Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Now let's all watch a Macaw go for a ride..."}]

Smile 12 31 23

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

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, December 31, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Now let's all watch a Macaw go for a ride...

Daily Smile: Sunday, December 31, 2023

 Now let's all watch a Macaw go for a ride...

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

RIVERTON- Three Wyoming gubernatorial candidates for the Republican nomination took the debate stage against each other late Thursday, for the last time before next Tuesday’s primary election.

State Sen. and former House Speaker Eric Barlow emphasized pragmatic policy approaches and referenced his nearly 14 years in the Legislature and careers as a rancher and veterinarian.

Retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien said he entered this race due to Gov. Mark Gordon’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. He voiced enthusiasm, referenced his military career and called for auditing “everything” in state government.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder pointed to her work as the state’s schools chief, and voiced ambitions for Wyoming to lead the nation by litigating, empowering industries at which the state already excels and negotiating strongly with other states. She cast her connection with both President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman as an edge that will help Wyoming advance its own agenda.

[{"type":"text","text":"What If We Got Another COVID?"}]

In response to a question about how she’d respond to another COVID-like phenomenon, Degenfelder said Wyoming should never shut down private businesses or schools.

“I spent time living in Communist China,” she said, reflecting on earning her master’s degree at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. “During the COVID pandemic that’s what it started to feel like.”

In an earlier interview this week, Degenfelder compared her time in China to confronting a lion.

Bien said, “I am standing here right now because of the actions the current governor took in 2020.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He said he’d never shut down the state the way Gordon did."}]

“Without our freedom, we have nothing,” said Bien. “I’ve witnessed the end state of tyranny in multiple theaters.”

In 2020 Barlow was, as now, in the state Legislature. He reflected on how difficult it was to get good information as the pandemic unfolded. 

 he championed into law in 2021, limiting state and county public health officers’ authority to shutter the state to 10 days, and shifting that authority to elected officials after that timeframe.

“Because I understood what I was hearing: frustration,” said Barlow. “People needed to be held accountable. You hold your elected officials accountable, and I ran the bill to make that happen on behalf of all Wyoming citizens.”

Bien answered a question about states’ renegotiation of the Colorado River compact, saying “I’m tired of these other states stepping all over us.”

He said Wyoming should rebuff outside influence, and let “particularly the coastal states” solve their own problems. He listed desalination as an example.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I will fight for that all the way through,” said Bien."}]

Degenfelder said Wyoming needs a strong negotiator. Because the federal government has issued temporary guidelines in this area, Wyoming needs a relationship with the federal government, she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Degenfelder has been endorsed by both Hageman and Trump."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She also said Wyoming should invest in its failing water infrastructure."}]

Barlow said the state should protect its “lifeblood” by putting more resources toward scientific and legal advantages.

That’s also been the message of the Wyoming Attorney General’s office, which urged the Legislature this session to equip it to negotiate the compact.

Barlow said he wants Wyoming to build a coalition with the upper basin states and take a strong enough lead in this area to repel the federal government.

“I do not want top-down,” he said. “I do not want the federal government deciding this on our behalf; so we need to have the resources and the people.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming Freedom Caucus"}]

A shortened, lightning-round segment opened with the prompt, “Wyoming Freedom Caucus.”

That’s a controversial group of Republicans in the state House of Representatives. Its proponents call it the true voice of the political right, while its detractors say it over-relies on national influence and brings sloppy legislation.

“I’m not interested in labels. I’m interested in results,” said Degenfelder.

Bien said he aligns with the Wyoming Republican platform, and will align with the Freedom Caucus as long as it does too.

Barlow, whom the caucus doesn’t favor, gave a joking, “Who?” in response to the prompt.

[{"type":"text","text":"University Of Wyoming Funding"}]

Bien said of the University of Wyoming, the state needs “to audit the whole thing.”

“Make sure this money’s being spent statutorily and we’re getting the best bang for the buck,” he said.

Many House lawmakers led an effort this year to cut $40 million from UW’s state budget. That effort did not clear the Senate.  

[{"type":"text","text":"Barlow called UW valuable for the future of Wyoming."}]

Degenfelder said she’s a “proud graduate” and believes the school needs to be “a strong land-grant university” and focus on affordability. 

