Sara Hossaini

It’s been eight months since gray wolves were removed from the endangered species list, but some are concerned that the Park Service has not taken necessary action to close a perceived loophole in legal protections for the animals within national park lands. 

Specifically, they mean the potential hunting of gray wolves along the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, which connects Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

The University of Wyoming has sent Governor Matt Mead a blueprint to transform the College of Engineering and Applied Science into a top program nationwide.

In December, Governor Matt Mead’s Energy, Engineering and STEM Integration Task force released its report on how to turn the College of Engineering and Applied Science into a Tier One academic and research institution. Mead then asked UW to come up with, what Associate Provost Andrew Hansen calls, ‘the dream’ vision for achieving that goal.

A fund has been established to help former University of Wyoming wrestler Michael Martinez cover medical costs.

Martinez was helping on his family’s ranch in Colorado when a gas leak caught fire in his field camper. He drove himself several miles to reach help and was airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital, where he was treated for burns to over 80 percent of his body.

Wyoming women are still bringing home the least income in the nation when compared with men. That’s according to a new study by the National Women’s Law Center.

According to 2011 data, Wyoming once again ranks fifty-first in the nation among all states and the District of Columbia when it comes to the wage gap between men and women. The study analyzed census data and found that women in Wyoming make only 66 cents for every dollar that men earn.

It’s early in the season, but a few prescribed burns have already spread out of control.

Meterologist Chris Jones of the National Weather Service in Riverton says one recent case involved an effort to clear weeds along fence line. Wind spread the fire into a trash pile.

Fire fighters responded and no structures were damaged. But with warmer winds and last year’s drought and subsequent drier soil, Jones expects that more such fires could occur without proper preparation.

Governor Matt Mead is urging the Bureau of Land Management to select a preferred alternative plan for oil and gas development in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties.

The BLM’s 900-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement focuses on the proposed Continental Divide-Creston Natural Gas Development, or CD-C Project. 

Governor Mead says the project could create thousands of jobs, but he wants to make sure it’s done right. 

With federal departments already feeling the heat since across-the-board budget cuts took effect March 1st, Wyoming US Senator Mike Enzi says the mandatory cuts—known as the sequester—don’t go far enough.

The sequester, or automatic budget reduction across almost all federal programs, was meant to be an incentive for congress to reach an agreement on how to scale back the nation’s deficit. But the parties could not come to an agreement on how to achieve this and so now, those such as Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk are looking at cutting back on operations.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says it believes Dale Wayne Eaton, Wyoming’s only death row inmate, may have had a role in the 1997 disappearance of Lander woman, Amy Wroe-Bechtel. A former UW track star, Bechtel disappeared near a running trail on the Loop Road outside Lander.

Wyoming is locking up fewer young people than it did nearly 15 years ago according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  

The Foundation analyzed federal census data of incarcerated youth from 1995 to 2010. The results show a marked decrease of over 40% fewer youth in confinement across the country with no decrease in public safety.  Wyoming’s rate is down by 12% since 1997.

KidsCount Director Marc Homer says while the new numbers are positive, the state is still lagging when it comes to implementing effective reform.

A new report from the Outdoor Industry Association quantifies the economic benefits of outdoor recreation in all fifty states. The study looked at direct spending, jobs, salaries and tax revenue. 

Spokesperson Avery Stonich says the data demonstrates the value of outdoor recreation beyond the obvious – natural beauty and fun.

“Wyoming has a lot of really great recreation opportunities,” says Stonich, “this produces consumer spending to the tune of four and a half billion dollars every year that’s going directly into the state economy.”

A poll conducted by Colorado College reveals that 73% of Wyoming voters think of themselves as conservationists. Program coordinator Brendan Boepple says polled residents also believe that public lands support the state’s economy and that they should not be sold to alleviate deficits.

Wyoming Secretary of State Max Maxfield has won a year-long law suit to remove term limits for most statewide elected officials. Nearly a decade ago, the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned a voter initiative that instituted term limits – but the reversal only applied to state legislators. Secretary of State Max Maxfield says he believed that term limits were also unconstitutional when it came to his own office, and those of other statewide elected officials. So, he waited until he was in this – his final term – to file suit as an individual.

