Wyoming
Wyoming Has 400 Miles Of Snow Fences To Help Keep Roads Open In Winter
When the winter weather in Wyoming gets weird — and when isn’t it weird — the Wyoming Department of Transportation has its own team of snow scientists it can call on.
It’s a group of hands-on scientists whose year-round mission is the practical study and application of science to snow, and more particularly to snow in Wyoming, where wind and cold combine to create some of the most hazardous driving conditions in the nation.
The leader of the team is Clifford Spoonemore, a civil engineer by training. Rounding it out is a geologist and, because this is practical, applied science, a snowplow operator to keep the science real and down to earth.
“This is our lovely state of Wyoming inside America,” Spoonmore told Cowboy State Daily as he held up a map showing storm severity across the United States. “And you can see with the scale here, white is the most severe. And, of course, you see (white) over Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains here, the whole Rocky Mountain chain.”
Meanwhile, the so-called lake effect that should produce bad conditions for Michigan and New York isn’t as severe as one might expect.
“You’d think the lake effect there would be really bad, and it is, but it’s not white like we get,” Spoonemore said.
After pointing out where the snow falls most in Wyoming — the Rendezvous areas, Yellowstone, the Big Horns and Snowy Range — Spoonemore pulls out one more map. It shows the hours of blowing snow on an annual basis for the United States.
“You can see, Wyoming is the epicenter of blowing snow,” he said, pointing to a river a pink that is centered right over the Cowboy State and appears nowhere else in the U.S. “Everybody else gets some snow, and they get wind, but they don’t get both of them like we do.”
Wyoming Is The Eye Of The Storm
Wyoming Department of Transportation has heard often from drivers that it seems as though conditions get remarkably worse as soon as they cross the border into Wyoming.
Maps of snow accumulations and of blowing wind clearly show why. Winter really is much more powerful in Wyoming than in other states.
The challenges that presents have driven the state to take a scientific approach to its snow management that’s a little more dedicated than anywhere else in the nation.
“We are not the only group (across the nation) that was ever formed to do this,” Spoonmore told Cowboy State Daily. “But most states just do it within the internal working order of their table of organization. They don’t break it out into a separate group. We kind of pulled it out separately for, especially because of the special wind that we have.”
The forerunner of WYDOT’s science team was Dr. Ron Tabler. He was commissioned in the early 1960s after Interstate 80 was built to help the state figure out how to keep the highway open more days during winter.
“I-80 was closing 40 days out of 60,” Spoonmore said.
And, it wasn’t even new snow that causing that problem. It was all the dry snow that built up out on the plains, blowing in and closing the road weeks after any snowstorm.
“It might be blue skies in Cheyenne, but out on the interstates, the wind is blowing 60 to 80 mph, and it’s got hundreds of miles of plains full of dry snow and that will just blow across the road when it’s not even snowing,” Wyoming Department of Transportation Communications Director Doug McGee told Cowoby State Daily. “It’s 2-week-old snow, and it’s closing our road.”
Enter The Wyoming Snow Fence
Tabler was with the U.S. Forest Service at the time, studying ways to trap and keep winter moisture around for agricultural use. He had come up with an idea he called a snow fence, which could be placed in desired locations to trap snow.
His idea was that later, when the snow melted, the moisture would seep into the ground slowly, helping create a deeper moisture bank and lusher vegetation.
Wyoming Department of Transportation had a completely different idea for snow fences, however.
They wanted to use the fences to trap all that dry and blowing snow that was shutting down I-80.
Tabler sought out a grant for a 10-year study on when and where to place snow fences to control the blowing snow.
That became his life’s work, much of which is captured in a thick notebook that Spoonmore keeps close at hand.
The Winter Science Team took over Tabler’s work after he retired, to keep improving on the state’s management of blowing snow.
Moving I-80 Isn’t The Solution Some Believe
Many in the Cowboy State have contended since I-80 was built that the interstate should have followed Highway 30 to avoid the worst of wind and blowing snow.
