Cat Urbigkit
Latest from Cat Urbigkit
Cat Urbigkit: On Choosing Grace
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Watching the question of a special session for the Wyoming Legislature the last week was rather disheartening. Some even suggested that those with differing views were associated with evil and told followers that those with opposing views 'hate you.'"
Cat UrbigkitApril 02, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: BLM's Public Comment Process On Sage Grouse & Multiple Use Is Bungled
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The BLM released thousands of pages detailing six options for public lands management in the western states to conserve sage grouse – but only granted 90 days for the public to read and understand the proposal."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 26, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: You’ve Heard Of 30 x 30, But What About 50by40?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "You may not have heard of 50by40, 'a coalition of organizations dedicated to cutting the global production and consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040.' They’ve declared, 'Livestock production is the New Coal.'”
Cat UrbigkitMarch 19, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: ‘All-Of-The-Above’ Energy Policy Is Supported By Wyoming
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Watching from the sidelines, I’ve been stunned at the progress made by Wyoming Energy Authority in just a few short years. This approach to energy policy has resulted in Wyoming becoming an epicenter of energy innovation — as it should be."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 12, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Wyo. Game And Fish Heeds Warnings, Switches Up Elk Feeding Plan
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, “Instead of focusing exclusively on elk damage payments made to ranches in the area, the plan now recognizes the economic, social and environmental importance of cattle production in the region."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 05, 2024
Cat Urbigkit & Rod Miller: The Lookout At The Halfway Mark Of The Legislative Session
Columnists Cat Urbigkit and Rod Miller discuss the Wyoming budget session as they see it shortly after the halfway mark. Both agree there are too many non-budget bills introduced and too many peacocking gubernatorial hopefuls.
Cat Urbigkit & Rod MillerFebruary 28, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Finding Beauty in Wyoming’s Capitol
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Good people will disagree. That’s not a failure but a fact of society. We can disagree and still put our best selves forward, giving the benefit of the doubt to others and realizing our political opponents are not our enemies but our neighbors."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 28, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Legislative Week One Celebration
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "I’m celebrating that half the bills that were filed are already dead, either voted down for introduction or simply not considered for introduction by the deadline."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 20, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Biden Administration Proposes More Rules Driven by Ideology, Not Science
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "A new Biden policy would ban agriculture, predator control, & mosquito control on National Wildlife Refuge lands, while allowing introduction of non-native species, seeks to expand federal authority outside refuge lands, and to acquire more water rights."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 13, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Legislation To Watch During The 2024 Budget Session
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "When the Wyoming Legislature convenes on Feb. 12, its major focus will be on the state budget and property tax relief, but I’ll be watching a few other important bills."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 06, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: FWS Pushes Wolf Recovery Plan Even Though They Know They Aren't Endangered
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Friday said listing gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted. But, to soften the blow for its wolf advocate friends, will undertake a national wolf recovery plan for wolves anyway.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 03, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Endangered Species Protection For Pygmy Rabbits & Bumblebees In Wyoming?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: The feds have determined that two species that inhabit Wyoming -- the pygmy rabbit and the Southern Plains bumble bee -- may need to be granted protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 30, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: Brain-Eating Amoeba, Migrating The Frost Wave, Wild Horse Knowledge
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "A new paper published in a scientific journal of the American Chemical Society documents the discovery of the "brain-eating amoeba" in protected hot springs located in Grand Teton National Park.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 17, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: We’re Down to the Wire for Public Input on Rock Springs RMP
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The last day for public comment on the draft plan guiding future management of the 3.6-million-acre Rock Springs District of the Bureau of Land Management is Tuesday, Jan. 16."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 09, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: When Told All You Need to Know Is In A Government Press Release, Start Asking Questions
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "When the [wolf release] information became public and caused the predictable controversy, a resident of the governor’s mansion tried to discredit the reporter who revealed the details and then told the public that 'everything you need to know' was in the government press release."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 02, 2024
Cat Urbigkit: The Botched Optics of Colorado’s Wolf Release
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Colorado completed the transfer of 10 wolves last week after the animals were captured in Oregon. For the people involved, it was framed as a success, a joyful occasion at an invitation-only event. For the rest of the public, the release details were kept secret..."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 26, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM Should Issue Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement For Rock Springs District
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "I’ve spent hundreds of hours trying to understand the implications of the four alternatives in the draft Resource Management Plan and believe this draft is so poorly presented that the BLM should issue a supplemental environmental impact statement to address its deficiencies."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 20, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: We All Need To Better Communicate With Each Other
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Two years ago, I watched an ATV race through the grazing allotment where we were lambing. As they dashed past, they ran over and killed a newborn lamb – but they never saw the lamb and never knew they killed it."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 12, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: When A Lambing Pasture Is Featured As “Sacred” Ground
Cat Urbigkit writes, "As I sat down with my morning coffee to peruse online news one day last week, a Washington Post headline grabbed my attention: “In a ‘sacred’ desert, the U.S. turns away from drilling and mining.”
