One More For The Road

If the goal was to run over your friend, this stunt gets a solid 10 out of 10....

NOTE: No one was seriously injured in this video.

One more for 2 10 24

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

<title>One More For The Road: Saturday, February 20, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

One More For The Road: Saturday, February 20, 2024

 If the goal was to run over your friend, this stunt gets a solid 10 out of 10.... NOTE: No one was seriously injured in this video.

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

Renée Jean

Wyoming Life

“Ambitious” might be the only word big enough to describe Wyoming’s birthday party for America’s 250th. 

Instead of a single day of fireworks and fanfare, the Cowboy State is building monuments, commissioning new music, and mapping out trail rides that will outlast the holiday itself. 

This year’s Fourth of July is less one-off party and more permanent invitation to explore the Cowboy State’s place in the American story, from one corner of Wyoming to the next. 

From Buffalo to Newcastle, Cody, Dubois, Evanston, Jackson, Gillette, Casper, Cheyenne and more, communities are finding wildly different ways to extend that invitation and have fun doing so.

Runners will wolf down hot dogs on every lap of a 1.776K in Buffalo, for example, while in Cody people can raise a beer stein to toast America with an America 250 Pale Ale. In Newcastle, crowds will gather at the Weston County Courthouse steps to hear President Teddy Roosevelt’s 1903 speech brought to life again. 

In Cheyenne, concertgoers will hear a symphony orchestra piece written just for Wyoming by Hollywood composer Jeff Lippencott, timed to a fireworks display over the Capitol’s golden dome. 

Just down the street, four bronze panels have just been installed to tell the state’s history for at least the next millennium. 

Two C-130 jets from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing will take to the skies Saturday morning, each going in a different direction. They’ll pass over 16 communities at roughly 1,000 feet and 200 knots for a Fourth of July salute before reconvening in the middle and roaring back into Cheyenne at 1 p.m. for a Capitol flyover. 

In Dubois, the usual tank parade that draws thousands to this tiny mountain town is on, but it will be preceded Friday with some live vehicle demolitions and firepower demonstrations at the National Museum of Military Vehicles — a noisy day any true tank fan should adore. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"We’re All Americans"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Not all of the plans are noisy. "}]

New Mexico transplant Khristin Kaske has come up with her own idea for Cheyenne’s celebration.

She’s repurposed an old archway once used for her wedding into a red, white and blue selfie station for America’s 250th and put the word out: “Hey, ya’ll come!”

“I love to craft, so the decorating corner is just fun,” she told Cowboy State Daily. 

The idea started in November with a fall setup followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kaske enjoyed it so much, she took herself to Hobby Lobby for its big after-Christmas sale and stocked up on decorations for every season.

“Their Christmas is all different colors,” she said. “So I could get stuff for any upcoming holiday.”

She also watches for cool stuff from thrift stores and yard sales, as well as cruising craft-store aisles for clearance items. 

So far she’s done Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and now, America’s 250th. Next up will be a selfie booth for Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Kaske isn’t home much in the daytime, but she knows the selfie booth is popular. 

“I see lots of footprints out there,” she said. “And when I’m home, I do see people coming over and taking pictures.”

She’s put up a shepherd’s hook with doggy bags so people can bring pets — and so far, her visitors have all been considerate guests, cleaning up after their pets and helping to take care of this free resource. 

That warms her heart, especially for the Fourth, because this is a time when she feels, no matter how crazy, we need to remember that we’re all Americans first, second, and last.

“We still have a lot to be thankful for in this country,” she said. “Doing things just like this, for example. Being able to have the freedom to put up decorations and expressions. I think it’s important to hang onto the reality that we still have a lot of freedoms.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Echoes In Bronze"}]

A similar sentiment has inspired Wyoming’s latest bronze installation, which will be the 99th in Cheyenne’s Capitol Avenue Bronze series.

Four new bronze panels will be placed on the corner of Capitol and 22nd Street, each telling a different chapter of Wyoming’s place in America’s 250 years, according to Cheyenne and Laramie County America 250 Chairman Nathaniel Trelease. 

“The challenge was that Wyoming didn’t exist in 1776,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “So what we decided to do was take America’s founding principles and reflect how they echo in Wyoming history.”

That’s where the installation’s name, "Echoes: Wyoming at America 250", comes from. 

The first panel depicts Wyoming as it was at America’s birth, 250 years ago, with all manner of wildlife hiding in a forest scene. A moose turns its head toward a wolf, which appears to be eating something, while deer scamper and play in a dreamy, far-distant background. There are beavers and birds and more — but it will take considerable time and study to find them all. 