However, maps of what the wind and blowing snow are doing in Wyoming show that moving the route to follow Highway 30 wouldn’t necessarily solve those problems. The route still lies in a giant pink blob where there is more snow and more wind than anywhere else in the nation.
That territory belongs to winter, and it is huge. Going east to west, the blob covers an area that starts right around Cheyenne, just after the edge of I-25. It doesn’t fade at all until sometime after Rawlins, somewhere in the Wamsutter area, and it remains in the next highest level — blue — until Rock Springs.
Going north to south, the blob goes from the Colorado border almost to Casper, stopping just shy of Douglas.
Missing the pink area altogether is impossible.
It’s most narrow across the Colorado border, but moving I-80 there would put the route going over challenging, mountainous terrain in the area of Baggs and Savery, or even further south into Colorado.
“We don’t know that trying to skirt up and go through Medicine Bow would have helped too much. It’s just one of those, we still would have been there,” Spoonmore said, pointing at Highway 30 on the map, with all the pink surrounding it.
400 Miles Of Snow Fences
Wyoming has more than 400 miles of snow fences these days, and just about every aspect of them has been studied, either by Tabler or the snow science team that took over for him.
Studies have looked at optimal locations, whether vertical snow fences are better than horizontal, and the ideal gap between the ground and the snow fence. The most recent study looked at how much energy a solar panel attached to a snow fence collects, and whether the panel harms snow fence efficiency.
The study shows the panel can collect a lot of energy, without appreciably harming the ability to capture snow.
WYDOT has no concrete plans to add solar panels to all of its snow fences at this time, but it’s something that may be considered at some point in the future. Power from the solar panels could help run roadside signs and other applications.
Once the science team was established, it didn’t take long to realize there are a lot more questions that the team can tackle for the department to determine what’s optimal for winter weather management.
“Over the years, we’ve learned far more about winter overall, and now we get into almost everything winter,” Spoonmore said.
New studies are looking at things like automated vehicle location devices that can track vehicle locations and measure how much material is being put down in those locations. Another study is examining what color of lights are most visible in a snowstorm to try and prevent crashes involving snowplows.
“We can use drones to fly into our indoor stockpile sheds and take measurements,” Spoonmore said. “And that will save people from having to climb up and take the measurements themselves. They can get all sorts of information using drone technology.”
Why More Salt Isn’t Always The Right Answer
One of the really important questions the team has tackled is when and where to place snow-fighting materials like salt and sand, which the department buys by the ton.
WYDOT used 234,564 tons of sand and salt mixes for the 2022-2023 winter season, 6,044 tons of bulk sodium chloride, just over 1 million gallons of various liquid deicers, and 4,865 tons of other melting compounds.
With a shopping list that large, it pays to be efficient with the materials use, and that’s one of the things the science team works to refine.
In many cases, the answer isn’t necessarily to just put down more material either. There are complications with each material because of Wyoming’s winter conditions.
“We can put down salt, but the issue is dry salt has to go through a phase change (to be effective),” Spoonmore said.
A phase change refers to changing salt from a solid, dry powdery substance that would just blow away to something that is in a liquid form that can stick around long enough to do some good.
Generally, that means having enough natural energy from the sun to melt some of the snow. That helps keep the salts working in a brine at appropriate and effective concentration.
Temperature Places A Hard Limit On Salt Use
But salts have their limits temperature-wise, and that’s a complicating factor. They just won’t work below a certain range.
For sodium chloride, that outer limit is minus 6. But it works far better between 16 and 28 degrees. That gives a window for the snow to melt enough that a snowplow can come through and get it off the roadway.
Magnesium chloride, meanwhile, has a little bit lower effective temperatures. Its outer limit is minus 28.
But, like sodium chloride, its effective window is much higher. Its optimal range is between zero and 20 degrees.
Other materials that go further down the temperature scale are possible, but too expensive for widespread application and, in some cases, highly hazardous substances. Wyoming doesn’t use them for those reasons.