Wyoming’s Turn, which is a Wyoming PAC targeting Barlow with attack ads, has spent at least $1.4 million this election cycle. An issues group registered in Delaware has been attacking him as well.

A Wyoming’s Turn flier asserted this week that Barlow sponsored legislation to raise gas and diesel tax. It cited the 2020 House Bill 63.

Barlow voiced surprise at the claim in a Thursday-morning interview on Cowboy State Daily’s Morning Show With Jake, saying he had not done that.

The 2020 House Bill 63 had proposed a fuel tax hike, but it was sponsored by the Revenue Committee, of which Barlow was not a member. He voted no on that bill Feb. 12, 2020. 

Barlow fielded a question about “dark money” by saying, “if they can’t put their name on it, you don’t  know where it came from – that’s not dark money, that’s black money.”

Wyoming’s Turn PAC lists contributions from the Women For Responsible Government PAC, which hadn’t disclosed its own donors as of Thursday. 

Degenfelder also fielded the dark money prompt with indignation, saying the group attacking her has spent millions helping Democratic candidates.

The Keep Wyoming Working PAC, which has spent $228,534, lists its lone contributor is the Washington DC-based Government That Works PAC. That group’s funding has filtered to multiple Democratic candidates across the nation.

Barlow and Degenfelder both deny involvement with PACs attacking the other.

Bien, who hasn’t been as much of a target, said he’s “absolutely opposed” to dark money.

All three candidates cast themselves as staunchly pro-Second Amendment. Barlow pointed to legislation he championed helping non-violent felons to restore their gun rights.

[{"type":"text","text":"Degenfelder urged Wyoming to be vigilant in this area."}]

Bien said he would have signed the 2026 Second Amendment Protection Act, “without a doubt.”

All 23 Wyoming sheriffs opposed that bill, saying it would bring more local harms from federal agents by making local law enforcement officers hesitant to communicate or work with them at all.

Proponents, conversely, pointed to high-profile and violent street clashes involving immigration enforcers this year, and the Second Amendment generally.

[{"type":"text","text":"Grizzly Bears, Data Centers"}]

Bien and Degenfelder both urged removing grizzly bears from threatened status on the endangered species list.

Barlow said Wyoming should be managing its own grizzly population and is getting much closer to that goal.

Regarding data centers, Bien said he’d like to push for constitutional protections to guard “everyone’s data out here.”

Barlow said Wyoming should work to protect water, electrical rates; and give communities good information on the impacts of data centers. But if they’re using Wyoming coal and natural gas, he added, “that’s not a bad thing.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Degenfelder again urged strong negotiation."}]

“We say you’re not going to take from the water supply. You’re not going to increase electrical rates. You’re going to help us fund trade schools,” she said, “and you’re going to be welcomed by the community.”

In a prompt about the Wyoming Business Council, Barlow called it an important partner with local governments and private business that helps to diversify the economy.

Degenfelder said, “government doesn’t create jobs. The private sector does.” But, she continued, there is a role for economic development, and that institution should focus on infrastructure and return on investment.

Bien said the Wyoming Business Council “needs a serious rudder steer” to return to its mission, or it should be defunded.

[{"type":"text","text":"Your Political Hero"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Bien said his political hero is President Theodore Roosevelt."}]

Degenfelder pointed to Wyoming’s current federal delegation Sens. John Barrasso, Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Harriet Hageman, the late Gov. Stan Hathaway, and said she sees Vice President JD Vance as “ushering in the next generation of conservative leaders.” 

Barlow said he admires as political heroism the partnership between the late Sen. Al Simpson and his wife, Ann Simpson, who died July 31.

[{"type":"text","text":"And, Your Attorney General"}]

Degenfelder said she wants “bulldogs” in every agency and an attorney general who will lead Wyoming, produce legal filings quickly and have “amicus briefs on my desk the next morning” for key issues.

“We’re not going to be the 10th state in the country to sign onto a lawsuit,” she said. “We’re going to lead.”

She said that’s especially important in a time of “lawfare” and “activist judges” nationally.

