Outdoors

Yellowstone National Park visitor Vince Botkin said unidentified tourists used a drone to buzz an osprey nest in the park. The National Park Service confirmed that “an individual” was cited for illegally flying a drone near an osprey nest late Thursday.

Tourist Who Buzzed Yellowstone Osprey Nest With Drone Could Get Six Months In Jail

A tourist allegedly used a drone to buzz an osprey nest in Yellowstone National Park and could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine for the violation of park rules.

Mark HeinzJune 12, 2025

Interior Secretary Burgum Wants Foreign Visitor Fees, $1B Cut To National Parks

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wants to charge fees for foreigners visiting America’s national parks, as well as cut $1 billion from their budgets. Burgum defended the plan Wednesday during a Senate hearing.

Renée JeanJune 11, 2025

A bison walks past people who just watched the eruption of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

New Jersey Man Gored By Bison Near Old Faithful In Yellowstone

A New Jersey man on Tuesday became the second person this year to be gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park. Authorities say the 30-year-old was near Old Faithful and got too close to the animal when it turned and gored him.

Andrew RossiJune 10, 2025

A group of pronghorn does relentlessly pursue a coyote that tried to snatch one of the herd’s fawns in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley.

Yellowstone Antelope Relentlessly Chase Coyote That Tried To Snatch Fawn

Getting a meal is no easy task for coyotes in Yellowstone National Park. One unfortunate coyote was relentlessly pursued by some pronghorn after trying to snatch a fawn in the Lamar Valley.

Mark HeinzJune 10, 2025

A Wyoming bull elk with a group of females.

‘Nonresident Native’ Tags Could Bring Former Wyomingites Back Home To Hunt

People born and raised in Wyoming who move to other states must pay expensive nonresident tag fees to come back to hunt. Legislators are considering lower-priced “nonresident native” hunting tags for them.

Mark HeinzJune 09, 2025

Popular Shell Falls In The Bighorns Is Closed, And Won’t Reopen For Two Years

Shell Falls, a popular outdoors attraction in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest, is closed for the next two years for repairs. It’s the second out-of-commission spot in the region this summer on the heels of Crazy Woman Canyon’s unexpected closure.

Renée JeanJune 09, 2025

The Great Salt Lake Is Swarming With Billions Of Brine Flies

Just in time for tourist season, billions of brine flies are hatching at the Great Salt Lake. Although they've got a bad reputation among humans, they’re an immensely valuable food source for animals. Dozens of birds swoop their beaks into the lake to grab brine flies by the mouthful.

Andrew RossiJune 08, 2025

Expeditions in the Rocky Mountains and the Lander area remain some of the most popular offerings at NOLS.

Lander-Based National Outdoor Leadership School Has Gone Global Over 6 Decades

It’s been 60 years since 100 men headed into the Wind River Range on June 8, 1965, the first National Outdoor Leadership School program. The Lander, Wyoming-based nonprofit has evolved to host thousands of students a year in locations across the globe.

Amber SteinmetzJune 07, 2025

After being shot down in the Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 session, a proposal to let Wyoming landowners put their hunting tags up for sale was revived before a legislative committee Friday.

Controversial Proposal To Let Landowners Sell Hunting Tags Revived

After being shot down during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 session, a proposal to let Wyoming landowners put their hunting tags up for sale was revived before a legislative committee Friday.

Mark HeinzJune 07, 2025

Despite their declining numbers across Wyoming and the West, mule deer remain wildly popular among wildlife watchers and hunters.

Wyoming’s Golden Age Of Mule Deer Is Gone, With Fewer Than Half Of Peak Numbers

Wyoming has fewer than half of the 500,000 mule deer it did during the heyday of the 1960s to 1980s, and it will likely never see mule deer herds like that again, a Game and Fish official told legislators Friday.

Mark HeinzJune 06, 2025

It's Not Easy To Get Bison Off The Road (When They Don't Want To)

Bison are massive, obstinate, and have no regard for rules of the road. Even park rangers struggle to overcome their stubbornness, as evidenced by a recent game of “Ring Around the Rosie” between a bison and a Park Service SUV in Yellowstone National Park.

Andrew RossiJune 06, 2025

Woman and toddler right next to 2,000-pound bison in Yellowstone National Park on June 2, 2025

Photographers Aghast At Dimwitted Tourist Who Allowed Toddler Next To Bison

Wildlife photographers Rob and Jennifer Gunderson have seen a lot of questionable behavior over the years in Yellowstone. This week they were taken aback when they saw a woman allowing her toddler to stand right next to a full-grown 2,000-pound bison.

Andrew RossiJune 06, 2025

Jeremy Shellhorn, from left, Miranda Foster and Pam Murcia install an innovative sign to deter speeding through a grizzly bear corridor in Grand Teton National Park.

‘Sad Bear’ Signs Target Stretch Of Highway Where Grizzlies Keep Getting Hit

Researchers are taking a new route to keep drivers from barreling through Grand Teton grizzly habitat. They're tugging on people's heartstrings by putting up “sad bear” roadside signs, urging them to slow down.