Putting salt down when conditions aren’t optimal has its dangers, and can actually be counterproductive to road safety. The salts have to be applied wet, so that wind doesn’t just blow it all away before it can be of use, as well as to ensure the brine has an optimal salt concentration.
“Any time you put down a chemical — go back to our wind,” Spoonmore said. “It is above 50 mph. All you’re doing is making your road wet and giving a spot for that snow to stick, and then it becomes your problem instead of your solution.”
Sand, meanwhile, is generally used as a means of adding more traction to the roads. It is vulnerable to both high wind and passing trucks, which blow it right off to the side of the road.
Renee Jean can be reached at: Renee@CowboyStateDaily.com
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Wyoming’s unique winters with its cold, wind and blowing snow, have led to the development of scientific snow mitigation measures like snow fences. (Wyoming Department of Transportation) -
Wyoming’s unique winters with its cold, wind and blowing snow, have led to the development of scientific snow mitigation measures like snow fences. (Adobe) -
Wyoming
Dan Speas Fish Hatchery temporarily closed to visitors as construction begins on new cool-/warm-water expansion
CASPER, Wyo. — On Thursday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced that the Dan Speas Fish Hatchery will be temporarily closed, beginning June 25, due to the construction of a brand-new, state-of-the-art cool-/warm-water fish production facility.
A release from Game and Fish says that the brief pause in public access is a necessary step to ensure the safety of visitors and staff during the heavy-lifting phases of the project.
“We had hoped to keep access open to the hatchery, but we have discovered there will be too many safety hazards during the demolition phase of construction,” said Lars Alsager, Game and Fish superintendent of Dan Speas. “The Department will reassess the closure in the fall of 2026, once initial demolition and foundational work are safely wrapped up.”
As Wyoming’s largest producer of fish for stocking, the Dan Speas Fish Hatchery — along with the state’s nine other fish hatcheries — will continue its normal cold-water fish production uninterrupted throughout the entire construction process.
Once the expansion is complete, the new facility will dramatically boost Game and Fish’s ability to manage diverse recreational fishing opportunities across Wyoming by raising sport fish locally, rather than importing them from other states.
Anglers can look forward to high-quality, in-state production of walleye, sauger, crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish.
“This project marks a thrilling milestone for Wyoming’s outdoor community, ensuring a robust, self-sustaining future for cold, cool and warm-water sport fishing right here at home,” adds Alan Osterland, chief of fisheries.
The release notes that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is committed to keeping the community in the loop every step of the way. They included a brief snapshot of what to expect throughout the project:
- Fall 2026: Demolition and foundation work conclude, and the department reassesses public access to the facility.
- Fall 2027: Construction of the new cool-/warm-water fish production facility officially ends.
- Spring 2028: The first batch of cool- and warm-water fish will be produced and prepared to stock Wyoming waters.
“The Wyoming Game and Fish Department extends its sincere thanks to the public for their understanding and cooperation as we build a premier fishery asset for generations of anglers to come,” the release states.
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Facing extreme drought in the wake of an exceptionally mild winter, officials in Colorado and Oregon have thrown up their hands and told anglers at some reservoirs: Catch all the fish you want, because they’re going to die anyway.
Conditions aren’t nearly so dire at two of Wyoming’s premier fishing reservoirs, Flaming Gorge in Sweetwater County and Boysen in Fremont County, where limits remain in place and the angling should remain good this summer, a state park manager and marina owner told Cowboy State Daily.
In northeastern Oregon, fishing limits were lifted on three reservoirs on the Powder River, a tributary of the Snake River, which originates in Wyoming.
Colorado is allowing unlimited angling on Antero Reservoir on the South Platte River in the central part of the state, and the Nee Noshe Reservoir to the southeast.
Utah has loosened catch limits on Crouse Reservoir, east of Salt Lake City, and Nine Mile Reservoir, south of the city.
In each instance, state agencies surmised reservoirs are getting so low and stagnant the fish are doomed regardless, according to numerous media reports.
