One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"Yes, that is a perfectly safe place to park your truck...."}]

One more for 4 20 24

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

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

Yes, that is a perfectly safe place to park your truck....

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

 Yes, that is a perfectly safe place to park your truck....

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

A Yellowstone bull bison with a gigantic abscess on its right rear quarter probably isn’t suffering much pain and will likely survive, one of the county’s top bison ranchers says.

But the recovery process is going to be good, said Ken Klemm, past president and a lifelong member of the National Bison Association.

After seeing a photo of the bison, taken early Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, Klemm said a gushing rupture of the abscess is imminent.

“It looks like a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff will come out of that one,” Klemm, who has managed some of the world’s largest bison ranches, told Cowboy State Daily.

The abscess probably formed around a wound, he said.

The bison rut, or mating season, is on in Yellowstone. The bull might have suffered a puncture during a fight with another bull, Klemm said.

Lauri Foster lives just outside of New York City and loves coming to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Early Wednesday, she was on a wildlife-viewing drive through the Lamar Valley when she spotted the bull sporting a huge, bulbous mass near its backside.

Foster works with horses and is familiar with injuries to large animals, so she knew what she saw on the bison must be something serious.

“I thought it had to be a hematoma or an abscess,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Foster couldn’t see any visible cuts or sores that might indicate exactly where it was wounded, she said.

To keep safe, Foster stayed in her vehicle to photograph that bull and other bison.

The bulls were raising a ruckus as they competed for mating rights.

“They were headbutting each other and chasing each other down,” Foster said.

The bull with the abscess was taking a break, though she surmised he had probably been recently wounded in a fight.

She added that despite how hideous that abscess looked, the bull didn’t seem sick or weak.

“He was walking along normally,” she said.

The rut has made bull bison extra agitated lately. In the most dramatic incident, a bison flipped and seriously injured Washington state resident Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, in July.

Foster said at one point the bull walked up the middle of the road and stopped directly in front of her vehicle, giving her the stink-eye.

“I was thinking, ‘this is a little intimidating,’” she said.

Bull elk are known for getting into epic battles once their rut starts, usually in September.

Bison take it to another level, Klemm said.

“They’re worse than elk. If the loser doesn’t get away, the other bull will kill him,” he said.

The National Park Service has a general policy of letting nature take its course with animals’ injuries.

Klemm said the bull with the super-sized abscess has a good chance of making it.

“The infection is just raging in there,” he said. "The immune system is keeping that bison from dying, just from walking around with that much infectious material in its body.

“I suspect it will burst fairly soon and he’ll get over it. Bison have unbelievably good immune systems for things like this.” 

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<title>Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A massive abscess on a Yellowstone bull bison’s right rear quarter likely is the result of an infected wound from a rut battle. When it ruptures, “a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff” will gush out, a top bison rancher says, adding the bison should be fine.

Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes

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

Renée Jean

Around Wyoming

The wave of legacy ranches for sale in Wyoming is continuing with yet another historic ranch hitting the market for the first time.

This time, it is the 1,542-acre Quarter Circle Lazy B, owned for four generations by the Wallop family, which has ties to British nobility, as well as historic prominence in both Wyoming and American politics. 

The Quarter Circle Lazy B, listed for $24.5 million and on the market for the first time in 135 years, is tucked just under the Bighorn Mountains at the mouth of Little Goose Canyon. Its sale will mark the end of an era for one of Wyoming’s best-known legacy ranches.

Owner Paul Wallop told Cowboy State Daily he and his wife, Sandra, have decided this is the right time to start a search for the ranch’s next steward because none of the children have an interest in taking over the ranch. 

“We’re not ancient,” Paul Wallop said. “But we’re in our mid-60s, and we could easily do another 10-plus years. But in that 10 years, one health event and you’re not keeping up with it.”

Sandra Wallop told Cowboy State Daily she fears it will be more difficult to be “picky” about a successor if they wait. Now is the right time so they can be selective.

“It’s important,” she said. “We want them to have good Wyoming values, be good neighbors. I hate to say it in this fashion, but we want to kind of interview them before we sell to them.”

That doesn’t mean the couple will be “hovering” over their new neighbors, she added. 