Bien said Wyoming will be pleased with his pick for attorney general; and cast the man as having an exemplary personality, and being constitutionally driven and liberty-minded.

Barlow said he wants an attorney general of high integrity and broad legal acumen who is interested in “not just suing people, but negotiating. Getting to meaningful outcomes.”

Gov debate 8 13 26

<title>Three GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off In Final Debate Before Primary Election | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Three Wyoming gubernatorial candidates for the Republican nomination took the debate stage Thursday, for the last time before the primary election. Eric Barlow focused on his experience, Megan Degenfelder on her vision and Brent Bien on righting the government's structure.

Three GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off In Final Debate Before Primary Election

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

The Powder River at Arvada in Sheridan County has essentially stopped flowing for nearly a month, encapsulating severe drought conditions persisting across the West.

The river’s flow levels there have been sitting at zero to near-zero cubic feet per second (cfs) since mid-July, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) communications specialist Cheryl Miller told Cowboy State Daily.

When the river hits 0 cfs, “there could be a little pool there, but it is not moving," Miller said. "There is no water going downstream from there.” 

The Powder River's main steam flows for 375 miles from the Bighorn Mountains into the Yellowstone River near Terry, Montana. It is susceptible to wild fluctuations because it is one of the last free-flowing prairie river systems in the country.

During a typical year, the Powder at Arvada is flowing at 135 cfs, Miller said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"On June 16, it was at 17.5 cfs."}]

When the river reaches zero cubic feet per second, native fish such as sauger, channel catfish and sturgeon chub have evolved to survive in deeper pools.

“This is not unheard of for that site," Miller said of zero cfs, "but it is uncommon.” 

Records dating to 1930 indicate the Powder River has hit a standstill at Arvada about a dozen times, though there are no records for length of time at zero flow. The Powder also reached 100,000 cubic feet per second in 1923.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Why So Low?"}]

Unusually light snowpack coupled with a relative lack of rain during the spring and summer have contributed to the scarcity of water this summer, Miller said. Irrigation has also taken water from its tributaries, 

fishing guide Gene Pruett told Cowboy State Daily.

Dry ground along the upper stretches can absorb some of the river’s runoff.

The main Powder River’s tributaries include the North, Middle and South forks, which are still flowing.

The Middle Fork is typically fishable until late June or early July, when the water becomes too warm for responsible angling, said Pruett, owner of the Thermopolis-based Wyoming Trout Angler fishing guide service.

He guides anglers on the North Fork in Outlaw Canyon above Kaycee.

Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart recently told the Legislature’s Select Water Committee that this is one of the 

“Over 83% of the state is in severe or extreme drought,” he said. "Luckily, no parts of the state are under exceptional drought, as of right now.” 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Time To Stop Fishing"}]

Flows along the upstream forks of the Powder River is “generally low,” said Mike Cassidy, fishing guide with Rock Creek Anglers, based out of Saddlestring in Johnson County.

It is probably weakest on the South Fork, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“We shut down our fishing on the Middle Fork because of high water temperatures,” he said.

Stretches of the North Fork on private property remain “fishable” because cold water from tributary springs has kept water temperatures lower, he said.

As a general rule, it’s best to stop even catch-and-release trout fishing once the water temperature hits 68 to 70 degrees because of stress to the fish, Pruett said.

In addition to shutting down his operations on the Middle Fork, Pruett said he’s limited trips to early mornings only on other rivers because of rising water temperatures.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department hasn’t mandated catch-and-release fishing shutdowns but is asking anglers and guides to suspend their fishing on numerous waters.

On the Bighorn, the Green, the Salt, the Snake, and the New Fork rivers, there are voluntary closure signs everywhere,” Pruett said.

“I think it’s the guides’ and the anglers’ responsibility to preserve the resource” and refrain from catch-and-release fishing when the water is too hot, he said.

As for the Powder, it was still near zero cubic feet per second at Locate, Montana, but picked up some water by the time it reaches Moorhead, where the flow was 10-12 cubic feet per second Thursday. 