No Emergency, Yet
Despite drought conditions across the state, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department doesn’t have “immediate plans to enact emergency regulations to liberalize creel limits,” according to fisheries management coordinator Mark Smith.
“However, conditions could change rapidly. If an emergency change to creel limits were to occur that information would be disseminated widely to the public and posted at the water for anglers to find,” Smith said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
Some of Wyoming’s larger reservoirs have conservation pools, or “dead pools,” to act as buffers for fisheries when water is running low, Smith said.
Even so, “all stored water has limitations,” he added. The water at Flaming Gorge and Boysen is expected to drop enough to render some boat ramps useless.
So, Game and Fish is watching closely for a “tipping point” that might warrant a change in fishing regulations, Smith said.
Bad New For Small Waters
For smaller fisheries, the news isn’t quite so good.
“Ultimately, our goal is to protect all of our fisheries, but we recognize that some of our small waters have already been lost, or will be lost, to drying,” Smith said.
Sometimes that happens so fast there isn’t time to react, he said.
“For example, when we were finally able to access roads and assess small ponds in the 33 Mile country north of Casper this May, most of those fisheries had already succumbed to low water elevations and poor water-quality conditions,” Smith said.
“Other sagebrush stock-water reservoirs could face a similar fate,” he added.
Emergency regulations require the governor’s signature.
“Emergency regulations take effect immediately upon the Governor’s approval and would be lifted if conditions improved and fish were likely to survive,” Smith said.
Boysen Could Lose Boat Ramps
Boysen Reservoir has been roughly 70% full during June, Boysen State Park superintendent John Bass said.
Boysen is one of Wyoming’s top destinations for walleye, and also boasts good trout fishing.
Bass said he doesn’t anticipate the reservoir dropping to the point of mass fish die-offs or calls to lift all fishing limits.
According to Bureau of Reclamation estimates, Boysen will slowly fall, but remain above 50% capacity.
All four Boysen boat ramps are usable, he said. They are Bannon, Tough Creek, Fremont Bay and Cottonwood Bay.
“Although, as the lake starts falling, the Fremont and Cottonwood Ramps will be too shallow to use. But that’s a fairly common occurrence in my 10 years here,” Bass said. “The Brannon and Tough Creek boat ramps will be usable for the remainder of the year, until ice-up.”
‘The Marina Could Be Gone’
Likewise, there’s no reason to think officials will call for a free-for-all at Flaming Gorge, which straddles the Wyoming-Utah state line, Buckboard Marina owner Tony Valdez said.
“I don’t think we’ll be at the stagnant water level, where we could lose all of the fish,” he said.
Flaming Gorge draws anglers from all over the region for its prized kokanee salmon. It’s also known for lake trout and other species.
The Bureau of Reclamation this spring announced that Flaming Gorge is set for a million-acre-foot drawdown to make up for severe shortages downstream at Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona state line.
An acre foot is the amount of water that would flood an acre of land to the depth of one foot.
Valdez has previously expressed concerns the drawdown could ruin kokanee spawning areas. Kokanee are already under pressure because of competition with lake trout and burbot.
Wyoming Game and Fish and the Utah Division of Wildlife already lifted catch limits on smaller lake trout (under 28 inches) and burbot, in hopes of helping the kokanee.
Valdez said he doesn’t expect fishing limits to be suspended on any other species.
However, boat ramps could be rendered useless as the reservoir drops for the drawdown, he added.
Valdez said his marina could also tank this summer.
“This year, the marina could be gone. In fact, I’ve got to go deal with that right now, and move some stuff around (because of dropping water levels),” he said during a telephone interview with Cowboy State Daily.
Catfish Getting Scarce
Valdez said if there’s any danger of water dropping to fish-killing levels it would hit first upstream, at Fontenelle Reservoir.
“If it did get that low, the first one to go would be Fontenelle, then the Green (River) and then Flaming Gorge. But I don’t see it dropping that low,” he said.
Drought has ruined some of the fishing on the Blacks River, which feeds Flaming Gorge on the west side, Valdez said.