“We’re not going to be that kind of neighbor,” Sandra said. “We deeply and passionately love this place … So we’re hoping the next family has the same attitude and perspective that we do.”

The Wallop family first began assembling its ranch in 1889, when English-born Oliver Henry Wallop bought the first piece of what would become the Quarter Circle Lazy B. 

Oliver was the third and youngest son of a titled line in Britain. He took a shine to the American West after graduating from an English university, and decided that would be how he would make his way in the world.

As the youngest son of Isaac Newton Wallop, the fifth Earl of Portsmouth in Great Britain’s Victorian era, Oliver never expected he would inherit land or title. Such young men were, at the time, known as “remittance” men, because they typically left home to make their way in the world and were given a remittance from their family. 

His father’s name, Isaac Newton, does have an indirect tie to the famous physicist of the same name. A relative of Newton’s married into the Wallop family, and many of its sons were subsequently given names to honor that heritage.

Oliver came to America soon after graduating from Oxford in 1883, first buying a ranch in Montana, where he introduced the region’s first thoroughbred horses. He then migrated south to Wyoming in 1889, establishing the Canyon Ranch, which included the Quarter Circle Lazy B.

Oliver was ultimately wrong about his chances for succession. He returned to England after his second brother died, becoming the Earl of Portsmouth in 1925. 

“He had to renounce his U.S. citizenship, and then he served in the House of Lords,” Paul Wallop said. “And I don’t know if there’s any other member of the House of Lords what has ever served in a foreign government — it’s a very unique thing.”

Polo has a long history in Sheridan County, and the Wallops are integral to that story, along with the Scottish brothers William and Malcom Moncrieffe. 

“Malcom Moncrieffe had what was called the Polo Ranch, and then William had the Quarter Circle A Ranch, which is the Brinton Museum now,” Paul Wallop said. “Quarter Circle Lazy B is the neighboring ranch to the Quarter Circle Lazy A.” 

Together, these ranches got a contract with the British cavalry for horses, shipping 20,000 to South Africa for the Boer War.

“They were selling to the U.S. cavalry as well,” Paul Wallop added. “Part of their training for all the horses was just to get them started playing polo.”

Historical records show Sheridan’s first big polo match was July 4, 1893, which played to a crowd of several thousand spectators after a warmup from a military band.

The teams featured five mostly British players on each side, listed as Beckton vs. Sheridan. 

“Polo has always been a big deal here, and it’s still a big deal,” Paul Wallop said. “And that’s partly because of my great-grandfather.”

By the end of World War I, militaries were trending toward mechanical vehicles, collapsing that industry. The remount program died away, and the ranch shifted toward cattle markets.

“My grandfather began in registered Herefords, and he did really well with that up until he passed in the spring of 1980,” Paul Wallop said. 

Some of Oliver Malcom Wallop’s herd were even shipped to Japan, Sandra added, thanks to their elite genetics. 

Japan was crossing its smaller draft cattle with western breeds until about 1910 to increase their size and make them better-suited to meat production. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Royal Guest List"}]

For all its remoteness, the Quarter Circle Lazy B has long attracted an international roster of guests, thanks in part to the family’s enduring ties to British nobility. 

While Oliver Henry Wallop returned to England to serve in the House of Lords, he maintained close ties to his family in Wyoming and his ranch was a quiet magnet for many high-profile visitors, ranging from Buffalo Bill Cody and President Theodore Roosevelt — who designated the Bighorn National Forest after his visit — to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and, in more recent times, Princess Anne. 

Sports legend John Elway, former French President Valery Giscard D’Estaing, and American political leaders such as Vice President Dan Quayle are also among the high-profile guests.

“I mean, we’ve served tea to Princess Diana’s sister,” Sandra Wallop said. “This ranch has been host to a huge long list of princes and princesses and queens and vice presidents and senators and on and on and on.”

 a popular PBS British historical drama set at Highclere Castle, through an aunt who married the queen’s manager for thoroughbred racing, Lord Porchester.

“He became the Earl of Carnarvon and Paul’s aunt became the Countess of Carnarvon,” Sandra said. “And they owned Highclere, which Paul’s cousin now has, and is where Downton Abbey was filmed.”

