to traffic at the time, he did it right in the middle of the Fishing Bridge Junction while everyone watched.

After a lot of sweat and blood, Henry had butchered the bison into several smaller pieces. He boarded a helicopter to scatter them across Pelican Bay, so any active grizzlies would head that way rather than wander around Lake Village.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don't think anything like that would happen nowadays,” Henry said."}]

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Yellowstone personnel try to maintain a “hands off” approach inside the park, letting things play out naturally. On the occasions when they do have to take an active role, there’s usually a good reason.

According to Herny, carcass dismemberment is employed when dead animals are close to tourist hot spots but not easily accessible for the preferred methods of disposal.

“Whenever an animal died in a developed area or on the roadside, we'd have to move it away,” he said. “Sometimes, maintenance people would come out with heavy equipment, pick up the whole carcass with a front-end loader, put it on a truck, and we'd haul it away.”

Front-end loaders and winches are easier and faster, but sometimes they aren’t viable depending on the terrain and location of the carcass. That’s when you cut it up into manageable pieces that you could load onto a pickup truck with muscle power.”

Kaul said the terrain where the female bison died wasn’t ideal for the easier, faster options to be viable. Dismembering the carcass was the only option.

“She died along Soda Butte Creek and Lamar River,” he said of an area commonly known as "The Confluence." “Dragging it out and removing it would be a very, very hard process. It was treacherous for the three gentlemen to walk out there just to get to the carcass. Trying to haul away the 1,000-pound carcass with a pulley system from a winch would be even harder.”

The bear management personnel told Kaul that by dismembering the carcass and scattering the pieces, Yellowstone’s wildlife could utilize the immense resource while speeding up its consumption. That further reduces the risk to visitors.

Usually, carcasses are transported to one of the “secret spots” where they can be safely left to be consumed far from visitors.

“They have certain spots, out of the way of the public, where they like to dump carcasses,” Henry said. “They like to continue dumping carcasses in the same spots so that bears and other scavengers get used to finding meat there.”

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Henry wasn’t surprised to see Yellowstone rangers dismembering a carcass, but he was curious if they had any prior experience doing so.

“There aren’t many people (in the park) who are good at it anymore,” he said. “Most of today's rangers are more law enforcement–oriented, from urban and suburban backgrounds, than they were in my time. That's not being derogatory about anybody. It's just an observation.”

Kaul said the bear management staff he’s observed are “a well-oiled machine.” Their goal was to get in, get out, and move on as quickly as possible. ‘

“They're usually really efficient, working simultaneously, but it’s still a process,” he said. “Each of those legs weighed 100 to 150 pounds, so dragging those away wasn’t easy. For them.”

Henry enjoyed dismembering carcasses because it was akin to doing an in-field autopsy. By cutting into a dead animal, he could learn more about its life and death.

“I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I probably evaluated 1,500 or 2,000 winter kills in my career,” he said. “Cutting them up is a good way to analyze what it was exactly that killed them.”

He specifically mentioned the value of examining bone marrow, as the color of the marrow can reveal whether an animal died of malnutrition.

Kaul has seen multiple instances of on-site carcass dismemberment, which is why he took this opportunity to educate people on why it needed to happen.

“This is not ideal for the National Park Service,” he said. “If the bison was hit by a car and was close to the road, they might be more inclined to pull it. This bison died naturally in a difficult spot, and they wanted to let the wildlife consume it, so they created the best scenario. It’s better than having no access to it.”

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<title>Yellowstone Tourists Watch As Rangers Use Kitchen Knives To Dismember Bison | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A crowd gathered in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley on Monday as three rangers used kitchen knives to dismember a bison carcass. "They opened up her belly and backside to expose more flesh and blood for the predators to smell," one tour guide said.

Yellowstone Tourists Watch As Rangers Use Kitchen Knives To Dismember Bison

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

Clair McFarland

U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner on Tuesday called for the defeat of "Freedom Caucus losers." Rep. John Bear, a prominent member of the group, said Rasner is a "failed career candidate who has brought division, dysfunction and political games to our state."

One More For The Road: Friday, December 15, 2023

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