That river once was a hot spot for catfish, he noted.
“People still catch catfish near the confluence, more so in the lake than on the river. The river gets stagnant,” he said.
While Flaming Gorge is holding its own for now, the long-term picture could be stark.
During a Tuesday meeting in Denver, members of the Upper Colorado River Commission said conditions along the river system – which includes the Green River – are dire.
Wyoming state engineer Brandon Gebhart said it could be the worst year on record for the Colorado River basin.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
This news report mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line.
CASPER, Wyo. — Three Republican gubernatorial candidates shared their views on a myriad of topics spanning taxation, energy production, resource rights and more Wednesday at the third Politics in the Park forum.
The event at Casper’s Washington Park featured state Sen. Eric Barlow, retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. The candidates seek to replace Gov. Mark Gordon, who cannot run again due to term limits.
Fellow Republican candidate Curt Blake did not attend the forum, which was hosted by the Natrona County Republican Party and the Natrona County Republican Women. Other candidates in the race include Democrat Kenneth Castner and Constitution Party nominee Rebecca Bextel.
Taxes, budget and education
When asked about economic growth and budget strategies, the candidates offered different plans. Bien called for deep tax cuts and deregulation. He expressed support for a November ballot initiative that would exempt 50% of a primary residence’s assessed value from property taxes.
Barlow warned that broad tax cuts could hurt local public services.
“All your property taxes support local governments, your schools, your cities, towns, and counties and your special districts,” he said.
Degenfelder said the key to low taxes and maintaining services is increasing state energy production. She said the state must deliver public services efficiently without overspending, adding that the private sector is solely responsible for creating jobs and economic growth.
Elaborating on job creation and how to stimulate the economy, all three pointed to the state’s public education system as a primary workforce development driver. They stressed a need to shift focus toward trade schools and career-based learning to prepare students for current opportunities.
“We skipped an entire generation of teaching these kids [trades] when they were in school,” Bien said, emphasizing that electricians and welders can currently name their price.
Degenfelder said pushing too many students toward college caused a workforce disconnect and led young people to leave the state. She said Wyoming must prepare students for local job openings to keep them from moving away.
Barlow said educational institutions must partner directly with local industries to align training and secure the economy.
Energy and climate
Questions about uranium mining, rare earth minerals and oil and gas leasing on state lands drew unified support for ramping up extraction and streamlining the permitting process while avoiding federal overreach. Degenfelder spoke about the national security implications of domestic rare earth processing.
“Do you know who processes 90% of rare earths? It’s not another state. It’s China,” Degenfelder said. “I spent time in China. Trust me, we do not want China to be in control of who’s processing rare earth minerals.”
Bien urged the state to speed up leases and permits to generate employment. Barlow supported subsidizing and promoting rare earth processing.
Regarding climate change, Bien rejected the narrative of man-made climate shifts and favored legacy industries.
“I do believe that God controls the climate,” Bien said.
Degenfelder said climate policies have been weaponized against Wyoming’s legacy energy industries, and argued that Wyoming’s cleaner-burning coal should be used globally. Barlow advocated for an all-of-the-above approach where all energy sources compete without subsidies.
When asked about specific infrastructure projects, including an influx of data centers and a proposed pumped hydroelectric project at Seminoe Reservoir, the candidates saw things differently. Bien firmly opposed both. He said a 2010 state law unfairly granted tax waivers to multibillion-dollar corporations, creating a system of corporate favoritism that leaves local ranchers and small business owners empty-handed.
Degenfelder said she supports data centers only if they don’t deplete water resources or raise utility rates for residents. Barlow countered the negative premise of the question entirely, saying the state already has over two dozen data centers without widespread neighbor complaints or resource abuse.
All three candidates agreed the State Board of Land Commissioners has a fiduciary duty to balance energy development with long-term benefits for schools and communities, and that the state must push back against federal regulations that threaten Wyoming’s core industries.