The buildings on the ranch reflect its layered history. There’s the historic stone barn, constructed in the 1930s, which once served as a show barn for registered Hereford sales and which today serves as a horse barn and tack space. 

There’s the foreman’s or manager’s house, dating to around the turn of the 20th century. It has three bedrooms and two baths, and is likely the oldest building on the property. 

There’s the Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing lodge, featured in Great American Fishing Lodges, built in 1993. It’s a two-bedroom, four-bath home with a panoramic view of Little Goose Canyon and Moncrieffe Ridge.

And there’s Johnnie’s mountain cabin, a remote two-bedroom, one-bath mountain home. 

Other structures include a heated mechanics shop, a newer Morton building for horses and storing equipment, a farm shed for storage with dog kennels at the south end, a Scale House complete with a 10-ton 1965 Fairbanks Morse Scale and a 100-by-200-foot outdoor riding arena complete with lighting, advanced drainage, tack areas and wash bays.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Than Land, Buildings"}]

All this set in an area that boasts trophy wildlife of all kinds — moose, elk, deer, mountain lion, bear, and upland game birds. The ranch still has one of Wyoming’s original private game-bird farm licenses, and it’s also one of the first conservation easements written in the state.

Little Goose Creek offers 600 feet of trout stream to go with the property’s four mountain ponds. 

What’s for sale, the Wallops say, is more than just a collection of historic buildings and some scenic acres. To them, it’s a way of life their family has spent four generations protecting.

That’s why they’re less focused on how fast the ranch sells than on who ultimately buys it. They hope for someone who will treasure both its history and its future, helping with the next three or four generations of stewardship. 

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<title>Wallop Family’s Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch For Sale After 135 Years For $24.5M | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wallop family's legacy Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch in Sheridan County is for sale for the first time in 135 years, listing for $24.5 million. It hosted Queen Elizabeth II, supplied cavalry horses to Britain and helped build Wyoming's polo scene.

Wallop Family’s Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch For Sale After 135 Years For $24.5M

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

 SHERIDAN — Secretary of State Chuck Gray bashed data centers repeatedly and clashed with the moderator 

during a U.S. House forum and debate Tuesday night in Sheridan, 

Casper businessman Reid Rasner criticized Gray multiple times. Both philanthropist Steve Friess and Army Col. Kevin Christensen asserted that they’re leading the race with Gray.   

And a few candidates derided the significant wealth streaming into this race.

Wyoming Public Television (PBS) hosted the forum at Sheridan Community College. Both PBS and Wyoming Public Media streamed it.

PBS public affairs producer Steve Peck moderated the forum, which also featured a short debate phase. He warned candidates they should be civil and avoid prolonged challenges or pointed attacks on their opponents, or they’d be interrupted.

Cowboy State Daily and Wyoming Public Media panelists asked questions about whether Congress should legislate rules around license-plate reader cameras, and who is responsible for implementing artificial intelligence protection framework.

Gray answered both questions with repeated references to data centers, which are computer server warehouses that store data – including for AI – and are a flashpoint issue this election cycle.

“Well, I’m the only candidate on stage that has been talking about these data AI data centers and expressed my opposition to these AI data centers,” said Gray, who also referenced mandated kill switches in vehicles and automated workforces.

Other candidates have spoken of data centers, but only Gray has indicated a desire to ban them at the federal level from Washington, D.C.

Senate President Bo Biteman said the states shouldn’t be cut out of the ability to ban or approve data centers, and communities should have the most control over their local permitting decisions for them.

That has been Friess’s stance, and former U.S. Army ranger David Giralt echoed that approach Tuesday night also.

Rasner agreed with the local-control stance Tuesday night, and used the topic as a chance to deride Gray.

“And I find it very suspicious even our own secretary of state signed off on an AI data center less than 1 mile away from our nuclear facilities and (FE) Warren Air Force base,” said Rasner.

Gray interjected: “That’s false. That’s false.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"'When It's Your Turn'"}]

Rasner continued the critique. Gray turned to Peck and said, “I need to respond to that.”

“When it’s your turn to respond,” said Peck, “take the time then, please.”

