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
Cat Urbigkit: What the WYGOP Stands For
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "The Wyoming GOP's pursuit of "Riding for the Brand has turned authoritarian, requiring strict obedience to its authority at the expense of personal freedoms."
Cat UrbigkitMarch 01, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Wyoming Wildlife Advocates Deceives to Support Wolf Relisting
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: The Wyoming Wildlife Advocates' assertion that here in Sublette County we are killing wolves ahead of any conflicts is pure fallacy, as is the assertion that lethal control wouldnt be needed "if livestock producers were using preventative, non-lethal methods to avoid losses."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 23, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: ESA Decisions Ping-Pong Between Republican & Democratic Administrations – But Not In The Way You May Expect
Columnist Cat Urbigkit writes: "Last weeks federal court decision placing gray wolves in most of the United States back under federal protection is often reported as a rollback of the Trump administrations decision to delist wolves, yet few reports note that the Biden administration had supported and defended the decision made during Trumps time in office."
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 16, 2022
Cat Urbigkit: Shedding Cabin Fever Amid COVID-19
I get it. Everyone is unhappy and stressed, and either the government is doing too much, or the government isnt doing enough. General complaints about government arent doing much to help anything, but lets all take personal responsibility for what happens next.
Cat UrbigkitApril 27, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Rejecting an Unsustainable System
The consolidation of the meat supply has resulted in companies selling an inferior product that costs them less, providing for huge profit margins for the companies while livestock producers get shafted.
Cat UrbigkitApril 20, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: The Certainty of Spring Migrations
The first sign of spring on the ranch is usually something heard rather than seen: the soft, warbling song of a bluebirds early dawn message.
Cat UrbigkitApril 13, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: The Helpers, and Paying It Forward
During this national emergency, this unsettled and distressing time, Im noticing helpers in every direction.
Cat UrbigkitApril 06, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Governor Rejects Legislative Oversight of Land Deal, But Plows Ahead
Although vetoing the bill, Gordon continued to pledge his commitment that we will continue to find ways to take steps to explore this opportunity.
Cat UrbigkitMarch 28, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: The Ringing of the Bells
The gentle ringing of bells is heard by those who listen. Pastoralists around the globe have used bells on their livestock for thousands of years, and in many regions the tradition continues substantially unchanged.
Cat UrbigkitMarch 24, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Trust Us, We’re From the Government
Ive been critical of the secrecy and lack of public information about this proposed land deal that is so massive that it would be the largest government purchase of private land since the United States purchased Alaska.
Cat UrbigkitMarch 16, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Paintballing Grizzlies & Other Predator News
Got a grizzly bear hanging out near the house? Fire up that paintball gun and give it a go!
Cat UrbigkitMarch 10, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Hey Neighbor Kanye, Let’s Talk Sheep!
Kanye Wests Paris fashion show coverage included references to one of the ranches he purchased in Wyoming. West told a reporter for The Cut that hes got 700 sheep and hes trying out different ways of felting the wool. Good on ya, Kanye!
Cat UrbigkitMarch 09, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: State Will Hear From Public on Land Deal
Last week the Wyoming Legislature adopted revisions to two draft bills that allow state officials to move forward in pursuing a huge land purchase involving 1 million acres of surface and 4 million acres of mineral rights in the checkerboard of southern Wyoming.
Cat UrbigkitMarch 02, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: State Leaders Don’t Want to Hear From Public on Land Deal
Our state leaders keep telling us that what a unique opportunity this deal is, and that the deal could be a strategic investment to add income to state coffers, and unprecedented multiple-use access for the public. But when it comes to specifics, they arent sharing much.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 27, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: House Passes First Reading of Land Deal Bill
On Tuesday afternoon, it took 19 minutes for Representative Steve Harshman (R-Natrona County) to introduce and describe to fellow House members revamped House Bill 249 allowing the State Loan and Investment Board to investigate and pursue the purchase of 1 million acres of surface, and 4 million acres of mineral rights in southern Wyoming.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 26, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: House Approps Reworks State Land Deal Bill
On Monday the House Appropriations Committee worked until after 9 p.m. to make substantial revisions to House Bill 249 that enables Governor Mark Gordon and other members of the State Loan and Investment Board to examine and negotiate a deal for 1 million acres of surface and 4 million acres of mineral rights in southwestern Wyoming.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 25, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: State Trust Lands Aren’t “Public” Land
Most people Ive talked to about this proposed land deal usually respond with What the and I thought the State was broke, but some have expressed the view that it would be good to have more public land, more public access, more areas set aside for wildlife as if state and federal lands are managed in the same way. They arent.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 23, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Why the Lack of Transparency with the State’s Million Acre Land Grab?
