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Lawmakers advance measure opening Wyoming to possible nuclear fuel waste storage
With a handful of dissenting votes, a legislative panel has advanced a draft measure that proponents say merely provides the opportunity to discuss changing Wyoming statutes to enable temporary storage of high-level radioactive fuel waste from nuclear power plants.
Ranchers drive cattle through Elk Fire to safety
Update — After announcing closure of the Union Pass Road early Monday afternoon due to the Pack Trail Fire, Sublette County Emergency Management said the road remains open. A Forest Service closure ends at the north edge of the road. As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Union Pass Road was closed again. Please see the Bridger-Teton National Forest or Shoshone National Forest websites of Facebook pages for the latest status.
After one-off lynx sighting, Wyoming surveys yield no proof of wildcats’ return
An exhaustive survey of Wyoming’s suspected best lynx habitat last winter found no evidence that the rare wildcats still roam the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. That’s not a huge surprise. Although a mountain lion houndsman captured photo evidence of a treed lynx in the Gros Ventre Range’s Tin Can Park area in early 2022, federal wildlife officials consider the mid-sized wildcats “functionally extirpated” — meaning extinct from a specific region — in the tri-state ecosystem.
A ‘favorable’ forecast after Elk Fire grows to 73,000 acres
After the Elk Fire in northern Wyoming grew to almost 73,000 acres this weekend — destroying two homes in the process — the forecast is finally looking up. The weather “looks like it’s going to be favorable for us for the next couple of days, and we’re going to try to take advantage of that and gain as much ground as we can,” Mike Reed, the federal operations section chief for the fire, said in a video briefing posted Sunday morning.
University of Wyoming has become easy target for far right’s anti-transgender agenda
Santi Murillo, the University of Wyoming’s first transgender athlete, doesn’t believe her alma mater’s controversial decision to forfeit a women’s volleyball match against a San Jose State team with a trans player has anything to do with safety.
Gordon, Gray spar over Wyoming election security
Neither Gov. Mark Gordon nor Secretary of State Chuck Gray are on this year’s ballot, but the state’s top two officials are squaring off on Wyoming’s election law. State statute and the Wyoming Constitution require U.S. citizenship to register and to vote in the state’s elections, but both officials agree — to a certain extent — that more must still be done to ensure non-citizens do not vote in Wyoming.
Elk Fire destroys 2 homes, swells to 62,000 acres
The Elk Fire burning in northern Wyoming destroyed two homes Saturday morning as it swelled amid high winds, authorities there said. The destruction came as the conflagration grew to more than 62,000 acres along the eastern front of the Bighorn Mountains, spurring a wave of evacuations near the town of Dayton.
Wyoming needs a vision for the future
Wyoming needs forward-thinking leadership. We are at a major inflection point in our state’s history, and we need to make big decisions about what our state will look like in the future and how we will get there. Unfortunately, most of the recent political decision-making in this state has lacked the long-range thinking that we need.
Pelican-killing dispute divides an Albany County community
9-MILE LAKE—Initially, Jay Benson was OK with the idea of taking out some white pelicans to protect the Alco Rod and Gun Club’s pricy stock of put-and-take trout. Often during the summer, he said, a few dozen of the hefty native piscivorous birds rafted out on the club’s exclusive 9-Mile Lake outside of Laramie to take advantage of the easy salmonid meals. Targeting a few pelicans seemed “reasonable.” He’s on the club’s governing board, and he even voted to sponsor a federal permit allowing the club to kill some of the birds, which are ordinarily protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act .
Natrona County moves to block controversial gravel mine in latest battle over state, county control
The Natrona County Board of Commissioners’ vote to block a hotly contested gravel mine operation at the base of Casper Mountain is the latest move in a dustup over counties’ right to potentially impose land-use codes on state lands or otherwise impede state-sanctioned activities on state lands.
Elk Fire burns 6 buildings near Dayton as residents fight to save homes
Residents along the east front of the Bighorn Mountains scrambled to escape the 32,000-acre Elk Fire that has burned six outbuildings, injured one firefighter and closed Highway 14 between Dayton and Burgess Junction.
DEI, multicultural affairs closures draw little attention from most University of Wyoming students
Students rushed between classes on a late September day at the University of Wyoming. Some sported jackets or hoodies to stave off the morning cold, but many were down to T-shirts as the sun warmed the air.
‘High Iron’ exhibit celebrates Wyoming railroad laborers’ heritage
In many ways, Wyoming’s heritage lies on the shoulders of immigrants who built the transcontinental rail line traversing the southern portion of Wyoming and the multiple generations of laborers who have kept it running since.
Gov. Gordon commits to protecting Dayton area as Elk Fire swells to 50,000 acres
Gov. Mark Gordon told hundreds of worried Dayton-area residents Wednesday evening that Wyoming’s firefighting resources, including the National Guard, are available to federal managers of the 50,000-acre Elk Fire.
Yellowstone downshifts search for missing hiker from ‘rescue’ to ‘recovery’
Following 11 days of intensive searching for missing hiker Austin King, Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday downshifted the effort from a rescue to a recovery. Since the search launched on Sept. 21, more than 100 people have taken part in the effort with helicopters, search dogs, spotting scopes, trackers and a drone. The effort has logged more than 3,225 air and ground miles in the remote and mountainous area near Eagle Peak.
University of Wyoming competed against transgender athlete in 2022 without controversy, records show
The University of Wyoming’s decision to forfeit its women’s volleyball game against San José State came after a wave of pressure and protest over a transgender athlete on the Spartans.
Feds on track to finalize coal leasing ban despite Wyoming, industry protests
Federal land managers have rejected protests filed by coal mining interests — including the state of Wyoming and representatives of two of its counties — that tried to convince the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to abandon or alter course on its proposal to end coal leasing in the prolific Powder River Basin, a bulwark to Wyoming’s economy for the past 50 years.
University of Wyoming forfeits volleyball game against team with trans player amid pressure from lawmakers
The University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team will forfeit its game with San José State this weekend amid criticism over the rival team’s transgender player. The Cowgirls are the third in a group of teams to forfeit games to the currently undefeated California squad, following similar actions from Boise State and Southern Utah universities. The San José State player Blaire Fleming’s transgender status was publicized in April, and afterward another team member joined a suit over NCAA rules allowing trans athletes under certain circumstances.
Higher penalties for prolonged suffering of snowmobile-battered wildlife clears committee
A wolf’s inhumane treatment last winter has officially spawned a bill for lawmakers to consider during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 general session — though not the kind of draft legislation that many called for.
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