Mark HeinzJune 06, 2025

A group of pronghorn graze near a Wyoming wind farm.

As Minerals, Wind And Solar Projects Boom In Wyoming, Should Companies Pay For Displaced Wildlife?

State Sen. Larry Hicks is proposing a bill that would compensate Wyoming residents for “loss of property” when huge wind, solar, minerals or other energy projects displace wildlife.

Mark HeinzJune 05, 2025

When the first Hogs For Hope motorcycle rally against wolf torture rolled into Daniel on May 26, 2024, locals blocked off the front of the Green River Bar with trailers. Rally organizers had planned to meet on the front porch of the bar and present wolf advocates with a check from donations raised by Hogs For Hope.

Hunter Calls For Counter-Protest During Daniel Rally Against Wolf Torture

An outdoorsman is calling for people to show up in Daniel on June 14 to support Wyoming’s wolf management policies and to counter what he says is the inaccurate demonization of local resident Cody Roberts.

Mark HeinzJune 05, 2025

The antler auction in Jackson has been a tradition each May for 58 years, but this year sales plummeted to about half of normal.

Early Elk Migration Could Be To Blame For Low Sales At Jackson Antler Auction

An early elk migration out of the National Elk Refuge could be to blame for a plunge in revenue from this year’s elk antler auction in Jackson. The annual auction consistently pulls in about $200,000 but this year’s auction generated only $109,000.

Mark HeinzJune 04, 2025

Goliath, a 33-year-old, mustang stallion who lived a hardscrabble life on the Wyoming range now enjoys freedom on a 9,000-acre sanctuary in Oregon.

Elderly Wyoming Mustangs Enjoy Life On Oregon Sanctuary They Helped Make Famous

Goliath and Blue Zeus are two huge mustang stallions who lived hardscrabble lives on the Wyoming range and now enjoy freedom and plentiful forage on a 9,000-acre horse sanctuary in Oregon. Goliath is 33-years-old while Blue Zeus is 24.

Mark HeinzJune 03, 2025

Grizzly 1063, aka Bonita, has one cub left, after her other two cubs were killed last month by a large male grizzly.

Hazing Of Grizzly 1063 Led To Cubs Being Killed, Photographer Tom Mangelsen Says

World famous wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen said he believes the National Park Service's "hard hazing" of Grizzly 1063 last month led to two of her cubs being killed and cannibalized by a large male grizzly. The National Park Service disputes that.

Mark HeinzJune 03, 2025

Screenshot of Black Diamond Pool in Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin erupting on Saturday, May 31, 2025

Yellowstone Pool, Which Exploded In Spectacular Fashion Last Summer, Erupts Again

The Black Diamond Pool, in Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin, blew up on Saturday evening. The area has been closed to the public ever since a spectacular explosion sent tourists screaming and running in all directions last summer.

Andrew RossiJune 02, 2025

The Higgs family ranch near Coal Creek, Colorado, lost 15 cattle in a single day. The animals, mostly heifers (mother cows) died suddenly after suffering seizures, and nobody can figure out why.

15 Cattle Dropped Dead In One Day On Colorado Ranch Remains A Mystery

A Colorado ranch family suffered a devastating loss when 15 head of cattle died suddenly in a single day. Weeks later, they still haven’t figured out why.

Mark HeinzJune 02, 2025

Wild North American Grey Wolf in Yellowstone National Park

When and Where To Hear Wolves Howling in Yellowstone

Going to Yellowstone and want to hear the howling of wolves? There are a lot of factors at play but the most important is just like real estate: location, location, location. Lamar Valley is your best bet.

Andrew RossiJune 02, 2025

Ticks may be tiny, but tens of thousands of them at a time can be big trouble for Wyoming moose. The blood-sucking parasites can even mean a miserable death for moose.

As Tough As Moose Are, Tens Of Thousands Of Ticks Can Bring Them Down

Given their massive size and cantankerous attitudes, Wyoming’s moose might seem practically indestructible, but if enough ticks pile on to a moose, they can kill it -- and they do.

Mark HeinzJune 01, 2025

Hummingbird season is in swing, drawing many bird watchers of the tiny species known for aerial acrobatics and the pollination of flowers across Wyoming. They also suck down enough sugar to put a human in a coma. This Rufous hummingbird was photographed in Laramie County.

Hummingbirds Return to Wyoming, Sucking Down Enough Sugar To Put A Human In A Coma

Hummingbird season is back across Wyoming, drawing out fans of the tiny species known for aerial acrobatics and pollination of flowers. To fuel their sky-high metabolic rate, they suck down about 80% of their body weight in nectar each day.

David MadisonJune 01, 2025

One in a series of images Wyoming photographer Dave Bell created of an aurora borealis visible in Wyoming.

Severe Geomagnetic Storm Could Make Spectacular Auroras Over Wyoming

The Space Weather Prediction Center on Saturday issued a Severe geomagnetic storm watch for June 1 and 2 when a massive surge of solar energy reaches Earth. That means some fantastic aurora displays could be in store for Wyoming skywatchers.

Andrew RossiMay 31, 2025

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