The hypocrisy of Gordon mentioning his commitment to state government transparency in his State of the State address is not lost on me.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 20, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Quickly and in Darkness, Wyo Gov’t Works to Buy 1 Million Acres
For some, the thought of 1 million acres of private land being gobbled up by government in a state that is already majority-owned by government is a hard pill to swallow.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 19, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: The Fighter Leading the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwiths recent address at the American Sheep Industry Association convention gave reason for conservatives to cheer in hope and for liberals to cringe in despair.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 17, 2020
Cat Urbigkit’s Legislative Preview: State Land Transfers, Wolves, Brucellosis
Here are the issues Range Writing columnist Cat Urbigkit is paying attention to as the Wyoming State Legislature convenes Monday.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 09, 2020
Cat Urbigkit: Grizzly Bears, Cattle, and the Tangled Web of Activism
In more of the same-old-predictable strategy, there have been two notices of intent to sue over conflicts between grizzly bears and cattle in the Upper Green River region of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Heres a quick overview of that issue, then were taking a deep dive into who is threatening to sue.
Cat UrbigkitFebruary 03, 2020
Colorado Wolf Reintroduction: Why it Doesn’t Make Any Sense
The Endangered Species Act isnt meant to be a popularity contest for charismatic species; science is to be the driving factor for conservation of truly imperiled species.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 27, 2020
Ignorant Food Zealots Reject Agriculture
Hollywoods Golden Globe Awards ceremony made the news for its climate-change awareness with much ado about its meat-free dinner.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 20, 2020
Travel Troubles
For all the international travel Ive been fortunate to experience, Ive had amazingly good luck. But that luck had to run out, and my trip to Canada last week was the time.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 13, 2020
The Value of Rural Subdivisions
Rural subdivisions suffer from love/hate status. While many residents hate to see fragmentation of rural land, many other people dream of living on a few acres outside of town.
Cat UrbigkitJanuary 06, 2020
Resolve to Childish Rules
With the ringing-in of a new year, its that time when we feel the need to make resolutions, most of which are quickly broken. I know, I know; this time its going to be different. Really? Ive of the mind that rather than making new resolutions, we adults need to revisit and relearn some of the vital lessons of childhood.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 30, 2019
O’ Holy Night
Its the holiest of days and nights, with believers of different faiths around the world sharing in celebrations. While our family honors the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, others will observe Hanukkah, Posadas Navidenas, Ashura, Kwanzaa, and other religious holidays.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 23, 2019
Tracking Wild
From collars or eartag transmitters placed on big game animals and large carnivores like wolves and bears, to backpack harnesses or neck bands installed on a variety of bird species, and the surgical insertion of devices into fish, the amount of wildlife tracking conducted every year in Wyoming is astounding.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 16, 2019
Chronic Wolf Depredation
I recently attended a meeting of fellow sheep and cattle producers who raise livestock in the part of Sublette County that is outside Wyomings trophy zone for wolves.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 09, 2019
On Bone Broth, and Coexistence
The morning after Thanksgiving our house was once again filled with the smell of cooking turkey. But this time it was because we were boiling the carcass remains from the previous days feast. The bones are placed in the garbage once the broth is complete, but we pour the bone broth with chunks of meat in canning jars for reheating and pouring over the kibble of our working livestock guardian dogs on cold winter mornings. Bones from a beef roast, leg of lamb, or leftover bird carcass all provide for delicious bone broth that can be used to make soup, but we like providing a nutrition boost for hard-working dogs and females raising pups.