Cat UrbigkitDecember 05, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM Proposes Increased Powers to Restrict Public Land Uses
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Under its proposal, the BLM would be given the power to determine what is a temporary closure – which could be just days or weeks, or perhaps months or years. The proposal attempts to grant BLM that much power."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 28, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM Decision Will Impact Wyoming’s Economic Future
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Those who are willing and able to endure this challenging environment discover that it offers a high quality of life, and that is why we remain. We don’t live here because of our jobs: we live here because of the land. Indeed, the ruggedness and remoteness is part of its charm."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 22, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Wyoming Game And Fish Provides Input for Colorado Wolf Reintroduction
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Gov. Mark Gordon didn’t mince words last spring when he announced that Wyoming wouldn’t be supplying wolves for Colorado’s voter-initiated wolf reintroduction
Cat UrbigkitNovember 14, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Natural Pulses -- Falling and Trailing Toward Winter
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The livestock guardian dogs have been working overtime during the migration, as the sheer number of wild predators on the landscape they share surges."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 10, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Wildlife Management Via Drone
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "In travels across Oregon last summer, I was able to participate in a field visit where I learned about how federal animal damage control specialists are using drones to haze wolves away from cattle."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 31, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Land Policy Impacts People, Private Lands
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The BLM now proposes that nearly 375,000 acres of the area north of Highway 28 should become the South Wind River Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The plan ignores the ranch families who live and work within this area..."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 24, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Funding for Cities, Towns & Special Districts Suspended Until They Comply
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The Wyoming Department of Audit has compiled a list of 370 counties, cities, towns and special districts in Wyoming that have failed to comply with state law requiring reporting of revenues received and expenditures made during fiscal year 2023."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 17, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: I Live In The Rock Springs District Of The BLM, Here's What I See
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "These sheep will journey 125 miles from north to south under their own hoof power, before turning north again next spring – an annual cycle practiced here for more than 100 years."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 13, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: It Doesn’t Matter What the BLM Says, What Counts Is What’s In Writing.
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Don’t give the BLM the benefit of the doubt – the agency doesn’t deserve it. What counts is not what agency officials say, or what it pledges it intends to do, but what is in writing in the official record."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 10, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM Claims Any Use Of Natural Resources Likely To Cause Adverse Impacts
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Non-use is preferred by the BLM. That’s not hyperbole but truth. We’re not talking about wilderness areas here, but millions of acres of public lands from the foothills of the Wind River Mountains south to the Colorado border."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 03, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM is Tired of Misinformation About Rock Springs Plan, But The Plan Itself Is Misinformation
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "While the BLM had previously claimed that its preferred alternative would not result in reduced vehicle access by imposing road closures, that claim is false, since the plan includes closing 4,505 miles of routes to all use and removes another 10,000 miles of routes from the transportation network."