Another panel traces Native American trade routes and the great overland trails that funneled settlers west through Wyoming. A third focuses on the state’s economic development. Mines are started and railroad tracks laid, even as explorers such as Lewis and Clark came to map out the newly added western territories. 

The fourth panel highlights Wyoming’s trailblazing role in women’s suffrage and early civil rights as the first state in the union to allow women to vote. 

In it, Judge Esther Hobart Morris hands a flag with 44 stars to Wyoming Gov. Francis E. Warren, while in the center, Wyoming’s soon-to-be first female Wyoming governor Nellie Tayloe Ross watches women ascend steps to cast their votes. Louisa Swain, the first woman to vote in Wyoming, is depicted casting her ballot, along with a handful of other women lining up right behind her. 

Ross, Warren and Swain are all among bronze statues in the Capitol Avenue Bronze project, Trelease said. And that’s part of what the bronze panels aim to accomplish — tying together the many disparate pieces of Wyoming history scattered along the avenue for one coherent story of how Wyoming has come to matter so much to a country that began its life long before the territory was a state. 

It’s a story that, unlike fireworks and parades, won’t fade with the sunset. It will last at a thousand years or more, Trelease said. 

“This is leaving a visual footprint of where we were in 2026 for the Jubilees that will come in 50 years, 100 years, 150 years,” Trelease said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"250 Years In 76 Objects"}]

While the bronzes will give visitors a history they can see and touch, American Heritage Center’s Paul Flesher is working on a version that people can hold in their hands.

The book, tentatively titled, “Wyoming’s History in 76 Object”, will use photographs of carefully chosen artifacts to tell the state’s history. Some of the artifacts are small. A coal mine whistle, for example, and a battered cowboy hat.

Others are large. Historic landmarks such as Devils Tower, for example, or the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s old Yellowstone supercomputer. 

“We’ll talk about buffalo and horses and cattle and sheep,” Flesher said. “And we’ll hit the railroad, the transcontinental railroad, and we’ll talk about the oldest buildings in the state.”

Each object chosen for the book comes with a 400-word essay, giving just a thumbnail sketch of its history.

“We couldn’t possibly include everything,” Flesher said. “So the question became, what objects best capture the role Wyoming has played in America’s history?”

And which items serve as the best invitation to explore and find out more. The book will debut as an e-book sometime in July, with a print edition to follow.

“The e-book will allow us to continue to make this available for years to come, even after we sell all of the printed copies,” Flesher said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A New Happy Trail"}]

Just as the bronzes and book are meant to last, so, too, the “American Patriot Hymn,” written by Hollywood composer Jeff Lippencott especially for Wyoming. 

The three-movement work weaves narration from John Quincy Adams as well as portions of a poem attributed to Samuel Adams into a sweeping orchestral score meant to capture the grand sweep of Wyoming history.

Lippencott, who lives in Alpine, credits Wyoming’s wide-open spaces for helping inspire his symphonic work, including Grand Teton Suite and Pasturelands.

Even some of the state’s most adventurous America 250 plans are designed to stick around, such as the four-day 250 Trail Ride, which began in Evanston and follows a 500-mile, off-road route to Cheyenne, arriving just in time for the Fourth of July festivities.

Organizers have told Cowboy State Daily that the trail will become official with this ride, and will be available for future trailblazers who want to experience Wyoming in a unique way. 

Taken together — the bronzes, the book, the music, and even the new trail — it all says the same thing. Wyoming doesn’t just want to throw a 250th birthday bash. 

It wants to leave footprints that will still be visible when the next big anniversaries roll around.

Cody parade Chon Kit Leong via Alamy 7 1 26

<title>Wyoming’s Over-The-Top 250th Celebration Comes With Tanks, Flyovers, History | Cowboy State Daily</title>

From C-130 flyovers and tank parades to new monuments and a new state trail, Wyoming’s America 250 celebration isn’t a one-day bash. “We still have a lot to be thankful for in this country,” said one organizer about what's planned across the Cowboy State.

Wyoming’s Over-The-Top 250th Celebration Comes With Tanks, Flyovers, History

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Public Safety

UPDATE 11:50 a.m.: This story has been updated to include more information from the Wyoming Highway Patrol about those injured in the crash.

A commercial tanker truck driver failing to stop for traffic waiting to enter a one-lane construction zone west of Casper on Friday afternoon 

, killing two people and injuring eight others, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports in a fatal crash summary of the incident released Wednesday.