Arvada 8 13 26

<title>Under Severe Drought Conditions, Wyoming’s Powder River Has Completely Stopped Flowing | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Powder River in Sheridan County has completely stopped flowing for nearly a month due to severe drought conditions and irrigation. During a typical year, the Powder at Arvada is flowing at 135 cubic feet per second, now it's at zero cubic feet per second.

Under Severe Drought Conditions, Wyoming’s Powder River Has Completely Stopped Flowing

Wildlife

Tourists might like the idea of watching Yellowstone National Park’s top two predators locked in a bloody battle royale, but when it comes down to it grizzlies and wolves would rather work things out. 

That was evident when a young wolf and a grizzly reached what a witness described as a “gentleman’s agreement” over a bison carcass in the Yellowstone River recently, wildlife photographer Marcela Herdova told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. 

About the worst it got was the bear giving the wolf a grumpy “side eye,” said Herdova, who was among numerous visitors who saw the drama in Yellowstone's Hayden Valley. 

The grizzly “eventually made one swipe with a paw but didn’t seem to have any intent of actually slashing the wolf,” she said. 

Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologist Mark Bruscino told Cowboy State Daily that wolves and grizzlies generally get along better than people might think.

“These kinds of interactions probably happen very frequently,” he said. 

Biologist Doug Smith, who led the Yellowstone wolf program for nearly three decades, said wolves and bears have adapted to each other. 

"This is a common interaction. They both respect each other. The bear us stronger, the wolf is quicker. Hence neither want to do anything dramatic,” Smith said. “They (wolves) just go slow, watch the other and see what they can get. If the bear wants to control you carcass it can, but the wolf can nimbly dart in when opportunity arises.” 

The grizzly apparently was a large, older bear and seemed confident in laying claim to the carcass, Herdova said. 

The bear at one point dug a bed next to it and went to sleep, apparently completely confident it wouldn’t be bothered. 

Then two young wolves, from the Wapiti pack, approached. 

The bolder of the two walked up the grizzly and, for a while, it appeared there might be trouble, Herdova said. 

“We watched it unfold, but there was no direct conflict,” she said. “This went on for a long time, the way they were just dancing around each other.”  

Eventually, the wolf capitulated and sat nearby. The grizzly went back to feasting off the carcass, she said. 

The encounter was ended not by the animals but by an irresponsible human, Herdova added. 

“Somebody flew a drone over the grizzly and ran it off,” she said. 

It’s illegal to fly drones in Yellowstone. In June 2025, a tourist was caught and 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Avoiding Fights"}]

After the grizzly left, the wolves moved in to eat from the carcass, Herdova said. 

Next in line were eagles and ravens, which took over after the wolves left, she added. 

Animals can usually work out a pecking order without coming to blows, Bruscino said. 

“I think animal behaviorists would say animals almost always prefer to work out dominance through body language, vocalizations, non-contact aggression, or a combination of those. Fighting can have serious consequences, injury or death, for the participants,” he said. 

After viewing a video clip that Herdova took of the encounter between the bear and the wolf, he said it was a prime example of wildlife settling things without violence. 

“I think that bear is communicating that he doesn't want to fight but he doesn't want to give up the carcass during that short moment that is filmed,” he said. 

‘One Of The Greatest Things I’ve Ever Seen’

Herdova said watching the wolf and bear part ways peacefully was “one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in Yellowstone.”

“They’re a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They know that conflict is costly,” she said.

Bear wolf 8 13 26

<title>Wolf-Grizzly Drama Over Carcass Shows Yellowstone Visitors How Predators Coexist | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A grizzly and wolf initially had a tense standoff over a bison carcass in Yellowstone, but opted to resolve it peacefully. The photographer who filmed the interaction said they're smarter than people think. "They know that conflict is costly," she said.

Wolf-Grizzly Drama Over Carcass Shows Yellowstone Visitors How Predators Coexist

Public Lands

The Bureau of Land Management is poised to round up about 1,800 mustangs from herds in central Wyoming, claiming the horses will starve if their numbers aren’t cut. 

“Without active management, herds continue to grow unchecked and can double in size every four to five years. Chronic overpopulation places both horses and rangeland resources at risk,” the BLM said Tuesday in announcing the plans for roundups in the Red Desert Complex.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The roundups are set to begin in the fall."}]

 “Saving wild horses from starvation, protecting America’s public lands,” the BLM describes the effort.