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 28, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM Misinforms The Public About Rock Springs Plan
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, “Of the four alternatives examined, Alternative D seems the most balanced approach to management, offering something for every public land user. So why did the BLM select the most stringent alternative as its preferred?”
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 26, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Colorado Preps for Wolf Reintroduction
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Although it appears there is no stopping Colorado’s voter-mandated gray wolf reintroduction program, a draft federal record of decision issued last Friday by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will make dealing with problem wolves a lot easier.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 19, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Legislators to BLM -- Rock Springs Plan is a Community Killer
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Republican legislators attending Tuesday’s committee meeting in Pinedale thanked the Bureau of Land Management for attending the session and then let them know that the’s BLM’s preferred alternative in the draft plan for the Rock Springs district isn’t highly regarded."
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 12, 2023
Game & Fish Reports Compensation for Wildlife Damage to Crops Nearly Equal to Compensation for Damages to Livestock
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Although much attention is paid to livestock losses from large carnivore attacks in Wyoming, information prepared by state wildlife officials indicates that the state is paying out nearly an equal amount for wildlife damage to cultivated crops."
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 06, 2023
BLM Proposal Prefers People Not Be Able To Use Public Lands
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, “While most headlines about the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan note the agency’s preference to set aside 1.3 million acres … the BLM preference is ‘conservation of resource values with constraints on resource uses.’”
Cat UrbigkitAugust 29, 2023
Wolf Advocates Succeed in Getting FWS To Waste More Time On Gray Wolves
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "While the Center for Biological Diversity is expected to seek to expand wolf recovery efforts to other states, the court ruling doesn’t settle the matter, as the case is set to continue in the D.C. federal court. One thing is certain: we can expect more years of litigation."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 15, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Power Line Bird Deaths From Shooting: What Was Reported, What’s the Truth, What Was Omitted
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, 'The New York Times reported, “A survey of power lines in four Western states found bullet fragments and shotgun pellets in most of the dead birds that were collected” (not true) and 'Two-thirds of birds found dead beneath power lines had been shot' (also not true).
Cat UrbigkitAugust 08, 2023
Environmental Groups Lose Appeal Of Wyoming 3,500 Gas Well Project at Jonah Field
After five years of litigation, the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected claims by environmental groups against a Wyoming 3,500-well natural gas project at Jonah Field.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 07, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Let Freedom Read
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The Wyoming Freedom Caucus proposes to continue the push to criminalize librarians for what it views as obscene materials in public libraries, in essence using the coercive power of government to impose its set of values on all the state’s citizens."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 01, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: This is Bear Country
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Too many people still believe that bear country is the backcountry or wilderness. That needs to be called out and corrected because Wyoming is bear country."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 26, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Make No Mistake -- Elk Feedground Plan is WG&F’s Vision
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "This plan wasn’t ready for prime time. It’s sloppy, unorganized, inconsistent, and includes statements in contradiction with other statements, while neglecting other legitimate concerns."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 18, 2023
Huge Swath Of Wyoming ‘Checkerboard’ Land May Be Up For Sale Again
Gov. Mark Gordon says he’s “interested in learning more” about huge chunks of land across southern Wyoming the state tried — and failed — to buy in 2020 that are for sale again.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 11, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Wyo Game & Fish's Elk Feedground Plan Puts The Squeeze To Agriculture
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Wyoming Game and Fish isn’t known for its expertise in livestock management, and it’s way out of its realm on this one, alienating livestock producers in the process."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 11, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: The Needless Same-Sex Wedding Website Ruling And Wyoming’s Connection to the Case
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted permission for Lorie Smith, a Colorado website designer, to refuse to create wedding websites for gay couples in a case that never should have been heard by the nation’s highest court."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 04, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: ‘Going Old School,’ With The Addition Of Man’s Best Friend To Uphold The Farce
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "We’d simply ran out of options. Golden eagles and bald eagles were preying on newborn lambs in our lambing flock, and for the past few weeks we were finding at least one new eagle-killed lamb every day."