The crash happened at 1:50 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58.3, about 45 miles northwest of Casper wit the WHP having identified driver inattention as a possible contributing factor in the crash.

[{"type":"text","text":"As of Wednesday, no criminal charges had been announced."}]

Responding to Cowboy State Daily requests for information about whether any arrests have been made in relation to the crash and if anyone has been criminally charged, the WHP said that the investigation into the crash is active and information about potential criminal charges won’t be released until that’s been completed.

The fatal crash summary says that the westbound 2024 Western Star tanker truck failed to stop at mile marker 58.3 for queued traffic waiting to enter the construction zone before striking a Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota Highlander, Toyota 4Runner, Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Camaro, Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Impala.

[{"type":"text","text":"The crash involved eight vehicles and 17 people."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Two people died, eight were injured and seven escaped injury."}]

A 3-year-old and an adult male in the Highlander were both transported to Banner Wyoming Medical Center via helicopter. Also, a 1-year-old and adult female in the same vehicle were taken to the hospital by ground ambulance, the WHP reports, adding they were treated and released.

Two others were also taken by ambulance to Casper, where they were treated and released.

The driver of the 4Runner and a passenger, an adult female and male, were also hospitalized at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Colorado Couple Identified"}]

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

[{"type":"text","text":"The couple was traveling to Ennis, Montana, according to a family member."}]

Both were wearing seat belts, according to the Highway Patrol's crash summary.

The Highway Patrol said the weather was clear; the roadway was dry, and neither a rollover nor collision with a fixed object contributed to the crash.

[{"type":"text","text":"The investigation remains ongoing."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Aftermath"}]

Several motorists interviewed by Cowboy State Daily said they at first believed traffic had stopped because of the construction project ahead.

Erin Mills said she was driving toward Riverton after dropping her dogs off in Casper when traffic came to a standstill.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I thought I was waiting on the pilot car,\" she said."}]

Like many others, Mills had already driven through the work zone earlier and expected another routine delay.

Instead, as traffic ahead slowly began turning around, she caught her first glimpse of the aftermath.

"When that camper moved, that's when I could see," she said. "I saw what looked like a shredded vehicle on the left-hand side of the road."

"I didn't physically see it happen," she continued. "I was behind it and saw the aftermath."

From where she was, Mills said she saw a jackknifed fuel tanker and damaged vehicles scattered across the highway.

"It looked like a tanker just plowed through these vehicles," she said, emphasizing she was describing what the aftermath looked like, not what she actually saw happen.

The WHP’s crash summary confirms the commercial tanker struck the line of stopped traffic after failing to stop.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Something Wrong'"}]

Another witness, Krista Nethercott, also believed traffic had stopped because of 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 several minutes, she stepped out of her vehicle because, she said, "I just felt like there was something wrong."

When she walked forward, she realized the line of stopped vehicles was the result of a catastrophic crash.

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

A funeral director, Nethercott immediately ran toward the wreckage to make sure someone had called 911 and to offer assistance.

[{"type":"text","text":"Working alongside another bystander, she checked on James and Susan Cox."}]

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

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

Their pickup was so badly crushed, she said, that rescuers ultimately needed specialized equipment 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."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Before Help Arrived"}]

Because the crash happened in a remote stretch of western Natrona County, Nethercott estimated it took about 30 minutes before ambulances and firefighters 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 crews arrived, however, strangers had already 

 Nethercott estimated roughly 10 motorists got out of their vehicles to help.

Some searched for fire extinguishers. Others comforted injured victims. One man who identified himself as working at a pediatric clinic checked on a young child who remained safely secured in a five-point car seat while the child's injured father tried to comfort him.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"The Natrona County Fire District later praised those bystanders."}]

"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," the agency said in a statement.

"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day,” the statement adds.

Although there was little anyone could do medically for Susan Cox, Nethercott said they made sure she wasn't 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 then did Nethercott turn her attention to survivors who still could be saved.

Double fatal highway sign 7 1 26

<title>Highway Patrol: Tanker Truck Plowed Into Vehicles In Last Week’s Double Fatal Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The cause of last week’s double fatal crash in remote Natrona County was due to a commercial tanker truck driver who failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said Wednesday. The investigation is active.

Highway Patrol: Tanker Truck Plowed Into Vehicles In Last Week’s Double Fatal Crash

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, July 1st.  I’m Mac Watson

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

In an about-face, Gov. Mark Gordon lauded a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday upholding states' bans on trans participation in girls' sports. But, Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that in 2023 he called Wyoming's first trans sports ban “draconian.”

