It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, August 1st. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock in beautiful Wyoming, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.
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Sublette County authorities are calling a grand jury to decide whether to indict Cody Roberts, a Daniel man who ran over a wolf with a snowmobile, brought it muzzled into a bar, then shot it in February 2024.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Roberts paid $250 last March toward a citation for violating Wyoming Game and Fish regulations against possessing wildlife - but he could still be charged under a different law if a grand jury sees fit.
“The case was just kind of a PR disaster for Wyoming, not to mention our laws. It shown a spotlight on our laws and the whole world wanted to stereotype Wyoming over this, it seemed like at the time, but Roberts, meanwhile, paid $250 toward a Game and Fish citation for possessing wildlife. And so a lot of the outrage was, well, why isn't he facing something more serious? Well, with this grand jury convening so A, they can look and see if a more serious charge applies to him under the evidence. And B, they can also make people talk. They can subpoena, you know, witnesses, and as long as there's not like a fifth amendment incrimination or spousal privilege privilege situation, they can basically make them talk.”
The incident with the wolf exploded into international headlines, sparking outrage across the country from sportsmen and animal rights activists, and put both the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming’s wildlife management laws under scrutiny.
Read the full story HERE.
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Brian Nesvik of Wyoming was on the verge of Senate confirmation Thursday to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with Republicans working long hours to counter blanket stalling by Democrats of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved Nesvik’s nomination on a 10-9 party-line vote nearly four months ago on April 9. But Cowboy State Daily’s Sean Barry reports that only this week did Senate Republican Leader John Thune of South Dakota finally get around to initiating floor action on Nesvik.
“The Republicans have been hit with extreme stalling tactics by the Democrats who are really unhappy with the hyper partisan activities by the Republican Party, pushing legislation on strictly partisan votes. They're stalling everything. It's not about Brian Nesvik, it's about everybody. They're dragging it out as long as possible. Because the longer that you drag it out, the more you slow down the agenda overall.”
Read the full story HERE.
But with Nesvik poised to become the new head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that his open support for delisting grizzly bears has been the deciding factor in whether people supported or opposed his confirmation.
“A lot of folks' opinions, one way or another, seem to hinge on Nesvik’s open support of delisting grizzly bears. You know, some people think, hey, that's great. It's way overdue. He goes from Wyoming and goes to Washington and gets done what we needed done. But then other folks are saying, No, we really do not need Grizzlies delisted. They still need the protection, they're still facing growing threat from human encroachment on their range and other such things.”
It’s expected that if Nesvik takes the helm at FWS, the odds of grizzlies being delisted will greatly increase. If they are delisted, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department plans to open limited grizzly hunting seasons in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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There are few things more unsightly than a baseball cap sitting on one of the gorgeous and delicate bacterial mats that surround thermal features in Yellowstone National Park. However, the best thing a park visitor can do is leave them be.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that one visitor seemed to be taking matters into his own hands Monday, going off the designated boardwalks to go after those hats.
“The bacterial mats in Yellowstone National Park are living things. They're communities of thermophiles, which are microbes that have adapted to survive in the intense climate… They are durable to an extent, because, I mean, bison walk across them, wolves walk across them, bears walk across them. And if one or two people were to walk across them, probably wouldn't do that much damage, if any. But when you've got hundreds of people who could potentially see one person out there and decide they can walk out there, that's why it's a problem.”
While this tourist may have been well-intentioned, stepping onto any of Yellowstone's bacterial mats is considered thermal trespass and is punishable with anything from fines to a temporary ban from the park. Hat and object retrieval is best left to the professionals.
Read the full story HERE.
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A man accused of harassing multiple hikers along the Continental Divide Trail suffers from schizophrenia and needs help.
That's what Nicholas “Cottonmouth” Sampson’s mother told Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland. The 36-year-old Sampson, who has been dubbed the “High Country Harasser," was arrested July 24 in Carbon County on breach of peace charges, stemming from claims that he hit a male hiker in the nose after screaming obscenities at a female hiker.
“After the story broke, Sampson's mother reached out to me like, you have no idea the struggles that we have had trying to restore his mental health after schizophrenia diagnosis in his 20s, and so she lamented like, Wyoming in March let him go after another battery case, very similar circumstances and some mental health restorative efforts… the reality of our our laws is once a person, once his case has been adjudicated or dismissed in this case, and once he's no longer a danger to himself or others because of mental illness, we can't keep holding someone because… then you're running into some pretty serious constitutional issues.”
The new case comes a year after Sublette County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Sampson after two different reports last July, in which he shoved one male hiker to the ground and hit another male hiker so hard that he fell.
Read the full story HERE.
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Renaming the federal Endangered Species Act to the “Endangered Species Recovery Act” is purely symbolic, but it points things in the right direction.
That’s what a former Trump administration official said regarding a measure introduced by Wyoming Republican congressional delegates Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Harriet Hageman on Thursday, to formally add the word “recovery” to the ESA’s title.
Wyoming attorney William Perry Pendley told Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz that the relabeling would aptly reflect the ESA’s original intent.
“Now, on its face, that's all it is. It's a relabeling. It's a name change. It's a symbolic move… It sets the tone for the Endangered Species Act to be about getting species recovered and then getting them off the list. Because their critique of the, you know, the Endangered Species Act, one criticism of it is that it has been used to keep animals perpetually on the list and perpetually listed.”
Roughly 1,600 species are currently listed under the ESA.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming lawmakers wrestled with two energy questions Wednesday: Should the state invest heavily in squeezing more oil from aging fields, and should it pass a resolution calling for a compact with neighboring states and Canada to build CO2 pipelines?
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the Joint Minerals, Business & Economic Development Interim Committee delivered a split decision — keeping alive ambitious proposals to boost enhanced oil recovery while rejecting a resolution calling for an interstate pipeline compact.
“We already have a pipeline system in Wyoming, and there are pipelines in other states, but the ambition is to expand it and to coordinate with other states to do that. The resolution was ultimately voted down. But I think that there was my sense from being in the room when they discussed it was that people was that legislators generally supported the idea. They just didn't think we needed to pass a resolution to say that.”
The committee did vote to move forward with a $250 million plan to boost oil recovery using carbon dioxide injection.
Read the full story HERE.
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And more than two dozen passengers and crew members of a Delta flight received medical care after heavy turbulence over southern Wyoming on Wednesday forced their plane to make an emergency landing in Minnesota.
Cowboy State Daily’s Justin George reports that Flight 56 left Salt Lake City at 4:45 p.m. and climbed to 35,000 feet. About a half hour later, the plane climbed another 1,000 feet, where it hit a powerful patch of turbulence. That was over Wyoming.
“Passengers say it was rough enough that some of the many of them hit their heads. There were broken bones. Beverage carts went flying. The plane had to make an immediate landing in Minneapolis, and from there… 18 passengers and seven crew were sent to hospitals for treatment and evaluation… talk to our meteorologist Don day, who said there were several thunderstorms over Wyoming at that time. It's a very, very rough time. And he said, flying in the Rockies during the summer is a very, very sort of rough ordeal.”
All passengers were being assisted by Delta’s Care Team, connecting them to other flights. And Delta planned to operate a special flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Amsterdam on Thursday evening to help Flight 56 passengers reach their original destination.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news! For a deeper dive into the people and issues that affect Wyoming, check out The Roundup, conversations with the most interesting people in the Cowboy State. This week, my guest is journalist, author and filmmaker Alan O’Hashi. You can find the link to this inspiring conversation on our website, on our YouTube channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you'll find it in our FREE daily email newsletter! Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