“I can’t respond to false …" began Gray.

“You can respond when it’s your turn to respond next,” answered Peck.

Former President Joe Biden in a 2024 executive order announced that MineOne, a data center company “majority owned by Chinese nationals”, had bought land within one mile of the base at 635 Logistics Drive, Cheyenne.

The order calls Terra Crypto Inc, which was incorporated under Gray’s office in 2023, a subsidiary or affiliate of MineOne.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. investigated the business and identified national security risks, the order says. The Biden administration ordered the business to 

While Gray’s signature is on the business registration approval for Terra Crypto, he has repeatedly urged the Legislature to adopt stronger business-approval laws to restrict adversarial nations.

The Legislature reacted to the 2024 controversy by giving state law enforcement 

 potentially dangerous land transfers near critical infrastructure, and giving the secretary of state grounds to dissolve businesses owned or controlled by foreign adversaries.

Meanwhile, at the debate, Friess voiced fears of AI systems “going off the rails” and said the U.S. should also be aware of its tech race against China.

Former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said the technology industry seeks framework and guidance from government, and said she’d work to develop that “as your congresswoman.”

Christensen said the nation needs to develop framework for ethical AI, but individuals and families also need to engage, communicate with their kids and be wary of the new landscape.

Giralt said Congress should do “hard work” to put data privacy protections in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Next, Sheridan Press government reporter Weston Pope asked candidates which of President Donald Trump’s executive orders they’d codify or discard.

Gray’s turn came last in that round, and after he listed his favored executive orders on election security, immigration enforcement and “stopping Wall Street housing speculation that has driven up housing costs,” he responded to Rasner.

“But, 20 minutes later,” said Gray, “I’m finally going to respond to this false statement from one of my opponents, who’s been making false statements for six months about me.”

Gray touted himself as the “strongest secretary of state in the nation on stopping China and North Korea.”

This is at least the second time Gray has 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Biteman Remembers That One Differently"}]

Nikki Ouellet, managing editor of Wyoming Public Media, asked Gray and Biteman how they’d be effective in Congress.

That was during a debate phase that pitted two candidates against each other at a time.

“Well I have a track record of this,” said Gray, pointing to his sponsorship of a successful bill directing medical staffers performing abortions to inform patients “of the opportunity” to view an ultrasound of the child and hear a heartbeat. 

Gray pointed to other legislative efforts on coal and election reform.

“What I learned during that time is that people respond to legislators with conviction, legislators that are approachable, have a sense of humor and are also authentic,” said Gray. “And that’s certainly what I am.”

He said other legislators are drawn to that.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Biteman voiced surprise."}]

“Well, that’s not the history I remember, serving with my good friend Chuck,” said Biteman, who’s on the final days of 10 years’ service in the Legislature.

“He developed a reputation of being a bully,” said Biteman of Gray. “He treated people roughly and he didn’t have the respect of his colleagues, because of the way he treated them.”

Gray responded, “Well, Biteman is wrong,” and said some lawmakers didn’t like that Gray would call for named, roll-call votes instead of voice majority.

In the next debate phase pitting Biteman against Rasner, Biteman answered a question about federal spending by saying the nation needs to start by finishing the “DOGE” mission of cutting waste, fraud and abuse.

Rasner responded by thanking Biteman for his service in the Legislature, and taking another dig at Gray.

Rasner said Gray in 2021 “voted to give tax breaks to big data centers right here in Wyoming, and usher them in.”

The vote was an attempt by then-Rep. Clark Stith to repeal Wyoming’s tax exemption for large data center projects. Gray had voted at the time to keep the tax exemption.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Gray addressed Peck again."}]

“Am I going to get to respond to that per your rules?” asked Gray. “Am I going to get to respond? Are you ever going to follow your rules?”

Peck answered, “I am following the rules, sir.”

“OK,” said Gray. “So I can’t respond? You said that …"

Peck interjected, “You’ll have another chance to speak during this round.”

“You’re not following your rules,” objected Gray.

“I am following the rules, I invite you to check them,” said Peck.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“You’re not,” said Gray."}]

“Do you want to continue, sir?” asked Peck.

Gray continued to lament that Peck was not following the rules.