Infrastructure, water and land access
The candidates answered questions about infrastructure, water rights and corner crossing. Degenfelder said keeping water is vital to Wyoming’s survival and pledged to work with the federal government to stop what she considered downstream theft.
“Without water, we don’t have life. Nothing else matters,” Degenfelder said. “And right now, for many, many years, we’ve allowed these downstream states to steal Wyoming’s water and now we’re in the fight for our life … for our water rights.”
2026 Politics in the Park coverage
Bien said he wouldn’t give up any more water rights beyond original compacts. He suggested investing state savings into local water storage and irrigation. Barlow acknowledged that the current multi-year drought has created natural and legal challenges, adding the Legislature is increasing its technical and legal expertise to defend water rights.
On the topic of corner crossing, the candidates noted recent court rulings that favor public access but offered different solutions. Bien said the Legislature should define a corner, Degenfelder favored case-by-case reviews, and Barlow proposed land exchanges to resolve disputes.
“If we want to have less conflict, less corner crossing, let’s work toward fewer corners,” Barlow said. “Let’s work toward consolidations within the current law. Let’s work toward things that make meaningful access available to those public land users and still protect all the private property rights.”
Healthcare and community services
The candidates expressed support for telehealth expansion, rural healthcare access and annual cancer scans for firefighters.
Degenfelder said emergency medical services should be an essential service. Bien said funding models need standardization before making a statewide EMS designation.
Barlow promised to create a healthcare strike team on Aug. 19 if he wins the primary election. He said the team would bring providers, payers and patients together to improve care.
The candidates supported protecting Medicaid for vulnerable people. Bien called for tort reform to lower insurance costs, while Degenfelder spoke about expanding the healthcare workforce pipeline.
On the state’s high veteran suicide rate, candidates supported wrap-around services, with Barlow citing local nonprofit partnerships and Bien pushing for robust VA hotline access. Degenfelder said Wyoming must make sure returning veterans are provided with strong community support and are made fully aware of the services available to them.
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Regarding food insecurity, the candidates advocated for localized solutions, with Bien calling for ranchers to feed local schools and Barlow suggesting potential state support for school boards using their funds for nutrition programs. Degenfelder said her strategy focuses on creating more physical sites for food access and actual meals, rather than expanding government programs.
All three candidates opposed the decriminalization of marijuana.
They agreed the state’s pardon and expungement system needs reform to help nonviolent offenders restore their rights.
When asked what they would stop, Bien named corporate favoritism and regulation.
“Number one is to stop the exodus of young people from the state of Wyoming,” Degenfelder said. “You should not, if you’re a grandparent, have to get on an airplane just to see your kids and your grandchildren.”
Barlow pledged to protect public lands and reduce “the divisiveness, the ugliness that’s going on in our political climate.”
“I don’t believe it serves this nation,” he said.
Federal overreach and transparency
When asked how they would assert state authority, Bien cited the 10th Amendment and a Montana court case involving federal funds.
“So, it is one of those things to where, if it’s not in the best interest of Wyoming and it falls within the 10th Amendment and outside of those enumerated powers, I will definitely push back,” Bien said.
Degenfelder favored working with a sympathetic federal administration to return power to the states. Barlow said he would order the state attorney general to challenge unconstitutional federal mandates.
On transparency, Bien called for a state audit and an end to nondisclosure agreements in public–private partnerships. Barlow pointed to the need to update the Wyoming Public Records Act for the digital age, while Degenfelder focused on giving grassroots citizens direct access to the governor’s office rather than catering to special interests.
Closing thoughts and up next
In a lighter moment regarding daylight saving time, the candidates joked about the inconvenience, with Barlow suggesting moving the clock a half-hour permanently. He and Bien mentioned the possibility of working with governors from neighboring states to press the federal government to do away with the time change. Degenfelder said it’s an issue the Legislature is grappling with.
The evening wrapped up with a lightning round about the candidates’ favorite things about Wyoming. Barlow and Degenfelder praised the honest, hardworking people, while Bien celebrated the state’s wide, wild landscape.
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