Cat UrbigkitJune 27, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Hey, Keyboard Coward, Here’s Your Invitation To Enter The Arena
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: “With few exceptions, I’m too thick-skinned to be bruised by words, but when vulgar emails are combined with an illegal impersonator on a news site last month … my hackles are raised.”
Cat UrbigkitJune 20, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Firefighters Wanted In Wyoming
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Of 55 Wyoming fire departments responding to the recent survey, most reported experiencing challenges with recruiting new firefighters. All told, the responding fire departments reported the need for nearly 500 additional firefighters statewide to fill their rosters."
Cat UrbigkitJune 13, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Animal Damage Control Isn't A “War On Wildlife”
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "When Erik Molvar of the Western Watersheds Project tells the public that the livestock industry “still dreams of driving large carnivores extinct once and for all” and is working to “further their goals of accelerating predator extinctions,” how is anyone to know that he is telling a lie?"
Cat UrbigkitJune 06, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: The Adventures Of Harriet The Horrible
Harriet was raised with orphan lambs, and even at just a few months old, she was exceptionally grumpy about anyone messing with her lambs – even though it was our job to feed the lambs milk replacer numerous times a day.
Cat UrbigkitMay 31, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Oddities from the News -- Lions ‘Garden to Hunt’ & Bundy’s BBQ Standoff
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Ammon Bundy is having another standoff, dubbed the #BBQStandoff by one of his detractors, Devin Burghart of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights."
Cat UrbigkitMay 23, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: BLM’s 'Conservation' Proposal Generates Form Letters in Support, While Opposition Calls For Withdrawal, & Threat of Congressional Action
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed rules that would prioritize “conservation” and authorize conservation leasing on equal footing with other permitted uses such as mineral development and livestock grazing has generated enough controversy that western Republican Senators are asking the agency to withdraw the proposal."
Cat UrbigkitMay 17, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Wyoming Wolf Population Remains Stable, But Costs $1.28 Million to Manage
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Although wolf advocates have petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for a relisting of gray wolves in Wyoming and other states in the Northern Rockies, Wyoming’s wolf population exceeded federal recovery criteria for the species for the 21st consecutive year in 2022."
Cat UrbigkitMay 09, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: WyoFile Allows Impersonator To Inflame Rhetoric About Public Lands
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "Hell no, I didn’t write the comment. But WyoFile allowed someone to impersonate me to inflame the public about ranching and public lands."
Cat UrbigkitMay 07, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: In Push For Conservation, Bureau Of Land Management Usurps Congress
Cat Urbigkit writes: “Though perhaps well-intended, the proposed rules are staggeringly riddled with problematic language that will guarantee that federal courts will be overburdened with legal challenges. … What a terrible way to manage public resources.”
Cat UrbigkitMay 02, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Who Has Traditional Ecological Knowledge?
Cat Urbigkit writes: “The Biden administration has adopted the concept of traditional ecological knowledge, but narrowed it to exclude all but ‘indigenous knowledge.’ While attempting to eliminate racial disparities, the administration has a tendency to marginalize or exclude others in the process, furthering inequity rather than resolving it.”
Cat UrbigkitApril 25, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Winter Isn’t Loosening Its Grip On Wyoming Big Game Herds
Cat Urbigkit writes: “Winterkill may provide an immediate surplus of carcasses for wild predators but with doubtful benefits since there probably isn’t much nutrition in a prey animal that has starved to death.”
Cat UrbigkitApril 18, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Awbi The Guardian Dog vs The Red Foxes
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "The snow crust in this deep snow winter hasn’t been strong enough to hold the weight of a large dog, so the foxes have been able to go about their business untroubled by the dogs. But that changed a few weeks ago..."
