Wyoming’s wildlife is always in the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean it can be spotlighted. That’s illegal.

Spotlighting is the practice of using bright lights to hunt or observe wildlife at night. The concept is inherently simple: All that’s needed is a bright light and a dark night.

Wildlife spotlighting is an increasingly common practice across Africa, where vehicles carrying tourists might have a mounted spotlight for nighttime wildlife tours or to increase visibility for photography.

But simple concepts have a penchant for being abused. Poachers often use spotlighting to stun animals, making them easier to hunt.

Year after year, wildlife tourism has contributed to record-breaking attendance in Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere around Wyoming. With larger herds of people flocking to see those wild herds, there could be a growing interest and demand for wildlife spotlighting.

The good news for Yellowstone purists is that the question of spotlighting has already been asked and answered — nope, can’t do it — and it’s unlikely to change, as long as Wyomingites ensure it doesn’t.

Lights Off

Spotlighting is illegal on public land in Wyoming. The state banned spotlighting in conjunction with hunting, and the federal government prohibits spotlighting for wildlife observation in Yellowstone and throughout the National Park System.

Laws and regulations can change with enough public support or opposition, but there isn’t much demand to allow spotlighting in Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks.

“We’ve never been asked for that,” said Alvin Heggie with Cody Shuttles, which conducts tours of Yellowstone. “Nobody’s asked us for ways to attract wildlife. They are more focused on what kind of equipment we have for them to use to see wildlife.”

Heggie said people might book a wildlife tour through Cody Shuttles and other wildlife tour companies for various reasons. Most want to get the best experience within the legal and ethical boundaries established throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

“They want to see wildlife in wild country,” he said. “Tourists are looking for the people they feel are going to treat them the best and put them in the best position to see wildlife.”

Making The Market

The only night tours offered in the Greater Yellowstone region are for stargazing in the pristine dark skies over Yellowstone and Grand Teton. If there’s ever a future demand for nighttime tours with wildlife spotlighting, Heggie doesn’t see it starting with tourists.

“It would be more of a pull than a push,” he said. “It’s hard to forecast because it’s not permissible or ethical here now. But I would imagine for that kind of an experience, outfitters and guides would offer that service and create their own interest. It doesn’t feel like that would be very pervasive.”

Even if spotlighting were permitted in Yellowstone, which is extremely unlikely, Heggie wouldn’t promote the practice. He believes many wildlife tour companies would also shun it.

“I’m not a fan of them,” he said. “It diminishes the wildlife experience because you’re not watching wildlife. You’re watching a stunned, kind of manipulated animal, causing them undue stress. It’s an unnecessarily dangerous situation, and I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

The Ethical Status Quo

There’s not much chance that wildlife spotlighting will ever be permitted in Yellowstone National Park. But in the 21st century, the struggle over what is and isn’t allowed in the park is constantly challenged, mainly by the accelerating sophistication and accessibility of new technologies.

For instance, it didn’t take long for commercial drones to be banned throughout the National Park Service after a visitor crashed one into Grand Prismatic Spring in 2014. Often, new gadgets and technologies aren’t banned until they’ve already caused significant incidents.

Regarding wildlife tourism in Yellowstone, Heggie doesn’t necessarily believe in following “the status quo.” His primary considerations are the most ethical practices for the safety of tourists and wildlife.

“Maintaining the status quo is not a goal of mine,” he said. “I think the question is more about ethical practices. If it’s an ethical practice and you can leverage it, I think you should. If not, it should be banned because it’s not good for what we do and the wildlife.”

In Heggie’s perspective, wildlife tourism companies and guides have just as much responsibility as tourists. The best way to prevent literal spotlighting is to focus the metaphorical spotlight on the people and companies providing wildlife experiences within ethical boundaries.

“There’s a stark difference between a guide service that has multiple experienced guides with decades of experience that know the ins and outs of the park and someone who’s using sound or light to attract wildlife,” he said. “I believe the ability to purvey in our market is predicated on our accumulated experience, the experience we create, and how well we communicate that to the consuming public.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.

After making the tag at first base, Chase Speicher (2) looks to double up the Lake-Lehman at second base with pitcher Christian Krogulski ducking the throw.

Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

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Wyoming Area senior pitcher Colton Krogulski came in the game to relieve starting pitcher Kristian Pugliese. Krogulski pitched four innings giving up one hit and one run.

Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

Wyoming Area’s Chase Speicher gets hit by a pitch in the early innings against Lake-Lehman.

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Wyoming Area senior pitcher Colton Krogulski came in the game to relieve starting pitcher Kristian Pugliese. Krogulski pitched four innings giving up one hit and one run.

After making the tag at first base, Chase Speicher (2) looks to double up the Lake-Lehman at second base with pitcher Christian Krogulski ducking the throw.

Wyoming Area catcher Jeremy Layland is about to put the tag on Lake-Lehman’s Andrew Mathis before he slides at home.

Wyoming Area’s Chase Speicher gets hit by a pitch in the early innings against Lake-Lehman.

Most people would like to think they’d act as Ryan Pasborg did Feb. 1, 2022, when he rushed into a burning Green River home to save a mother and her child stuck inside, but it’s impossible to know until faced with that situation.