“Three years later, you have West Virginia and Idaho defending actually more expansive bands in many cases, and they went to the Supreme Court. They argued in defense that their transports bans were constitutional in January. At that time, Governor Gordon urged the High Court to rule in the state's favor. And then on Tuesday, the Supreme Court finally came out and said, ‘Yes, these transports bans are constitutional. These states are fine.’ The governor applauded that again, so this has been a bit of an about-face for Wyoming's top executive. Governor Gordon's office didn't give a direct response to the question about his change of heart.”

Idaho passed its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in 2020. It was the nation’s first law preventing biological male students from competing on public school and club female sports teams.

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

Montana rancher Neal Collins said a camera on his barn captured a "herd" of seven grizzlies on his property Monday night. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that agents from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hazed 10 grizzlies out of brush across the road from his place.

“A rancher up there, he had a surveillance camera mounted on the back of his, his barn, and he said one of his dogs was freaking out, so he went outside and caught a flash of a bear, so, of course, he scrambled back inside. Check the footage later. There's like a whole group. Well, one of his friends kind of jokingly called it a herd, a whole group of like six grizzlies walking, you know, just kind of casually strolling down, you know, down his lane.”

Collins said no people or livestock were attacked by the bears, and Montana’s FWP used non-lethal “cracker” shotgun shells to scare off the bears.

A Lincoln County man lost control of his truck, crashed through a guardrail, rolled several times and plunged 20 feet into the Snake River. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the man walked away with minor injuries, but was ticketed by the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

“According to the chronology of events, the driver was driving along the Snake River Canyon, lost control of his vehicle, sideswiped a car hauler, and then once he cleared that, he drove through the guard rail and tumbled three or two or three times into the Snake River, and was pretty far out there in pretty deep water, but because he was wearing his seatbelt, at least presumed to be wearing his seatbelt, otherwise, how the heck did he survive that? He walked away with minor injuries and was treated at the hospital in Alpine and released later that same day.”

The incident occurred near a notorious spot in the Snake River Canyon called the Big Kahuna, the area's largest and most famous rapid.

Prominent Wyoming Democrats say they are not calling for a split in their party due to the growing socialist movement nationally. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that state Sen. Chris Rothfuss says, “Wyoming is not New York City,” so the issues are different.

“I asked Wyoming prominent Democrats on Tuesday, ‘Hey, is Wyoming seeing this divide?’ and they said no. Their reasons were various. There's very few Democrats here. They tend to discuss things and debate things and tolerate dissent, and they, the landscape in Wyoming is different. So, if you're a party focused on meeting people's needs, what Wyoming people need is very different from what New York City people need.”

The Wyoming Democratic Party is a big collaborative tent, the party’s communications person, Mandy Weaver, told Cowboy State Daily in a Tuesday phone interview.

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

Speculation is growing over whether a data center could be linked to pollution discovered in Cheyenne's reuse wastewater system earlier this year. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that city officials haven't reported the identity of the industrial user responsible for the discharge.

“The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities announced last week that it had found a biohazard in its reusable wastewater system. The bacterium that they found is naturally occurring in soil and groundwater environments. However, it was not recognized immediately by water treatment specialists. Jonathan Brandt is a water treatment specialist at the University of Wyoming, and he told me that it would be likely that a newer industry would be responsible for this. He said data centers, data center discharges would be the first place I would look.”

The mystery bacterium was found to be cupriavidus gilardii, a naturally occurring organism commonly found in soil and groundwater environments, known for its high resistance to metals.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

Police say a Gillette man first denied hitting his ex-girlfriend with his pickup, running over her and speeding away. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that after detectives showed him surveillance video, police say he told them it "could have been a moment of black-out rage.”

“Police say that Christopher Paxton allegedly ran over his girlfriend intentionally before driving away. When police arrived at the scene, they saw his girlfriend writhing in pain. She was screaming and yelling, ‘My knee, my knee!’ When investigators took Paxton in for questioning, he initially denied running over his girlfriend, but then they showed him surveillance video from a neighbor, neighbor's ring camera, and then he said he still said he couldn't remember what happened, but explained that it might have been blackout rage. Paxton has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, that is a felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.” 

Investigators say the victim suffered seizures as a result of the accident and was taken to the hospital. No word on her condition.

Gov. Mark Gordon has designated Wyoming’s famous “Path of the Pronghorn,” one of the longest land migration routes in North America, as protected — mostly.  Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that while conservationists hailed the move, an energy landman said he hopes it doesn’t impede drilling.