Cat UrbigkitApril 11, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Interior Department Proposes Major Makeover in Public Lands Management
The Biden Administration has proposed significant changes to how federal lands are managed by the U.S. Interior Department, shifting the Bureau of Land Management away from its principles..
Cat UrbigkitApril 04, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Life In Wyoming — Can’t Get The Feed To The Sheep, So Trailing The Sheep To The Feed
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Just when we thought spring might be coming soon, we got hit by another winter storm. We knew there wasn’t any way we could move hay to get it to the sheep. We would need to move the sheep to the feed."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 28, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Winter Trails
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes, "It was -35° one early February morning when I sat down at my computer to check on the happenings of the Wyoming Legislature. As I looked out the window, I spotted the red foxes, my daily entertainment those last few weeks."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 22, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Play The Wildlife Services Coverage Drinking Game!
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Those who believe that if we leave coyotes alone they will not bother your livestock, your pets, or your children, believe in a fantasy."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 15, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Frontier Drug Running and the Next Public Health Crisis
When diagnosed with a serious illness last year, columnist Cat Urbigkit traveled hundreds of miles to many pharmacies to beat the clock. She won the battle but her experience is a warning to anyone who lives in a frontier state like Wyoming. Sometimes it's not easy -- nor cheap -- to get the necessary health care.
Cat UrbigkitMarch 07, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: We Deserve Better Than The Freedom Caucus
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "A dark political cloud has entered Wyoming, settling over Cheyenne and the work of the Wyoming House of Representatives. It has resulted in a vile and morally corrupt attack on Wyoming Speaker of the House Albert Sommers."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 28, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Life with Bill And Hilary
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "I met Bill and Hilary on a ranch outside of Billings, Montana nearly two decades ago. No, not the political couple, but a pair of burros (donkeys) that carried their names."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 21, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Seems Wyoming’s GOP Leadership Aren’t Fans Of This ‘Equality’ Thing
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Judging by the legislation theyre pushing at the Capitol, choosing tolerance and compassion dont seem to be priorities for many conservatives."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 14, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Winter Conditions Cause Rangeland Emergency In Southwest Wyoming
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "High winds and frigid temperatures have caused an emergency on significant parts of Wyomings southwestern rangelands. Drifting snow has trapped cattle and sheep and prevented the animals from getting to adequate feed."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 06, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: House Ag Committee Backs Bill to Compensate for Wolf Damage in Predator Zone
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: I know of numerous instances when our family and our neighbors did not file claims for damages because we knew that the funding pool was so small and we wanted to save that money for folks who experienced worse damages that we did."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 01, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Food Waste Claims Don’t Add Up
The average American household allegedly wastes nearly a third of the food it buys. Columnist Cat Urbigkit says that claim doesnt pass the common-sense test, and took a look at the research that led to the claim, findingthere was creative accounting and a lack of credible information involved.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 24, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Corporate Capture of Ag Lands is Happening Now
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "There are other trends in ag ownership that are probably of greater significance than foreign ownership. One is the purchase of the nation's most productive ag land by pension funds and corporations."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 17, 2023
Shooting The Breeze With Cat And Rod: Previewing The 67th Wyoming Legislature
Columnists Cat Urbigkit and Rod Miller team up to discuss Wyoming's 67th Legislature. Or as Cat puts it "It's been too long since we've annoyed CSD readers with our insightful political punditry..."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 11, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Bill Would Ban Foreign Ownership of Ag Lands in Wyoming
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Foreign ownership and investment in U.S. agricultural land nearly doubled from 2010 through 2020. A bill filed for this year's session would prohibit foreign ownership of agricultural land in Wyoming."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 10, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Wyoming 100 Years Ago — Some Same Arguments, But At Least We Have Legal Booze
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "A look back at Wyoming newspapers issued 100 years ago this week found that the nation was generally grumbling over prohibition laws and the promise of more Blue laws that were designed to preserve the Sabbath."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 04, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: What Leads to Wolf Attacks on Dogs?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Although Colorados plan notes that 'wolf attacks on pets are uncommon,' that doesnt really begin to describe the extent of wolf attacks on dogs, wherever the two species overlap. In some areas, it's a fairly common occurrence."