Cat UrbigkitDecember 02, 2019
Linguistic Weapons
As National Public Radios Sam Sanders noted, Words that begin with a very specific meaning, used by a very specific group of people, over time become shorthand for our politics, and eventually move from shorthand to linguistic weapon.
Cat UrbigkitNovember 25, 2019
This Is Rural America
A recent Twitter rant by a University of California Berkeley PhD student philosopher that claimed rural Americans are bad people who have made bad life decisions and should live uncomfortable lives and should have to pay more for rejecting efficient city life brought predictable condemnation. The man later deleted the tweet with a comment that my tone is way crasser and meaner than I like to think I am but he never actually backed down from his rural condemnation. But this bruhaha got me thinking about rural life in America, and what that actually means.
Cat UrbigkitNovember 18, 2019
My Dog Is Not A Fur Baby
Americans are animal lovers, so much that 95 percent of pet owners view their pets as family members. According to a survey from the American Pet Products Association, less than 15 percent of dogs in America sleep outside at night, and more than 70 percent of dogs are allowed to sleep in a persons bed, according to another survey. In American society, dogs have become fur babies and humans now identify as pet parents which is either a wonderful thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. Animals are no longer simply our companions; theyve become children in interspecies families.
Cat UrbigkitNovember 11, 2019
The Fallacy of Gold-Standard Predator Research
As a frequent reader of new research on livestock production and carnivore conflicts, I am often reminded of the divide between researchers and practitioners. Papers will explain that research was conducted on sheep, without necessary information about those sheep, which practitioners (livestock producers) know will influence outcomes. For instance, we need to know not just the number of sheep involved, but breed, sex, age, breeding status, etc. because these cohorts may react differently in a given scenario.
Cat UrbigkitNovember 04, 2019
Outdoor Recreation & Tourism: A Look at the Numbers
A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis(BEA) shows that outdoor recreation contributes 4.4. percent of Wyomings gross domestic product. Thats something to celebrate, with Wyomings percentage among the highest in the nation, behind only Hawaii, Montana, and Maine.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 28, 2019
Grizzly Recovery Reflected in Upper Green Conflict
The Bridger-Teton National Forests announcement of its decision to reauthorize cattle grazing in the Upper Green River region 30 miles north of Pinedale was met with the predictable hysteria of anti-grazing activists who claim the plan institutionalizes overgrazing and negligent livestock management on national forest lands. These activists are pushing to rid public lands of livestock and cite conflicts between grizzly bears and cattle in the Upper Green to justify their position. Its no matter that the truth undermines their outrageous claims.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 21, 2019
Get real: Dumping Disneyland for nature
With more than 80 percent of the American public residing in urban areas, I understand the importance of connecting people to nature. But rather than have the American public remain ignorant about the natural world and its wild animals, we need to work to educate the public of the reality of human-wildlife conflicts so that we can seek to minimize these conflicts.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 14, 2019
Dear Hunters
I am happy that youre out having adventures, and hopefully getting some tasty meat for the freezer. I know that you look forward to hunting season all year long, and its a big part of why you are in this great state, whether as a resident or a visitor. And I appreciate that so far this year, all but one of you have honored our ranch gates by leaving them as you find them.
Cat UrbigkitOctober 07, 2019
The World’s Gone Crazy Cotillion
Every now and then, my brain hits playback on the Waylon Jennings song The Worlds Gone Crazy (Cotillion) written by Jennings and Shel Silverstein. Last week the song was stuck in my head, as the lyrics are apropos to much current news.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 30, 2019
The Nature of Conflict: Managing Wildlife Damage
I spent last week in our nation's capital, one of 20 citizens from around the country gathered to serve on the national advisory committee for USDA Wildlife Services. The committees job is to provide recommendations to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue, on policies and program issues necessary to manage damage caused by depredating wildlife to safeguard our nation's resources and safeguard public health and safety. Since Wildlife Services is tasked with resolving wildlife conflicts, much of what we discussed was about conflict.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 23, 2019
Not To Be Critical, But Let’s Try Critical Thinking: From fast fashion to landlocked public lands, the devil is in the details.