Albany County saw more prescription drug overdoses in the first three months of 2012 than in all of 2011. In fact, a third of non-natural and accidental deaths in Albany County last year can be linked to prescription drug overdoses, according to County Coroner Kathleen Vernon-Kubichek, nearly triple the amount seen in 2011. 

Katie’s Law, a bill that would have allowed the state to collect DNA of people arrested for certain felonies will not move forward in the Wyoming House.

A committee voted 5-3 to kill the bill, which is named after a 22-year-old New Mexico resident whose killer was identified based on DNA matching. Proponents of the bill argued that DNA is the modern equivalent of a fingerprint.

Legislators have voted to advance two bills relating to guns in government meetings.

One that would allow people to carry concealed weapons into government meetings passed unanimously, after the committee agreed to strike a provision that would have required permission of the meeting’s presiding officer.

Former gun shop owner Maury Jones of Jackson Hole says concealed guns make government meetings safer.

2012 saw nineteen suicides in Fremont County, an all-time high for the county, which county coroners say has the highest rate in the state.

Wyoming, in turn, has the highest rates in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A task force comprised of the county coroner, county prevention management, and the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribal health offices met last week and offered free prevention classes to the public at Wind River Casino this week.

Park officials don’t normally send out press releases upon the natural death of a wild animal. But this case was different. The buck mule deer with the unusually branched forty-inch antlers had become a visitor favorite, the subject of photos and even some YouTube videos.But over the last couple of weeks, rangers began monitoring his limp. Soon after, the buck bedded down and died.

The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund has announced two new deadlines for grants to nonprofit and governmental organizations in Wyoming, the earlier of which is April 1st.

Fund Administrator Renee Bobee says the fund supports groups that enrich the state by providing essential cultural opportunities for residents in a variety of ways, including fairs and exhibitions, archaeological research, musical performances and historical preservation projects. Bobee says the grant can also help organizations to grow and develop.

Converse County oil boom draws concerns from residents
In October, we reported that Chesapeake Energy had drilled a series of oil wells near Douglas, very close to people’s houses. Chesapeake says the area will likely continue to be a core drilling region. That has some area residents uneasy. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden reports.

The Wyoming Business Council voted to approve all five of its Business Ready Community Grants today/Thursday.  Among them is a 5 point 4 million dollar grant to fund construction of a new data and technology park in Laramie.

As winter approaches and temperatures dip, the Environmental Protection Agency is urging people to protect themselves against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tricky to detect. But 400 Americans die from carbon monoxide poisoning each year, and 20,000 more are hospitalized.

Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi is one of three U.S. legislators sponsoring a bill that would help ease the process for earning tax credits related to carbon capture.

The existing carbon capture tax credit offers a maximum of 150 million dollars total per year, or a national cap set at 75 million tons of carbon, to companies which capture or reuse greenhouse gases instead of releasing them into the air.  The credit expires once that limit is reached. That breaks down to a credit of $10 per ton for enhanced oil recovery, and $20 per ton for carbon capture.

With a shortage of O negative blood looming this holiday season, area blood banks want folks to consider giving the gift of blood.

Only 6 percent of the population has O negative blood, but anyone can receive it. Hospitals often keep a few units of O negative, which is often referred to as a universal donor, on hand for emergency trauma patients whose blood type is unknown.  

The most recent farm bill expired in September and farmers and ranchers are eager to see when Congress will reach a decision on a new bill covering crop insurance, conservation and disaster relief programs.

Passage of the farm bill has proved challenging, as lawmakers battle over cuts to parts of the bill that deal with nutrition programs like the SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps.

This October, the small staff at the Laramie Soup Kitchen served nearly 600 more meals than last year during the same month. Executive Director Emily Madden says they’re reaching out to more people, and want to make sure people have healthy food options. This week’s menu included a bacon mushroom and vegetarian cheese quiche, fresh garden salad and desserts. She says that an average of 50 individuals come to the basement of St. Matthew’s Cathedral every weekday to eat, socialize or stock up for the weekend.

Three small fires in the northern Big Horns have been contained.

Susie Douglas, spokeswoman for the Big Horn National Forest, says the Bull Elk Park fire burned 85 acres of grass and two acres of timber near Burgess Junction. The Elkhorn and Fool Creek Ridge fires only saw an acre of damage each. Doulgas hopes that with winter approaching, fires will be less common.