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 01, 2023
Cat Urbigkit: Love Your Library in the New Year
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "The Big Piney Library is hosting its re-opening celebration, with suggested Big Piney Black Tie attire for this community event in a town with a population of less than 500."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 27, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Recovery Of Whitebark Pine Will Be Significant Challenge
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "The recovery of the whitebark pine will be significant challenge due to its unique life history, and its location within western wilderness areas."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 20, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Why Working Ranches Should Be Important To Tourists Who Care About Yellowstone Wolves
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Visitors to our national parks care about the wild animals that inhabit the region, but the importance of the interconnected private and public lands outside the parks borders remains largely unknown."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 14, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: The Gift of Breaking Bread
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "As we enter into the gift-giving season, please consider a gift to support the good work of our non-profit volunteer organizations."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 06, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Who Stands with the Anti-Ranching Vendetta?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: Western Watersheds Project is classified as a non-profit organization. This public charity has a staff of 15 that are paid to attempt to accomplish the organizations goal to permanently remove livestock from public lands.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 03, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Western Watersheds Project Grew From A Grudge
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Although Western Watersheds Project claims its mission is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives and legal advocacy, its primary goal is to end public lands livestock grazing."
Cat UrbigkitDecember 02, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Private Deals to Retire Public Grazing Permits
Cat Urbigkit writes: "Although the anti-grazing group Western Watersheds Project said the Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund wouldnt be used as a war chest for the anti-grazing group, within five years the Fund was funneling money to WWP, providing more than $2.2 million in six years.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 01, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Where Did the Ruby Pipeline Money Go?
In part one of a four part series, columnist Cat Urbigkit looks at the deal Western Watersheds Project made with the Ruby Pipeline to see where the money went and if commitments were satisfied...
Cat UrbigkitNovember 29, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: We Grieve
Last weeks national news reported the killing of three young men at the University of Virginia, four university students killed in Idaho, and five killed in a shooting rampage at a nightclub in Colorado. All these tragic losses of human life were at the hands of others
Cat UrbigkitNovember 23, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Working Lands Are Key to Migrations
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "My travels around the ranch bisect a major wildlife migration corridor. The corridor has been busy the last few weeks, with recent snowstorms bringing mule deer out of the mountains and streaming through this mixture of private, state and federal lands."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 16, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: The Shifting Moon
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "I knew the livestock guardian dogs were gone because it was far too quiet, and Id dreaded what the morning might reveal..."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 08, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: WildEarth Guardians Advocates For Expansive Federal Authority Over State Wildlife
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "In two separate actions last month, the environmental group WildEarth Guardians asserted claims that federal laws preempt state laws when it comes to state wildlife management."
Cat UrbigkitNovember 01, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Bearing Witness to Large Carnivore Conservation
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "For all Ive witnessed at kill sites, Ive never faced the trauma of a human death to a wild animal. But I know the trauma exists."
Cat UrbigkitOctober 25, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Godsmack, Goatsmack
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "This week as my column is published on our 37th anniversary, Jim and I plan to be drinking German beers and jamming to an American rock band (Godsmack) in a foreign country before heading out to spend time with someone elses livestock.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 18, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Camo Doesn’t Help. Livestock Guardian Dogs Will Find You.
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes about what happens when pronghorn antelope hunters encounter her livestock guardian dogs in the field.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 12, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: How To Celebrate Nature, Virtually
The cooler temperatures and shifting weather of fall prompts seasonal movements of wildlife. Even if you cant spend much time afield, here are a few ways to enjoy nature virtually.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 04, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Governor Gordon, Please Don’t Leave Wyoming
Columnist Cat Urbigkit requests that Governor Mark Gordon not leave the state until at least January because the interim secretary of state officeholder would be Wyoming's acting governor.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 27, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Pandemic Demonstrated Connections Between Humans, Animals, And Environment
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "The One Health response to a zoonotic-caused global pandemic has confirmed the wisdom of uniting human, animal, and environmental health response."