Wild-horse advocate Carol Walker told Cowboy State Daily she thinks the agency is using hyperbole to justify more roundups. 

“That’s baloney. I’m out there all the time,” Walker said. “I was out there about three weeks ago, and I didn’t see a single skinny horse.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Target Numbers"}]

Mustang management goes beyond just the horses, mule deer conservationist Bill Ames told Cowboy State Daily. 

He said he didn’t know enough about the Red Desert Complex to say how many horses should be there, but he thinks they're “overpopulated” throughout the state. 

And that can lead to competition with mule deer, pronghorn, and other wildlife, Ames said. 

“I don’t know if they compete for food so much, but they really compete for water,” said Ames, who represents the Wyoming Mule Deer Alliance. 

The roundups are planned in several horse management areas (HMAs) in the Red Desert Complex, including the Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Green Mountain, Lost Creek, and Stewart Creek. 

The appropriate management level for the complex is 480 to 720 horses, meaning about 1,800 horses must be removed to “return herd sizes to sustainable levels,” according to the BLM.

The BLM also plans to use fertility control to trim Red Desert herds. 

“During gather operations, staff plan to treat around 75 to 150 mares with fertility control and release them back to the range,” the announcement said.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ongoing Debate"}]

What's sustainable for the mustang population is a matter of debate. 

The BLM was given jurisdiction over mustangs under the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act. 

The agency contends that it’s managing mustang numbers according to the parameters established by the act, based on such factors as available forage for horses, conflicts with private landowners, and competition with wildlife. 

Wild-horse advocates argue that the BLM’s target numbers are a fraction of what the range can support and that the horses are scapegoats for overgrazing by sheep and cattle. 

They contend mustangs qualify as wildlife and should be respected and conserved as such. 

Others argue the horses are a feral, invasive species with no natural predators. They can damage the landscape and drive out native wildlife if their numbers go unchecked. 

After horses are rounded up, they’re sent to BLM holding facilities, such as those near Wheatland and Rock Springs. 

Many of the horses are put up for adoption, while others live out their lives in BLM facilities. 

Mustang advocates recently claimed to have evidence the BLM is also funneling some of the mustangs toward dealers who 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The BLM denies it. "}]

Nature already culled the central Wyoming mustang herds, Walker said. 

The brutal winter of 2022-2023 killed tens of thousands of pronghorn, deer, and elk in central and south-central Wyoming. 

An official tally of how many mustangs died wasn

t kept. Walker said she thinks the Red Desert Complex herds were cut by about half. 

So, it makes no sense to start a huge roundup of the herds, which are still recovering, she said. 

According to what she’s seen on the ground, the rangelands are healthy and there’s plenty of forage to go around for horses, livestock, and wildlife. 

“I see elk out there, I see pronghorn out there, and I see the little wildlife, like bunnies,” she said. 

The horses and other animals looked well-fed and healthy, she added. 

Ames said he’s concerned about mustangs leaving the HMAs. 

The BLM should round up horses that have strayed into prime mule deer and pronghorn habitat in the Pinedale area toward the south end of the Jonah Gas Field, he said.

“They’re actually in the antelope migration corridor,” he said. 

He worries that during the winter horses might drive deer and pronghorn off slopes that have been blown clear of snow and therefore vital for animals’ survival. 

“They (horses) just aren’t very good at sharing,” he said. 

Red desert horses 2 8 13 26

<title>BLM Says Red Desert Wild-Horse Herd Must Be Cut By 1,800 To Prevent Starvation | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Bureau of Land Management plans to round up about 1,800 mustangs in the Red Desert Complex of central Wyoming this fall, claiming that overpopulated horses are at risk for starvation. “That’s baloney," says wild-horse advocate Carol Walker.

BLM Says Red Desert Wild-Horse Herd Must Be Cut By 1,800 To Prevent Starvation

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A former Goshen County office manager, already on probation for grand theft from a Wyoming credit union, is facing eight felony forgery charges after nearly $700,000 was lost from two local businesses. He faces up to 80 years in prison.

Daily Smile: Sunday, December 31, 2023

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