Outdoors

Lake Helen in Wyoming's Cloud Peak Wilderness, part of the state's more than 3 million acres of federal roadless areas.

Fate Of 3.3 Million Acres Of Roadless Areas In Wyoming About To Be Decided

The 2001 Clinton-era Roadless Rule could soon end, opening 3.3 million acres of national forests in Wyoming for road construction. Harriet Hageman calls the rule a disaster, while roadless supporters say it protects prime hunting, fishing and tourism.

Mark HeinzAugust 19, 2026

Joe Ricketts speaks Wednesday at the Saving Yellowstone summit at the Jackson Fork Ranch near Bondurant.

Polarizing Billionaire Joe Ricketts Says He’s Focused On 'Saving Yellowstone'

Billionaire Joe Ricketts once wanted to build a mega-resort on his 1,300-acre ranch and rename Bondurant “Little Jackson Hole.” Now he's focused on "Saving Yellowstone." "If we don’t move now, it will be gone forever,” he said Wednesday.

Mark HeinzAugust 19, 2026

Sandhill Cranes Put On Parenting Show For Onlookers In Grand Teton National Park

Sandhill cranes in Grand Teton National Park put on a real-life parenting show for onlookers while teaching their offspring how to fly, run, and other survival skills. Everything a colt must know to survive is taught by the parents, one naturalist explained.

Mark HeinzAugust 18, 2026

Outdoorsman Ryan Lutes had a predatory encounter with a female brown bear in Sitka, Alaska, during the first week of June.

When A Bear Wants To Eat You: Outdoorsman Has Terrifying Predatory Encounter

Outdoorsman Ryan Lutes had a predatory encounter with a female brown bear earlier this summer. He told Cowboy State Daily that he credits confidence and bold action for coming out alive. "I knew I had to plant my ass, stand firm and not appear weak," he said.

Mark HeinzAugust 15, 2026

Spike In Roadkill: Drought Has Wildlife Searching For Food And Water Near Roads

Wyoming’s persistent hot, dry weather could be to blame for a spike in roadkill as wildlife is being drawn to greenery and water alongside highways. One Teton County resident says she’s seen many bears not far from where Grizzly 399 was struck and killed.

Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2026

Kevin Perry, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah, examines a dust mitigation test site on the exposed lakebed of Farmington Bay in Utah's Great Salt Lake on July 9, 2025. As water levels drop in Utah's Great Salt Lake, scientists are urgently working to understand the dust coming off the exposed lakebed and its potential health risks to the communities nearby.

Could 'Toxic Soup' From Great Salt Lake Lakebed Dust Impact Southwest Wyoming?

Researchers warn that a "toxic soup" of dust from a shrinking Great Salt Lake could be reaching Wyoming, which is not specifically monitoring lake particles. “We’re causing the problem, but it could impact you,” a University of Utah scientist says.

Kate MeadowsAugust 14, 2026

The Powder River at Arvada in Sheridan County was extremely low, at 17.4 cubic feet per second (cfs), when this photo was taken on June 16. It’s since dropped to 0 cfs.

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

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.

Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2026

A grizzly bear and a young wolf had a standoff near a bison carcass in Yellowstone National Park but they didn’t take it to the level of fighting.

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

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.

Mark HeinzAugust 13, 2026

The Bureau of Land Management wants to round up about 1,800 mustangs from central Wyoming, claiming they’re overpopulated. Horse advocates say their horses are thriving in healthy numbers.

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

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.

Mark HeinzAugust 13, 2026

An elk calf got entangled in some barbed wire over the weekend but thankfully a Wyoming ranch hand rescued it.

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

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

Mark HeinzAugust 12, 2026

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

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

Mark HeinzAugust 11, 2026

Yellowstone Tourists Watch As Rangers Use Kitchen Knives To Dismember Bison

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

Andrew RossiAugust 11, 2026

Angi Bruce's Resignation As Game and Fish Director Catches Sportsmen By Surprise

Wyoming sportsmen said the sudden resignation of Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce came as a surprise despite some misgivings about the department's direction. Bruce, the department's first female director, now has a job in the governor's office.

Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2026

Scarce Food Sources Could Put Bears In A Bind As They Seek Protein For Hibernation

Grizzlies are stuffing themselves with moths at higher elevations, but once the moths are gone food supplies could get scarce as bears move to lower elevations seeking protein for hibernation, one ecologist says. A poor chokecherry crop is one concern.

Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2026

Seminoe Reservoir in Carbon County is so low a proposed pumped-water storage project wouldn’t work and could devastate Wyoming's famus Miracle Mile trout fishery, opponents say. Scientists say they the North Platte to remain vulnerable to drought.

Critics Say Proposed Seminoe Power Project Won’t Have Enough Water

Seminoe Reservoir in Carbon County is so low a proposed pumped-water storage project wouldn’t work and could devastate Wyoming's famous Miracle Mile trout fishery, critics say. Scientists say the drought won't end any time soon.

Mark HeinzAugust 09, 2026

Vampire bats are expanding their range northward. A wildlife disease expert thinks they could start carrying chronic wasting disease, or CWD.

Biologists Concerned Vampire Bats Could Transmit Chronic Wasting Disease To Cattle, Humans

As vampire bats move north from Mexico and chronic wasting disease moves south from the Northern Rockies, a disease expert worries that the bats could start carrying the disease and transmitting them to cattle or even humans.

Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2026

A firefighter tends to a field of burning cheatgrass in Wyoming.

Cheatgrass An Nightmare For Wyoming Rangeland, Costing $110 Million In Losses

Cheatgrass has become a nightmare for Wyoming ranchers, costing an estimated $110 million in annual losses. Hot Springs rancher Chip Axtell estimates 20% of his own rangeland has been taken over by cheatgrass. “It grabs up all the moisture," he said.

Jackie DorothyAugust 08, 2026

"They just liked me," Pamela Chrisman said of the generations of wild moose that returned to her ranch.

Meet The Moose Whisperer: For 40 Years, Wild Moose Return To Her Big Piney Ranch

For nearly 40 years, generations of wild moose have returned to Fish Creek Ranch near Big Piney, Wyoming, where they trust Pamela Chrisman so much she can walk up and pet them. "This is kind of a safe haven for all those guys," she said.

Kolby FedoreAugust 08, 2026

Shonna Kaye Dehl of Lovell (foreground) and Maggie Bassett of Powell have camped in the Bighorn Mountains for years. Their camp was trashed by an aggressive black bear late July 5, 2026.

Game And Fish Kills Black Bear That Drove Women From Bighorns Camp, Shredded Tent

Wyoming Game and Fish wardens have killed a black bear that drove two women from their camp and shredded their tent in the Bighorn Mountains early last month. The bear likely was food-conditioned and continued to enter other camps through July.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2026

Mountain peaks border the Gros Ventre Wilderness in western Wyoming.

Conservationists To Sue Forest Service To Stop Cattle Grazing In Gros Ventre Range

Conservationists plan to sue the Forest Service to stop grazing on a part of Wyoming’s remote Gros Ventre Range. They say it will lead to grizzlies killing cattle and, in turn, wildlife agents killing the bears. A cattleman from the area disagrees.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2026

This bull bison, suffering with a massive abscess on his right rear quarter, was seen early Wednesday in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. (

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

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.

Mark HeinzAugust 06, 2026

A pack of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

Hageman Says Wolf Delisting Bill Stalled By ‘Elitist East Coast Politicians’

A bill to delist wolves across the Lower 48 co-sponsored by Wyoming U.S. Sens. Barrasso and Lummis was blocked by a New Jersey Democrat. Rep. Hageman on Wednesday blasted "elitist East Coast politicians' continued objections to common-sense proposals.”

Mark HeinzAugust 05, 2026

A barred owl, inset, with a group of spotted owls.

Feds Continue With Plan To Save Spotted Owls By Killing Nearly 500,000 Other Owls

A federal campaign to kill nearly a half-million barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to save threatened spotted owls continues, even though recent lifting of protections for spotted owl habitat defeats the entire purpose, an animal welfare advocate says.