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 20, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Dogs Are Apolitical
Cat Urbigkit writes that people attending a herding dog championship come from all walks of life, and their fondness for dogs provides an opening for discussing controversies about their wild cousins: wolves in the West.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 13, 2022
Western Watersheds Project Calls Me Rabidly Anti-Wolf; That’s A Lie But I’m Passionately Anti-WPP
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Oh no, Western Watersheds Project (WWP) is complaining about me in an official letter to the federal government. You can just imagine my shock, and how deeply concerning this is to me."
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 07, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Transplanting Imperiled Species into Alien Habitats is Outrageous & Unwise
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposal to grant itself the power to release populations of federally protected species into areas those species never previously inhabited is outrageous and unwise.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 30, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: A Lesson in Self-Determination. From a Dog.
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "When she was ready, Leckie shared her little blessings with us, her caregivers. I sat down nearby, stroking her head, feeding her treats, admiring her pups without touching them."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 24, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Rewilding is Earth First! With Lipstick
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "This latest rewilding proposal is just one proposal being put forth by activists who want large swaths of public lands set aside as reserves, with other uses limited or restricted."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 16, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Wildlife Funding Under Fire
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Funding for wildlife conservation and management nationwide is currently under threat, as advocates on both the right and left target provisions of an 85-year-old federal law."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 09, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Conservative Values, or Extremism?
Discussing the House District 20 race, columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Im going to give Mr. Schmid the benefit of the doubt that he doesnt want to see physical harm come to any American because of their political beliefs, despite his flirtation with extremism."
Cat UrbigkitAugust 02, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: On Character — Is This Who We Want To Be?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "As I drove down the street, just a few blocks from the elementary school was a 'Fuck Joe Biden' sign hanging on the side of a building (not the less obscene 'Lets Go Brandon' that carries the same meaning)."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 27, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: From Sheep to Shinedown
What does the band Shinedown and sheep have in common? Both were part of columnist Cat Urbigkit's week. From the concert in Casper to the Wyoming Wool Growers summer meeting, Cat is one of the few that ever brought these two entities together.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 19, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Questioning Republican Candidates
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "There I was, all excited that the Wyoming GOP had sent out an email with substance (rather than its usual forwarding of links to The Epoch Times). What the document accomplishes is the need to strengthen our states educational system."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 12, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: The Colorado Wolf Mess
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "In the current situation, it doesnt matter how many times those wolves kill cattle, or dogs in ranch yards, the wolves can suffer no consequences."
Cat UrbigkitJuly 06, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: From Spring’s Awe, to Summer’s Awful
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "ve spent the last month alternating shifts with other family members as we camped on the range with a sheep flock for lambing. The sagebrush rangeland was been blessed by frequent rain and snow this spring, and conditions were ideal for enjoying the splendors of this season of renewal."
Cat UrbigkitJune 28, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Sublette Lets the Sunshine In On Taxation Issue
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "At Tuesdays regular business meeting, the five members of the Sublette County Commission unanimously voted to release attorney/client communications regarding the countys fire mill levy in response to a Wyoming Public Records Act request"
Cat UrbigkitJune 23, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Uncovering Sublette’s Secrets
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "This column is the first step to opening the door and letting the sunshine in an airing of the publics business. But the door needs to be thrown wide open and theyd best prop a rock against it..."
Cat UrbigkitJune 15, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Risks & Rewards of Storytelling
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "We were contacted by a production company working on a science-based series focused on the intersection of people and predators. I liked what seemed to be their honest curiosity about the issue and its complexities, and we agreed to host the film crew..."