Peck offered Biteman the chance to respond to Rasner’s remarks, as part of the two-man debate.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“No, I’m good,” said Biteman."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The audience laughed. Some clapped."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Harriet Hageman"}]

Candidates diverged slightly at the two-word lightning round prompt of “Harriet Hageman.”

“She is terrible at responding to constituent letters,” said Dodson. The audience laughed.

Christensen said he disagrees with her on a number of things that Wyoming people didn’t support but finds her hard-working and dedicated to Wyoming.

Giralt said she’s doing an excellent job, and he’ll add his own priorities to the mix.

Biteman pivoted: “She’s a good cook and she makes a mean lasagna.”

Rasner called her a strong conservative and said he’s looking forward to working with her. Gray delivered similar praise.

Friess called her a friend and said she leaves “big shoes to fill.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Abortion"}]

All candidates except Gray and Rasner indicated they’d leave the decision of whether to ban abortion in the hands of the states, with some echoing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the famous Dobbs case declaring a nationwide abortion access right unconstitutional.

Gray said he favors considering a national pro-life policy. Rasner simply said he’s “100% pro-life.”

That was during the lightning round, where short answers were required. Friess in prior forums has called for codifying the “Mexico City Rule,” to ban use of federal aid funds on abortion globally.

Giralt in past forums has called for codifying the Hyde amendment, to ban the use of federal dollars for abortion.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Closing Statements"}]

During closing statements, Friess asserted that the polling shows it’s a two-man race. Friess pivoted late last month to presenting himself as a candidate who can beat Gray, and whom anti-Gray Republicans should back in the election.

Balow shook her head when Friess reiterated the “two-man race” assertion Tuesday.

Balow and Rasner both pointed to their deep Wyoming roots as multi-generational residents of the Cowboy State. Giralt referenced his experience helping to craft laws as a congressional staffer.

Biteman pointed to his career in the Legislature.

“I’m a people person. I get along well with people. I build coalitions,” said Biteman. “Talk is cheap; you need to send someone to Washington, D.C., that’s actually done everything that’s being talked about on this stage.”

Biteman gestured with both index fingers pointed outward toward Gray and Rasner.

Gray asserted the race is actually a two-man race between him and Christensen, but that Christensen is “much too liberal.”

Christensen agreed with the claim that he’s a frontrunner but countered on the “liberal” allegation, calling himself a Reagan/Bush-era, traditional conservative.

“I’ve led people in combat. I’ve influenced … the Armed Services Committees,” said Christensen, also pointing to his work as a federal public-lands manager in Wyoming.

“You can see the stark differences between us: who can work with people, and who can’t,” said Christensen of himself and Gray.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Dodson urged people to vote,"}]

“Anybody up here can win,” he said. “If you think your candidate has no chance you’re wrong.” 

[{"type":"text","text":"In Hindsight …"}]

On Wednesday, Gray and Rasner both asserted via Facebook post that they’d won the debate.

Giralt thanked the outlets for hosting. Biteman posted a link to the full debate Tuesday.

Christensen authored a post expounding one of his short, lightning-round answers.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is Aug. 18. "}]

Debate grey biteman rasner best

<title>Chuck Gray Hammers Data Centers, Clashes With Host At U.S. House Forum | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Secretary of State Chuck Gray brought up data centers repeatedly and clashed with the moderator during a U.S. House forum Tuesday night in Sheridan. Reid Rasner criticized Gray, while multiple candidates claimed to be leading the race.

Chuck Gray Hammers Data Centers, Clashes With Host At U.S. House Forum

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

Andrew Rossi

Wyoming Life

Penny Counts was showing her boyfriend around the Alcova area on Sunday when she saw something she’d never seen: someone bungee jumping in Fremont Canyon.

“We just happened to be out there when that guy was up on that rock,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “I saw him rigging up, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! He’s gonna try jumping!' And he made the jump, swinging back and forth and hollering all the way.”

Bungee jumpers keep leaping off the Fremont Canyon Bridge or the cliffs below it despite a tragic history that goes back 50 years. “Somebody to actually want to jump off of it with that type of rigging is insane,” said a woman who got video of a jumper.

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

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