Wyoming
Disease outbreak cuts Wyoming, Yellowstone wolf numbers to lowest level since reintroduction era
A flare up of a disease that’s especially lethal to wolf pups took a toll on Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park wolf numbers in 2025, reducing biologists’ counts to a level last seen when wolves were still reestablishing following the species’ historic 1995-96 reintroduction.
“It was the lowest number of wolves in 20 years,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department wolf biologist Ken Mills told WyoFile. “That was definitely during the population creep stage, so they were still establishing in the state.”
All signs point toward canine distemper being the primary reason Wyoming’s statewide wolf population plunged to a minimum count of 253 wolves and 14 breeding pairs at the end of 2025, Mills said.
Distemper was detected in 64% of animals in the northwestern Wyoming zone where wolves are classified as “trophy game.” While adults can survive the contagious virus, which is a measles-like affliction in canines, it’s “quite lethal” for pups and only an estimated “31 to 34” of the 87 documented born pups lived to the end of the year, a survival rate of just 37%, according to Game and Fish’s 2025 wolf monitoring report.
In the past, distemper was a density-dependent disease that surged when populations were high, Mills said. It last flared up in 2018, which wasn’t long after a two-year period where wolves were protected from hunting by the Endangered Species Act and populations — and conflict — were higher.
The 2025 flare up was the first time Mills documented lots of distemper when wolf numbers were not particularly high. The occurrence has him searching for alternative explanations.
“Could it be cyclical? Yeah,” the Pinedale-based biologist said. “However, these are potentially eight-year cycles, and it takes a lot of time to collect data and understand what’s going on.”
There’s cause to believe that distemper will abate in Wyoming wolves this year. When Yellowstone wolves have experienced outbreaks, the event lasts a year and then there’s recovery, Mills said. And the Wyoming population now has more antibodies and resistance built up and so is in good shape to recover itself, he said.
But in 2025, distemper hurt Wyoming wolf numbers, which was a first.
Before that, “we really haven’t had a canine distemper outbreak that has caused a population-level effect,” Mills said.
In 2024, Mills and his biologist counterparts detected 330 wolves and 24 breeding pairs statewide. The estimated 253 wolves and 14 breeding pairs in 2025 means the raw wolf count tumbled by 23% and the reproductive segment fell by 42%.
Of those, 132 wolves in 22 packs that included 10 breeding pairs dwelled in the mountainous portion of northwest Wyoming in the “trophy game” area. There were nine wolves in three packs and no breeding detected on the Wind River Indian Reservation. And in the zone where Wyoming manages wolves as predators — where they can be killed by any means without limit — there were 28 wolves in five packs, including one breeding pair.
The remainder of Wyoming’s wolves — 84 wolves running in seven packs that included three breeding pairs — dwelled in Yellowstone National Park, according to the state’s monitoring report.
The park’s public affairs officers, whose office has been inundated with inquiries about a recent grizzly bear attack, did not respond to WyoFile’s request for an interview before this story published.
The overall number of Yellowstone wolves has dipped into the 80s twice before, in 2012 and 2018. But by other measures, 2025 was a tough year that the park population had not experienced since the reintroduction era. The distemper outbreak appeared to be “synchronous” in Wyoming and Yellowstone, and pup production and survival was also dismal in the national park, Mills said.
“Seventeen pups survived in Yellowstone,” he said, “which was the lowest they ever recorded.”
Outside of Yellowstone, Game and Fish will consider the lower wolf population when its biologists and wardens are setting fall 2026 hunting seasons (hunting isn’t allowed in the park, though park wolves frequently leave ). That proposal isn’t public yet, but Mills anticipates that there will be a “surplus” of animals and a wolf hunting season, even if mortality limits are reduced.
Wyoming’s relatively few wolves have enabled the state to manage with precision and a degree of predictability, although the surge of distemper interrupted a long run of population stability. Still, the unexpected disease outbreak left Mills feeling good about Wyoming’s plan for managing its wolves.
“We set up the population objective of 160 wolves to be able to accommodate an event similar to what we experienced, and still meet our minimum recovery criteria,” Mills said.
That recovery criteria includes 10 breeding pairs outside of Yellowstone in Wyoming’s trophy game area. Mills’ 2025 surveys detected exactly 10 packs with pups in that zone.
“We met the minimum,” Mills said. “It actually worked exactly as we intended.”
Wyoming
Wyoming Supreme Court upholds 125- to 175-year conviction for Steven Marler after child sexual abuse trial in 2025
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the 2025 conviction of Steven Randall Marler, 52, who was sentenced to 125 to 175 years in prison on eight felony counts of sexually abusing two girls under his foster or adoptive care at his home on Casper Mountain. Marler was also convicted of five misdemeanor batteries and a count of child endangerment. He was found not guilty of sexual abusing another two other minors in the family, including the one who had first brought forward allegations in 2016.
The Supreme Court opinion noted that discrepancies in her testimony from previous statements were revealed at trial.
The appeal claimed that the Natrona County court where the trial was held improperly admitted testimony about physical abuse and Marler’s insistence that the children give him massages, which they said he referred to as a “daddy tax.”
