Top 10 Violations

 

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality  | view as a webpage New Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom (HCB) Recreational Use Advisories A harmful cyanobacteria bloom (HCB) recreational use BLOOM ADVISORY has been issued for FLAMING GORGE RESERVOIR. A harmful cyanobacteria bloom (HCB) recreational use BLOOM ADVISORY has been issued for SLOANS LAKE. The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) works cooperatively with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to issue recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar water contact activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals. The WDH is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure signs are posted at the reservoir. Additional details regarding advisories and other HCB resources can be found at WyoHCBs.org.  Bloom advisories are issued when a HCB is present and cyanotoxins may be present. Toxin advisories are issued when cyanotoxins exceed recreational thresholds. Waterbodies under an advisory are not closed since HCBs may only be present in certain areas and conditions can change frequently. Advisories will remain in place until blooms have fully dissipated and cyanotoxin concentrations are below recreational use thresholds identified in Wyoming's HCB Action Plan.  If you encounter a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and the Wyoming Livestock Board recommend the following: Avoid contact with water in the vicinity of the bloom, especially in areas where cyanobacteria are dense and form scums. Do not ingest water from the bloom. Boiling, filtration and/or other treatments will not remove toxins. Rinse fish with clean water and eat only the fillet portion. Avoid water spray from the bloom. Do not allow pets or livestock to drink water near the bloom, eat bloom material, or lick fur after contact. If people, pets, or livestock come into contact with a bloom, rinse off with clean water as soon as possible and contact a doctor or veterinarian. Questions about health effects and recreational use advisories can be directed to Courtney Tillman, Surveillance Epidemiologist, Wyoming Department of Health, at courtney.tillman@wyo.gov or (307) 777-5522. Questions regarding cyanobacteria sampling can be directed to Rachel Eyres, Recreational Water Quality Coordinator, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, at rachel.eyres@wyo.gov or (307) 777-2073. Current HCB Recreational Use Advisories* Waterbody Name Observation or Sampling Location(s)    Advisory Type   Date Issued Boysen Reservoir Brannon Ramp Bloom 6/23/2025 Brooks Lake Campground Bloom 7/24/2025 Diamond Lake (Bosler Reservoir) Northwest Access Bloom 7/30/2025 Diamond Lake (Bosler Reservoir) Northwest Access Toxin 8/5/2025 Flaming Gorge Reservoir Firehole Beach Bloom 8/7/2025 Fontenelle Reservoir East Shore Bloom 7/28/2025 Glendo Reservoir Custer Cove Campground Bloom 7/23/2025 Goshen Hole Reservoir Northwest Campground Bloom 7/23/2025 Granite Springs Reservoir West Causeway Bloom 8/5/2025 Grayrocks Reservoir Southwest boat ramp Bloom 5/13/2025 High Savery Reservoir Shore Bloom 8/4/2025 Leazenby Lake South Access Bloom 7/30/2025 Leazenby Lake South Access Toxin 8/5/2025 Little Soda Lake Shore Bloom 5/12/2025 Lower North Crow Reservoir           South Shore Bloom 6/10/2025 Luckey Pond Shore Bloom 7/18/2025 Pathfinder Reservoir Bishops Point Ramp Bloom 7/15/2025 Pelham Lake Shore Bloom 8/4/2025 Saratoga Lake West Central Beach Bloom 7/30/2025 Sloans Lake South Beach Bloom 8/7/2025 Viva Naughton Reservoir East Ramp Bloom 7/1/2025 Wheatland Reservoir #1 East Shore Bloom 6/18/2025 Wheatland Reservoir #3 Northwest Ramp Bloom 7/17/2025 Woodruff Narrows Reservoir North Ramp Bloom 7/1/2025 Woodruff Narrows Reservoir North Ramp Toxin 8/5/2025 *There may be additional waterbodies with HCBs that WDH and WDEQ are not aware of. Please report potential blooms to WDEQ and HCB-related illnesses to WDH. View in Español This email was sent to pat_holscher@msn.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality · 200 West 17th St.· Cheyenne, WY 82002

Game and Fish commissioners shrug off pressure, reverse hike in hunting Laramie Mountains lions

Game and Fish commissioners shrug off pressure, reverse hike in hunting Laramie Mountains lions: Officials who oversee the Wyoming Game and Fish Department heeded the requests of houndsmen who’ve asked wildlife managers to ease up heavy hunting pressure on the big cats.

After Hours Of Testimony, Commission Rejects Changes To Landowner Hunting Tags

 

After Hours Of Testimony, Commission Rejects Changes To Landowner Hunting Tags

Blog Mirror: After Hours Of Angry Testimony, Commission Rejects Changes To Landowner Hunting Tags

 

After Hours Of Angry Testimony, Commission Rejects Changes To Landowner Hunting Tags

Lex Anteinternet: Hundreds Of Landowners Angry Over Proposed Wyoming...