Im a news hound, and when I come across a topic that interests me, I try to read about that topic from a variety of news sources in attempt to see a range of perspectives. I read news from major media in the United States, Europe, Russia, and Turkey on a regular basis. Every few days I hear or read statements that give me pause. I am routinely perplexed at reporters allowing these statements to go unchallenged not even questioning the veracity of the claims being made.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 16, 2019
Are “Guard Coyotes” A Thing?
Predator-prey systems (including predator-livestock conflicts) are complicated, multi-faceted, and site-specific, but an Oregon Extension publication has provided a broad solution for those of us in animal agriculture, virtually eliminating the need for lethal control of predators: Keeping well-behaved breeding pairs of coyotes in place in their territories to exclude other coyotes that may kill sheep. Thus, keeping these guard coyotes and guard wolves in place serves to protect our livestock.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 09, 2019
Range Writing: Meet the Sugar Ray Leonard of raptors
In all my half-century of life, Ive never encountered a kestrel without being happy about it. Just seeing a kestrel perched on a wire gives me a thrill it always has, and I suppose it always will.
Cat UrbigkitSeptember 02, 2019
Bear Attacks Increasing Worldwide
A French composer on a trip to Canadas Northwest Territories to record the sounds of nature was attacked in his tent in the middle of the night and killed by a grizzly bear earlier this month. Such an unprovoked attack is rare, according to wildlife officials, although large carnivore attacks on humans are on the increase worldwide. Grizzly bear attacks on humans in Wyoming are part of that worldwide trend.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 26, 2019
In defense of gun ownership, a primer on a varied and valuable American tool
When major media in our nation talk about guns, the discussion involves speakers in metropolitan areas, usually after a horrendous tragedy. They arent airing interviews of people who take their children out with gundogs to hunt birds; elk hunters preparing for mountain trips theyve dreamed about for years; former military members who enjoy competitive shooting sports; women who train to never become victims; gun collectors dedicated to preserving history; or ranchers who use firearms as tools, to name a few.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 19, 2019
On Climate Change & Cattle Production
The latest report coming from the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is focused on climate change and land, but something must have been garbled in the translation from Geneva because much of the U.S.-media translation emphasized that people should eat less beef and quit wasting so much food. That unfortunate result comes from reporters unwilling to make the time and effort to read the report itself, which at hundreds of pages and still in draft form makes for an interesting but not-pleasant task.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 12, 2019
Facebook Needs Agriculture, & Ag Needs Facebook
A lot of my ag friends are switching social media platforms, leaving Facebook (FB) for greener pastures. Green as in $$, since FBs commerce policy forbids posts that promote the sale of any animals. Although animal-sale posts are still rampant on the platform, FB began cracking down on the posts in the last few years and has increased that activity in the last few months.
Cat UrbigkitAugust 05, 2019
Conflict Prevention Takes A Genius
Last week the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony about the possibility of providing a financial incentive for the development of non-lethal, innovative technologies that reduce conflict between human and wildlife predators.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 29, 2019
Nature Below The Knee
The natural world on the ranch provides for daily wonders. Each spring we watch the pronghorn antelope fawns speeding past with their mothers, and get barked at by the bucks. We relish the bugling trills of sandhill cranes calling across the landscape in the dawn hours, and admire their gangly grace. But much of natures wonders at this time of year occur below knee-level to a human.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 22, 2019
Extremism, Not Journalism
This Land Was Your Land. With a headline like that, I should have known that it was click-bait. But I took the bait and clicked on The New York Timesopinion piece last weekend, only to see that the author was none other than Christopher Ketcham. His work is currently widespread in anticipation of the release of his book This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption Are Ruining the American West.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 15, 2019
Retired At One: The Story of Boo
I could hear the livestock guardian dogs raising hell that morning a little over a year ago when I stepped outside to begin to check how all the animals had faired during the night.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 08, 2019
Why a Federal Agency Kills Millions of Animals
Within the last week Wyoming Wildlife Advocates has been busily posting on social media about USDA Wildlife Services, including this statement: Wildlife Services kills millions of animals in the U.S. each year for no purpose.