“Governor Gordon, on Friday did go ahead and dedicate it as an officially protected migration route, but then there's some caveats that applies only on public land. It does not affect private land in any way whatsoever. And then even on public land, it doesn't mean you get to shut everything down or a bunch of new regulations. It just, it kind of sets some parameters to help protect these lands from things that might impede the passage of the antelope back and forth.”

The 200-mile Path of the Pronghorn is the common name for the Sublette Antelope Migration Corridor, and it's one of the longest land migrations in the Lower 48 states. 

Yellowstone visitors near the popular Grand Prismatic Spring were outraged Sunday watching a man carry a child on dangerous thermals pools. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that people online have asked, could someone be charged with child endangerment for doing such a foolish and dangerous thing?

“They said it was Grand Prismatic Spring, and those sort of incidents aren't unusual in Yellowstone National Park, especially during the busiest time of year, which we're in. But they've raised a question: Can someone be charged with child endangerment by doing something like that? And it's a difficult question to answer, because while a lot of people would say that there was a very obvious, and very, there was an obvious present danger in doing that. Someone could be genuinely unaware of what they're doing if it's not explicitly marked right in front of them.”

Greg Jackson is a former deputy chief for the U.S. Park Service’s Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services in Washington, D.C. During his career, he was presented with several situations where a child endangerment charge was merited.

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

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 7 1 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wednesday's headlines include:
* Rancher Spots Herd Of 7 Grizzlies
* In About Face, Gordon Lauds Trans Ruling 
* Wyo Dems Say They Aren't New York Socialists

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

A rancher near Choteau, Montana, caught video of six grizzlies strolling across his calving lot behind his barn late Monday, and said there were as many as seven bears on his property that night.

The next morning, rancher Neal Collins said agents from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hazed as many as 10 grizzlies out of patches of brush across the road from his place.

Collins said no people or livestock were attacked by the bears on his place, and FWP used non-lethal “cracker” shotgun shells to scare off the bears.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A ‘Herd’ Of Grizzlies"}]

Sparky Wallace, a friend of Collins who also lives near Choteau, somewhat humorously described the group of grizzlies as a “herd.”

A group of bears is actually called a "sleuth." Or sometimes, an older term, a “sloth” is used to describe a gathering of bears. 

He told Cowboy State Daily he and some of his neighbors have had encounters with multiple bears, as the number of grizzlies out on the prairie has steadily increased.  

Chad White, a bear management specialist with Montana FWP, said the bears on Collins’ property were probably a “couple of family groups that have been hanging out in the area.”

Meaning, they were likely two related adult females such as “a mother and daughter” and their cubs, White said.

The Choteau area has been busy with bear activity this spring and summer. The bears wander from the Rocky Mountain Front onto the prairie along the Teton River, which flows past Choteau. 

The bears might be feeding on green vegetation and other natural food sources, then taking shelter in brush patches.

“It may be that he (Collins) has the natural shelter for day bedding and they were traveling around the area,” White said. 

White said the FWP bear manager responding to Collins’ call told him as many as 10 grizzlies fled once the hazing stared.

FWP personnel fired cracker shells into the brush where the bears were holed up. Cracker shells fire a small explosive charge with a delayed fuse, designed to explode in the air and ward off predators such as bears and wolves.

“The six or seven bears in the family groups ran off in one direction, and two or three more ran off in another direction,” he said.

It’s not known where the other two or three bears might have come from, White added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Alarm Barks"}]

Collins said he was first alerted to the bears’ presence Monday when one of his dogs started frantically barking at about 9:30 p.m.

“We’ve got this one dog that’s supposed to be a cow dog, but she’s really not,” he said. “She was just barking, barking, barking. She barks on occasion, but not like that.” 

He said he stepped outside to investigate and saw a “flash of a bear.”

So, he immediately went back into his house, shooing the dog inside with him.

A camera he has mounted on the backside of his barn caught video and photos of the bears.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘You Get Immune To It’"}]

Collins’ ranch is about 35 miles out on the prairie from the Rocky Mountain front.

Grizzlies are usually associated with mountain habitat. However, they were originally a Great Plains species, and were driven into the mountains as the West was settled.

Grizzlies have been growing in number and expanding their range in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho in recent decades. In Montana, they’ve been pushing ever-farther onto the prairies.

Collins said his father was in his 70s before he ever saw a grizzly anywhere near Choteau. But the bears have become a common sight of late.

Montana rancher Neal Collins said a camera on his barn captured a "herd" of seven grizzlies on his property Monday night. The next morning, agents from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hazed 10 grizzlies out of brush across the road from his place.

One More For The Road: Saturday, February 20, 2024

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