Lex Anteinternet: Hundreds Of Landowners Angry Over Proposed Wyoming...:

Hundreds Of Landowners Angry Over Proposed Wyoming Hunting Tag Changes

Frankly, even the proposed change really means a person can get a landowner tag with fewer acres than should really be the case.

Hundreds Of Landowners Angry Over Proposed Wyoming Hunting Tag Changes

Subsistence Hunter/Fisherman of the Week. Scott Talbott

Well, this series really didn't take off, did it?  I.e., I haven't kept up with it.

And this time, I'm taking the easy route by posting a link from elsewhere, albeit one that pertains to Wyoming.

Scott Talbott, 63, pushed Wyoming Game and Fish colleagues to be wildlife advocates: Beloved warden rose through the ranks to become second-longest-tenured director in the state agency’s history.

I can recall hearing Talbott's name a lot, but I don't know much about him.  I know, however, even less about the current director and that concerns me.  In recent years the state's leadership has increasingly been less concerned about the land ethic and more about private property interests. Governor Gordon hasn't been as bad in this area, at all, as I feared, still I know nothing about the current director.

Last edition:

Subsistence Hunter/Fisherman of the Week. Douglas Crowe

Labels: Doug Crowe, Personalities, Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week, Subsistence Hunting

Scott Talbott, 63, pushed Wyoming Game and Fish colleagues to be wildlife advocates

Scott Talbott, 63, pushed Wyoming Game and Fish colleagues to be wildlife advocates: Beloved warden rose through the ranks to become second-longest-tenured director in the state agency’s history.

Blog Mirror: Game And Fish Sick Of People Blasting Their Signs With Gunfire

 

Game And Fish Sick Of People Blasting Their Signs With Gunfire

Shooting signs might seem like a redneck cultural tradition, but it costs taxpayers big money. It’s also prompted Wyoming Game and Fish to close some public recreation areas to shooting.

Wyoming to absorb ~3,500 Bureau of Reclamation acres near Glendo Reservoir

Wyoming to absorb ~3,500 Bureau of Reclamation acres near Glendo Reservoir: Tract in Converse, Platte counties would be gifted, not sold, and continue to be managed as a Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife habitat management area.

 

Game and Fish offers funding for sage grouse protection projects

Trump taps former Wyoming Game and Fish chief Nesvik to lead U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Trump taps former Wyoming Game and Fish chief Nesvik to lead U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: If confirmed, one-time game warden would helm an agency that has roughly 8,000 employees and oversees a wildlife refuge system that covers nearly 860 million acres.

Today In Wyoming's History: September 14, 1919. The murder of Wyoming Game Warden Buxton.

Today In Wyoming's History: September 14: 1919.

1919  Game Warden Buxton was shot in the course of his duties.

Violence against Wyoming Game Wardens has been incredibly rare and very, very few have lost their lives in the performance of their duties.  Buxton was one of them.  He responded to reports of gunshots near Rock Springs, encountered two  individuals, and after informing them, Joe Omeye, that the hunting season confiscated a rifle from him. The day being a Sunday, Buxton reported to the incident with his wife.

While putting the rifle in his car he was called by Omeye who shot him with a pistol that he'd been carrying concealed.  The shot wounded Buxton who called for his wife to give him his gun.  Omeye then shot at Buxton's wife but missed, and she fled for help.  Help arrived too late and Buxton died on the way to the hospital. 

Omeye was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree and served time in the Wyoming State Penitentiary to twenty years in the penitentiary.

He initially served only four years before being paroled, providing proof that the common perception of serving being light only in modern times is wrong.  He violated his parole, however, and was returned to prison to be released again in 1931.

Omeye's companion, John Kolman, was not arrested and must not have been regarded as implicated in what occurred in any fashion.  An Austrian immigrant, he died in Rock Springs at age 93 in 1968.

 

