Wyoming
Dead, CWD-infected elk found at third Wyoming feedground in just two months – WyoFile
Always-deadly chronic wasting disease has been found at a third Wyoming elk feedground, in an animal that had lived in a different area where an epidemic that could crater the population appears to be ramping up.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department sent word on Tuesday that the Pinedale-area Black Butte feedground had been added to the growing list of feedgrounds where the malignant prion disease has been detected. The dead adult cow that tested positive died in late February after likely being gored by a bull. Upon inspection, Wyoming wildlife managers realized it was an elk they had handled before.
“We put metal ear tags in our animals when we do routine [brucellosis] testing,” Game and Fish Regional Wildlife Coordinator Brandon Scurlock told WyoFile. “She was actually tagged at the Dell Creek Feedground in 2024.”
That’s concerning to wildlife managers, but not wholly unexpected.
There’s a “lot of interchange,” Scurlock said, between the Dell Creek, Black Butte and Soda Lake feedgrounds. The Jackson Hole News&Guide reported Wednesday that elk marked at the now-infected Dell Creek state feeding site have also wound up on the National Elk Refuge.
Located at the foot of the Gros Ventre Range, the Dell Creek Feedground’s 32 acres have been the site of at least three CWD-positive elk deaths this winter. In January, it became just the second known infected feedground — and its 400 or so wapiti have continued dying. Shortly before that, the Scab Creek Feedground, also located near Pinedale, was identified as the first known feeding site to harbor infectious CWD prions, which can survive in soil and grass and persist in the environment for decades.
“Multiple [CWD-positive] elk are showing up on multiple feedgrounds,” said Hank Edwards, a Game and Fish retiree who formerly led the Wyoming Wildlife Health Laboratory. “This is not just an epidemic at Dell Creek. I would say this is about to be a feedground epidemic.”
So far, CWD still exists at trace levels in northwest Wyoming. The malady has been known to exist in eastern Wyoming elk for nearly four decades, and in some herds, its impact is minimal. But wildlife managers have long feared that the degenerative neurological disease will behave entirely differently, with potentially devastating effects, when it’s introduced to thousands of animals that are closely clustered over cut hay and alfalfa pellets for months at a time.
An elk feedground management plan the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission OK’d in 2024 does not allow the agency to make major unilateral decisions in response to a CWD outbreak. Instead, taking major actions requires building consensus with historically pro-feeding parties, like hunting outfitters and cattle ranchers. Closing a feedground even requires support from the Wyoming governor.
Edwards worries that northwest Wyoming’s elk can’t afford to wait for more planning and consensus-seeking.
“In this state, we don’t do anything until it’s too late,” he said. “I really do think that by the time that we’re starting to see population impacts, it will be too late.”
Meantime, Wyoming wardens and biologists can take some smaller steps in response to the CWD outbreak. Already, hay is spread out as much as possible to reduce animal densities. Carcasses are also hauled away to limit the spread of infectious prions.
Wardens armed with rifles are also riding along with elk feeders periodically to keep an eye out for sick, dying or dead elk, Scurlock said.
“We’ve only removed one, to my knowledge, to date,” he said. “That was at Scab Creek, and I believe she tested negative.”
The newly infected Black Butte feedground hosted 888 elk during Game and Fish’s mid-winter survey, Scurlock said. Its “quota,” according to Wyoming’s feedground management plan, is 500 animals — though in recent winters, tallies have roughly doubled that goal.
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
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Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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