🚧 Outdoors | Cowboy State Daily

Massive chunks of cottonwood trees were placed in a fishing pond development in the Cheyenne Business Parkway Natural Area. Once the water fills in, the “toe wood,” as designers call it, will provide shelter for fish.

New Fishing Pond Could Make Cheyenne A Bass, Bluegill Hotspot

A new 2-acre fishing pond in Cheyenne could become a hotspot for anglers going for bluegill and bass.

Mark HeinzMarch 07, 2024

Bears Start Waking Up In Wyoming In March, But Not Much Activity Yet

March is usually when Wyoming’s bears start emerging from their winter dens, but some frontline bear observers say there’s little evidence of them so far. But, not for long...

Mark HeinzMarch 05, 2024

Thora, a filly from the McCullough Peaks mustang herd, is the spitting image of her sire, a popular stallion called Thor, behind.

Wild Horse Advocates Outraged Over 6-Month Old Removed From McCullough Peaks Herd

Wild horse advocates are seething at the BLM over a six-month old foal named Thora being taken from the McCullough Peaks Herd. "They’re still nursing, they still need to be with their moms,” mustang advocate Angelique Rea of Thermopolis said.

Mark HeinzMarch 02, 2024

Game And Fish: Two-Thirds Of Prized Wyoming Mule Deer Herd Killed Last Winter

Last year’s catastrophic winter killed nearly two-thirds of one of Wyoming’s premier mule deer herds, according to a new Game and Fish report released Thursday.

Mark HeinzMarch 01, 2024

Bill To Reintroduce Bighorns In Remote Wyoming Sails Thru Committee

Despite some opposition, a bill that could clear a path toward bighorn sheep reintroduction in remote central Wyoming sailed through a committee Thursday on its way to the state House floor.

Mark HeinzMarch 01, 2024

Colorado Wolves Likely To Cross Into Wyoming Within Weeks Where They Can Be Shot

Some of Colorado’s wolves have been pushing north, toward the Wyoming state line. It's likely just a matter of weeks before some cross over into Wyoming, where they can be shot on sight.

Mark HeinzFebruary 29, 2024

Wardens Seek Wolf Poacher Near Yellowstone Just Across Wyoming Border

Montana game wardens are looking for a poacher who illegally shot a wolf in the Gardiner area just north of the Wyoming border near Yellowstone National Park.

Mark HeinzFebruary 28, 2024

Ask Cowboy State Daily: Can I Eat A Wolf? Wyoming Chefs Respond

It’s legal to shoot wolves on sight in most of Wyoming, which raised the question with a Cowboy State Daily reader: "What if I shoot a wolf and want to eat it?" We talked to some Wyoming chefs about it.

Mark HeinzFebruary 26, 2024

Red Spouter, Yellowstone’s Multi-Personality Thermal, Created By 1959 Earthquake

Created by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in 1959, Yellowstone's Red Spouter is a thermal with many personalities. Depending on the season, it can be a hot spring, a boiling mudpot or it can just spew hot gas.

Andrew RossiFebruary 25, 2024

Rare ‘Frankendeer’ Crossbreeding No Threat To Wyoming Mule Deer

Mule deer-whitetail “frankendeer” hybrids are extremely rare, but not unheard of in Wyoming. They generally aren’t good survivors, and crossbreeding isn’t an imminent threat to prized mule deer populations.

Mark HeinzFebruary 24, 2024

Bills Managing Wyoming Bighorn Sheep, Elk And Whitetails Gain Traction

Two weeks into the legislative session, bills that would split mule deer and whitetail hunting seasons, compensate ranchers hungry elk gobble and reintroduce bighorn sheep to remote central Wyoming gain traction.

Mark HeinzFebruary 24, 2024

Webcam Watchers Go Nuts As Yellowstone Wolves Play Near Old Faithful

A pack of at least 12 wolves wandered into the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park Thursday morning, and hundreds of people watched them via webcam as they played near Old Faithful.

Andrew RossiFebruary 23, 2024

‘Queen Of The Tetons’: New Documentary Of Grizzly 399 Released

The world's most famous bear, Grizzly 399, is now a movie star. A new documentary, “399: Queen of the Tetons,” just debuted and will make a run on the national wildlife film festival circuit before being released on a streaming service.

Mark HeinzFebruary 22, 2024

Wyoming Whitetail Deer: Are They A ‘Noxious Weed,’ Or Do They Belong?

Wyoming Senate President Ogden Driskill said whitetail deer are essentially an invasive species — a “noxious weed” — but others argue they’re every bit as native to Wyoming as mule deer.

Mark HeinzFebruary 21, 2024

Rancher Says Bringing Bighorn Sheep Back To Remote Wyoming A Bad Idea

Cattle rancher Troy Corbett says he and other ranchers worry that bringing bighorn sheep back to the remote Sweetwater Rocks area in central Wyoming will give federal agencies leverage to push cattle and sheep off grazing leases.

Mark HeinzFebruary 20, 2024

Skier Dies At Wyoming’s Grand Targhee Resort After Getting Trapped In Tree Well

A skier died Saturday at Grand Targhee in Alta, Wyoming, after falling headfirst into a dangerous tree well, an area of deep, soft snow created around the base of trees that are easy to fall into, and almost impossible to get out of.

Jake NicholsFebruary 20, 2024

Elk feed in the shadow of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

Critics Say Paying Wyoming Ranchers For Grass-Gobbling Elk Could Break Budget

Critics worry that a bill that proposes to pay ranchers for forage that elk herds eat will break the budget of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Others say ranchers can't keep taking losses and deserve compensation.

Mark HeinzFebruary 19, 2024

Are Wyoming's Wild Horses As ‘Invasive’ As Cocaine Hippos And Australia’s Camels?

Wild horses in Wyoming, hippos in Colombia and camels in Australia are seen as invasive feral species by many. A group of scientists, however, are arguing that invasive species can be beneficial to the ecosystem.

Mark HeinzFebruary 18, 2024

Managing Wildlife Tricky When They’re Worldwide Celebrities, Like Grizzly 399

Some of Wyoming’s wild animals — like Grizzly 399 and Limpy the Coyote — are more famous than many human celebrities. Biologists say wildlife celebrities create a false image of the species and the ecosystem. “As with human beings, celebrities aren’t the best role models for how to live one’s life,” one biologist said.

Mark HeinzFebruary 18, 2024

Wyoming Woman Wants Trapping Reform After Her Dog Dies In Beaver Trap

What started out as a routine outing with her English bull terriers ended with Afton's Becky Barber emotionally shattered and dragging the lifeless body of one of her dogs back down the road still caught in the beaver trap that killed him.

Mark HeinzFebruary 17, 2024

Polecat Hot Springs in Grand Teton National Park is one of several in Wyoming that's tested positive for a deadly brain-eating amoeba.

Uh-Oh, Deadly Brain-Eating Amoeba Found In Wyoming Hot Springs

A deadly brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in Grand Teton National Park hot springs for the first time. The lead author of the scientific paper that was published last month, said he still soaks in hot springs but uses nose plugs when he can.

Jake NicholsFebruary 17, 2024

When Hornets Battle Bees, Expect Decapitations And Roastings

A global war is raging between giant hornets and bees, with hornets ripping bees’ heads off and bees responding by roasting the hornets alive. Nationally renowned beekeeper Michael Jordan, who lives in Cheyenne, said the insect-on-insect violence in Wyoming is less gruesome.