Pasborg’s life has changed a lot since that fateful day, receiving a Carnegie Medal — the nation’s highest civilian honor for heroism — and a new job and career as a result of his heroic actions that day.

On Saturday night, Pasborg was awarded his Carnegie Medal by Gov. Mark Gordon at the Governor’s Mansion in Cheyenne.

As Gordon presented Pasborg the award, the Rock Springs resident’s eyes welled up.

“I never thought it would happen,” Pasborg explained to Cowboy State Daily after the presentation. “I never believed it would go as far as this.”

Gordon said the “One Wyoming” slogan used by the University of Wyoming reminds him of Pasborg, whose sacrifice and heroism epitomizes the state’s hardy culture and dedication to the Code of the West.

“Here, we can count on heroes like Ryan,” Gordon said. “We get a toughness and a grit from our shared experiences, from our weather and from a oneness in looking out for each other.”

Gordon also presented Pasborg with a Wyoming State Challenge Coin, which is given to all Wyoming National Guardsmen and those who have done remarkable acts in the Cowboy State.

New Opportunities

Pasborg was unemployed in December when it was announced he was awarded the Carnegie Medal. He had recently been laid off from his job as an oil field worker while on medical leave for a benign tumor.

Pace-O-Matic, a software company that creates Cowboy Skill games, knew Pasborg from honoring him at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2022.

When representatives from the company learned he was unemployed, they instantly knew that’s the type of person they want on their team and offered him a job.

“He fits right into what Pace-O-Matic does,” said Paul Goldean, president and CEO. “It’s about caring for your community, it’s about taking that extra step, doing those things that most people are never faced with doing.”

These words mean a little more considering that Goldean served five years as a special ops Army Ranger.

“For him to do what he did is of the utmost caliber of person from my experience,” he said.

The deep sense of selflessness and character Pasborg showed is also a necessary trait in the gaming industry, said Pace-O-Matic founder and Chairman Michael Pace.

“We’re in an industry full of crooks, and we’re not,” he said. “That’s why we’re fighting all the time to distinguish ourselves, and we thought who better to help do that?”

Karma Comes Around

Pasborg had been offered a new job on the oil field shortly before Pace-O-Matic made their offer, but his pastor gave him a message that he should never work in the oil fields again.

Pasborg said if it weren’t for that guidance, he might have turned down the Pace-O-Matic opportunity.

Pasborg had no past experience relevant to his new job, but that doesn’t matter to Goldean, who said his high sense of character makes him easy to teach, adding that he’s doing a great job.

The company flew Pasborg out to the company’s headquarters in Georgia for training, where Goldean said it felt like Pasborg was hiring Pace-O-Matic, not the other way around.

In his role, Pasborg represents the company and its machines throughout Wyoming. It’s a job, Goldean said, that requires working with little guidance, but heaps of local knowledge.

“We needed someone in Wyoming, and we found someone special in Wyoming,” Goldean said.

Pasborg said it’s a job that’s changed his life. He now plans to retire with the company.

“It’s a dream,” he said. “They’re amazing people.”

Role Model

Pasborg said he expects his three children to act just as he did in 2022 if presented with a similar situation, when he crawled on his hands and knees to rescue Stephanie Wadsworth and her 4-year-old son Weston from the burning home, both of whom were unconscious.

Wadsworth and Weston also were at Saturday’s award presentation to see their personal hero be recognized.

“It’s amazing, we wouldn’t be here without him,” she said.

Whether it’s being polite to strangers or holding doors, what matters to Pasborg is taking the extra step to help out others.

“I raise my kids the same exact way,” he said. “I teach my kids how I was raised. That’s a family thing that will be passed down forever.”

When he showed his son Braxton the Carnegie Medal, Braxton remarked, “That’s awesome,” to which Pasborg gave him a big hug.

Pure Instinct

Pasborg said it was pure instinct and adrenaline that kicked in when he made his rescue on Feb. 1, 2022. He has no memory of any thoughts he had during the rescue.

Pasborg was already late for work that day, but when he saw the flames shoot up from the home and no fire trucks in the area, Pasborg said he knew had to stop and help the three little children – still in their pajamas – who he saw fleeing from the home.

When they told him their mom and little brother were still inside, Pasborg bolted through the kitchen door and into the burning structure.

He couldn’t see anything because of the thick smoke, so Pasborg said he had to crawl until he felt the child’s legs. He grabbed the boy and took him outside. Worried about the subzero temperatures, Pasborg put all of the children in his truck to stay warm.

He then went back into the burning home and found the mother on the floor badly burned and unconscious.

After rescuing her from the house, Pasborg performed CPR on Wadsworth and then drove her and her children to emergency responders.

When Pasborg’s son Braxton heard the news about what his father had done, he said he couldn’t believe it.

“I thought he was lying,” he said.

Weston said he couldn’t believe it either. And now, the young man says he’s certain he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.

Pasborg said he plans to keep in touch with the Wadsworths for the rest of his life, and their families plan to go camping together this summer.

Pasborg is one of the first Wyomingites to be recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund. In March, it was announced that Evanston native Kendell Cummings will be awarded a Carnegie Medal for his role in saving a wrestling teammate who was being attacked by a grizzly bear in 2022.

Contact Leo Wolfson at leo@cowboystatedaily.com

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.