Sept. 4, 2024

Anthrax detected in a moose near Elk Mountain CHEYENNE — On Sept. 3, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, through the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, confirmed a case of anthrax in a dead moose in Carbon County. The Wyoming Livestock Board recently informed Game and Fish that cattle near Elk Mountain have tested positive for anthrax.   Anthrax is a naturally occurring bacterial disease that can be transmitted between livestock, wildlife and humans. It is most commonly seen in herbivores, including cattle, deer and bison (elk, moose and pronghorn are also susceptible). Carnivores tend to be less at risk and may display higher resilience to the disease. The spores can persist in the ground for decades and emerge when the ground is disturbed or flooded. Disturbance is common in summer months when conditions may alternate between rain and hot, dry weather, allowing spores to be released from contaminated soil and ingested by livestock or wildlife.     This recent detection in a moose is the only documented case reported in wildlife at this time. The last confirmed case of anthrax in wildlife in Wyoming was in 1956 in Sublette County.    Game and Fish is advising hunters and the public to take the following precautions: If you encounter dead cattle or wildlife, do not approach, handle or move carcasses. Do not harvest an animal that looks sick. Early signs of anthrax can include respiratory difficulty and disorientation. After death, infected animals tend to bloat very quickly and you may see black, tarry blood coming out of natural body openings (e.g., nose, mouth, anus). It is always recommended to wear gloves while field dressing or handling harvested animals. Do not pick up roadkill or fresh deadheads in the Elk Mountain area. Keep dogs, horses and other pets away from animal carcasses you come across in the field. If hunters encounter deceased wildlife, note the location or take a GPS pin and report findings to Game and Fish. You can report a wildlife disease incident online or by calling the Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory at 307-745-5865. Human cases are rare but precautions are warranted. If you have concerns that you may have come into contact with an anthrax-infected animal, please contact the Wyoming Department of Health and seek medical attention. Game and Fish will continue to monitor the situation and assess impacts to wildlife. If changes occur that require further action, hunters will receive updates through emails and posts on the Game and Fish website.    For questions, please consult the following list of resources:   Agency Topics Covered Contact Information Wyoming Livestock Board Occurrences in cattle and area affected 307-777-7515 Website Wyoming Department of Health Human health and safety concerns 307-777-7656 Website Wyoming Game and Fish Department Wildlife and hunting concerns Wildlife Health Lab: 307-745-5865 Regional Office: 307-745-4046   — WGFD —

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department manages and conserves more than 800 species of fish and wildlife across Wyoming.  For nearly 120 years, we’ve carried out our mission to conserve wildlife and serve people. Through these efforts, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department ensures the public continues to enjoy Wyoming’s vast fish and wildlife resource  through  hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife watching and other forms of outdoor recreation. Hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers contribute over a billion dollars to Wyoming’s economy each year.

Trojan Brookies on Game Creek.

The Wyoming Game and Fish has released 3,600 "Trojan" male brook trout in Game Creed, a tributary of the Snake River, in an effort to conserve native cutthroat trout.

Trojan brookies have two Y-chromosomes and can only produce male offspring.

Brook trout, which many Wyomingites assume are a native fish, are not to the Western United States.  For the most part the introduced fish has no negative impact on the waterways in which the are not only in, but are abundant in, but there are exceptions, such as apparently this drainage.

Both fish are members of the Salmonidae family of fish, of which Salmon are prominent members, but cutthroat trout are part of the genus Oncorhynchus, which includes twelve species including Pacific Salmon.  Brook trout, however are chars.

New Wyoming Game and Fish Director.

Governor Gordon Appoints Angi Bruce Director of Wyoming Game and Fish Department

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –Governor Mark Gordon has appointed Angi Bruce Director of Wyoming Game and Fish Department. She becomes the first female director in the agency’s 51-year history, replacing Brian Nesvick, who will retire in September. 

Bruce has served as Deputy Director of the agency since 2019, where she oversees fish and wildlife issues as well as Game and Fish participation in federal planning efforts, among other duties. She has also served as Habitat Protection Supervisor with Game and Fish, where she oversaw wildlife Environmental Reviews for the Director’s office and administered the state’s sage grouse Executive Order review process. Bruce previously spent 17 years with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in multiple capacities. 

“The Game and Fish commission forwarded three exceptionally well-qualified candidates reflecting Wyoming’s commitment to wildlife and our natural resource heritage,” Governor Gordon said. “In her role as Deputy Director, Angi has demonstrated the department’s dedication to protecting our state’s leadership role in science and policy on wildlife issues large and small.”

“I am thrilled for this opportunity. I will build off the incredible work of Director Nesvik to grow partnerships, work with the public, and utilize the Department's dedicated and passionate staff to manage our world class wildlife,” Bruce said. “The job will not be short of challenges. Utilizing our citizens’ shared love of wildlife, I have no doubt we can be successful in tackling them together.”

Bruce was one of three finalists for the position who the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission forwarded to the Governor for consideration.

-END

Gordon had three finalists to pick from, the other two were Rick King, chief of the department’s Wildlife Division, and Craig Smith, deputy chief of the Wildlife Division.  Bruce was working as deputy director since 2019 and had a 17-year career with the Iowa fish and game department before that.

But it isn't the same as a lifelong Wyoming career.

Brian Nesvik, whom she replaces, had started off in the agency as a Game Warden in 1995.

Saturday, June 1, 2024, is Free Fishing Day in Wyoming.

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Albert Nelson

He was Wyoming's first game warden, hired in.1899.

While contrary to what is sometimes suggested, he occasionally had deputy game wardens in his three-year stint, his statewide, hands on, role was a monumental task.  He received funding at the amount of $1,200 per year, from which he had to pay himself and deputies who received $3.00 per day.

Last edition:

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Theodore Roosevelt