Cat UrbigkitJuly 01, 2019
Range Writing: Moving Away From Nature
The current view that new food technology will be our salvation results in a drive that pushes the human population further away from nature and away from a reliance on the land to sustain our bodies.
Cat UrbigkitJune 24, 2019
The Bloody Sire Inhabits the Sagebrush Sea
Its been an interesting week on the ranch, which is located amid the sagebrush sea of western Wyoming. We had our first confirmed depredation of a 20-pound lamb by a pair of adult bald eagles. This was somewhat of a surprise since our livestock guardian dogs tend to harass big birds that come near the flock, and because most confirmed eagle depredations on livestock are inflicted by golden eagles not bald eagles. I had watched a pair of golden eagles hunting over the sheep flock the week prior and was relieved when a spring snow squall pushed the eagles away from the flock.
Cat UrbigkitJune 17, 2019
Retiring An Old Dog
As she aged, we gradually placed Old Mama with flocks following shorter trails, and finally stopped allowing her to trail to winter range four years ago. Shes adapted beautifully to every change; so long as shes with sheep, shes content.
Cat UrbigkitJune 10, 2019
The Decline of the Whiskey Mountain Bighorns
The Whiskey Mountain bighorn sheep herd has made Dubois, Wyoming an international stop for people interested in this species of mountain royalty, with many residents keep spotting scopes trained on the hillsides above town for constant sheep viewing. This rustic western community also hosts the National Bighorn Sheep Center.
Cat UrbigkitJune 03, 2019
Range Writing: The Push to Build a Predator Disneyland
If one were to believe the spiel, wolf advocates are benevolent custodians of the public interest, and ranchers suffer from the myth of the wolf and a fear deeply ingrained that can be cured with education. A few recent examples of this custodial role show that the advocates propose a wolves for thee, not for me landscape one in which decisions are made by unaffected residents of population centers on behalf of uneducated rural serfs (serfs whose work feeds the nation and are most impacted by ever-expanding wolf populations).
Cat UrbigkitMay 27, 2019
Cooperation, or Coercion? Navigating the minefield of stewarding rare animals
...property owners keep quiet, fearful that detection of these rare species only brings restrictions on their property rights and use.
Cat UrbigkitMay 20, 2019
Unread U.N. Global Extinction Report Creates Panic
The IBPES claims cant be fully assessed until the complete report is released, but we have ample reason to view its findings as exaggerated. Thats unfortunate, since maintaining biological diversity is a worthy global goal. I predict that when scientists are granted access to the full report later this year, they will find numerous flaws in its methodology and findings but those faults wont make international news.
Cat UrbigkitMay 13, 2019
Conservation Contrasts: What Are You Supporting?
There are major differences in the way conservation organizations accomplish their missions.
Cat UrbigkitApril 29, 2019
Range Writing: Endangering Success
The grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem achieved biological recovery goals nearly two decades ago, but the animals remain under federal protection after more than 40 years of such protection.
Cat UrbigkitApril 22, 2019
Range Writing: Colorado Wolf Project’s Deceit
...readers should beware that RMWP isnt telling the whole truth when it responds to these supposed myths. For the sake of brevity, Ill only tackle a few points, but rest assured that RMWPs response to each of its nine points is oversimplified and misleading.
Cat UrbigkitApril 15, 2019
Words Matter: Manipulative Messaging
We see manipulative messaging examples every day. In food production it ranges from the use of terms such as factory-farmed animals or organic products, to the clean meat and meatless burgers (which are neither meat nor burger, and by the same token, just as milk comes from an animal with mammary glands, not nuts or beans).
Cat UrbigkitApril 08, 2019
Range Writing: Our Public Lands Aren’t Killing Us
Seattle-based Egan writes of out in the way beyond of a vast kingdom now being used to hasten the demise of the planet. As a rural resident in Wyoming (our nations least populated state), I live in the way beyond Egan writes about, but I know that the Big Empty isnt empty. It is home to thriving human and animal communities. We may have more elk and livestock on the landscape than people, but thats the way we like it. We are the stewards of Americas public lands.
Cat UrbigkitApril 01, 2019