Cat UrbigkitJune 08, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Gun Violence And Silencing the Language of Hate
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Just as predictably as Republicans pointed to mental health issues and the presence of evil in society as the cause for gun violence, Democrats pointed to gun ownership in America as the root cause. Both sides are busy issuing statements, attempting to score political points while blaming the other party."
Cat UrbigkitMay 31, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Game & Fish Compensation Program Shortchanges Livestock Producers
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Sympathy doesnt pay the bills, and its past time for Game and Fish to take action to re-evaluate its compensation formulas, and for state and federal lawmakers to try to figure out how to pay for these large predator species that the nation wants but are financially impacting ranchers."
Cat UrbigkitMay 24, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Wolves Create Landscape of Fear for Prey, Landscape of Stress for Farmers
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "According to a new scientific study, 'The landscape of stress for sheep owners when coexisting with wolves and other large carnivores suggest that sheep owners behavior is somewhat similar to behavior described for prey in the ecology of fear.'"
Cat UrbigkitMay 18, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Yellowstone Stirs Controversy Over State Management of Predators, Part 2
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Yellowstone park officials know that wolf and grizzly bear populations have saturated available range inside the park and that these large predator populations will continue range expansion outside the parks borders. YNP created this mess, but looks to the states to fix it."
Cat UrbigkitMay 10, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Yellowstone Stirs Controversy Over State Management of Predators, Part 1
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "It was a damning revelation: wolf hunting outside of Yellowstone National Park had 'altered pack behavior, damaged research.' I'm calling bullshit on that claim."
Cat UrbigkitMay 04, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Profiles in Political Cowardice — WyoRino and WyoVote
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "While the anonymous folks behind the websites WyoRino and WyoVote portray themselves as bastions of Conservatism (with a capital C), Im calling out both for political cowardice."
Cat UrbigkitApril 26, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Tracking Bird Flu
Avian influenza is spreading with the spring migration of wild birds. The bad news is that the outlook for domestic flocks and a variety of wild birds that contract the virus is glum.
Cat UrbigkitApril 19, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Court Affirms Plan For New 3,500-Well Gas Field in Sublette County
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "What the case demonstrates is that when environmental groups dont have a federally protected species to hang their litigation hats on, their arguments arent nearly as effective at stalling or halting projects when a case makes it to the federal court."
Cat UrbigkitApril 13, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Buffalo Commons, Version 2022
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: The American Prairie Reserve, a non-profit Montana-based organization that has built up more than $100 million in assets, is buying up property to create the largest nature reserve in the contiguous United States and the federal government is helping them.
Cat UrbigkitApril 06, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Ending Federal Wolf Oversight, or Permanent Protection?
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Regardless of the naysayers seeking permanent wolf protections, Wyoming should celebrate its success on the 5-year anniversary of the removal of its gray wolves from the list of species federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. Weve earned it."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 30, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Biden Steps Away From Protectionists’ 30 x 30 Plan
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Perhaps Bidens Democratic colleagues in Congress will eventually leave the protectionist camp and join the social conservationists in the realization that conserving biodiversity should be paired with sustaining human livelihoods and communities."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 23, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Tom James & Wyoming’s Boondock Saints
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "In a bizarre St. Patricks Day salute, Senator Tom James of Green River likened himself and five other state senators to the violent religious extremists featured in the cult classic film The Boondock Saints."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 19, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Government in Sunshine — Your Right to Know
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "This is Sunshine Week, a week in which news organizations across the country highlight the importance of government transparency and celebrate the publics right to know the workings of its government a critical principle in democracy."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 15, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Energy Industry Exits Russia, While ExxonMobil Relaunches Wyoming Project
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes "ExxonMobil estimates that the expansion project will involve an average of 162 construction jobs over 29 months, with a peak workforce of 388, and creation of 11 new permanent positions added to its existing 200-person workforce in the area."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 09, 2022