The massages did not result in charges, and Wyoming courts are strict in disallowing evidence of “prior bad acts” for uncharged conduct that might color the opinion of the jury about whether the defendant is guilty of the actual charges.
The opinion released Friday and written by Justice Robert C. Jarosh noted that the Natrona Court, under Judge Kerri Johnson, had multiple hearings before the trial about whether the state should be allowed to introduce that evidence. It can only do so under specific circumstances, such as establishing a course of conduct relevant to “grooming behavior” and illustrating the power Marler held over the children and his ability and motivation in carrying out the abuse.
“The “daddy tax” massage evidence demonstrated a predictable, recurring pattern of behavior that directly illuminated Mr. Marler’s motive and systematic course of conduct,” the opinion reads. “The “daddy tax” massage evidence demonstrated a clear behavioral pattern and provided relevant context about how Mr. Marler targeted and groomed the children by exploiting his parental role and initiating abuse through seemingly innocent touching — all as a means to gratify his sexual desires.”
The opinion also noted that the jury had been properly instructed not to infer guilt based on the testimony about uncharged behavior they might find off-putting.
The appeal attorneys also argued that evidence of punishment in the form of spanking, exercise and withholding food was not relevant to the charged crimes and unfairly prejudicial to Marler.
“However, we agree with the district court this evidence was relevant to show Mr. Marler’s intent and motive to gain submission by the victims,” Friday’s opinion said.
Related
The 78th National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) starts on Sunday, July 19, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and goes through Saturday, July 25, 2026. There are 12 rodeo performances across the seven days, with six in the first round and six in the second round. The top 20 cowboys and cowgirls return to the championship short round at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 25. Wyoming has 51 contestants competing across the 13 rodeo events, plus light rifle and trap shooting.
WYOMING RODEO ATHLETES OPEN COMPETITION AT NHSFR
Yoder’s Hadley Thompson was the All-Around Cowgirl at the 2025 NHSFR. She won national titles in the breakaway roping and goat last year in Rock Springs. Wyoming finished 11th in the team standings last year with 3,750.00 team points. The Cowboy State’s girls placed sixth, and the boys were 25th. Thompson also had the AQHA Horse of the Year for Cowgirls in CD Smokin Miss Kitty. Emeree Tavegie was sixth in pole bending.
The daily rodeo performances are at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The first go ends after Wednesday morning’s performance, while the second go ends after Saturday morning’s performance.
Wyoming State High School Finals Rodeo Results & NHSFR Qualifiers 2026
Wyoming’s contestants and events with their draw
Ryley Alameda – Reined Cow Horse (Mon AM, Thurs PM)
Wade Asay – Reined Cow Horse (Tues PM, Wed AM)
Claire Bilek – Girls Cutting (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Kolton Bonenberger – Bull Riding (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Jace Bowles – Team Roping (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Cooper Brownlee – Shooting Rifle and Shooting Trap
Blue Butler – Breakaway Roping (Mon AM, Fri PM); Goat Tying (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Kolbe Chant – Tie-Down Roping (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Heston Crozier – Shooting Trap
Blake Cushman – Pole Bending (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Karly Davis – Barrel Racing (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Teague Duncan – Saddle Bronc (Tues PM, Thurs AM)
Memphis Erdman – Shooting Rifle
Hays Espenscheid – Team Roping (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Kendrie Ewing – Barrel Racing (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Ellie Feathers – Shooting Rifle
Kashley Fornstrom – Barrel Racing (Tues PM, Thurs AM)
Kade Fraley – Saddle Bronc (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Landon Gold – Team Roping (Sun PM, Sat AM); Steer Wrestling (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Teague Goodman – Steer Wrestling (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Tanner Griemsman – Team Roping (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Cody Hayden – Boys Cutting (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Rhame Hicks – Goat Tying (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Stone Hooten – Shooting Trap
Coe Hornbuckle – Barrel Racing (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Carter Hutchison – Steer Wrestling (Tues PM, Thurs AM); Tie-Down Roping (Sun PM, Sat AM); Reined Cow Horse (Mon AM, Thurs AM)
Kress Johnson – Team Roping (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Taylor Kimzey – Shooting Rifle
Emma Martin – Pole Bending (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Bella Martinson – Breakaway Roping (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Anna McQueeney – Girls Cutting (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Raden Miller – Steer Wrestling (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Taten Mills – Team Roping (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Owen Monfeldt – Bull Riding (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Ashtyn Noland – Reined Cow Horse (Mon PM, Thurs AM)
Keon Norris – Bareback Riding (Tues PM, Thurs AM)
Riggin Pearce – Bull Riding (Tues PM, Thurs AM)
Bridger Peil – Tie-Down Roping (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Karly Peterson – Girls Cutting (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Nathan Peterson – Boys Cutting (Tues PM, Thurs AM)
Trenton Rogers – Bareback Riding (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Rickie Jo Rourke – Goat Tying (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Tuf Scarborough – Saddle Bronc (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Ty Scarborough – Saddle Bronc (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Stetson St. Clair – Bull Riding (Wed AM, Wed PM); Team Roping (Sun PM, Sat AM)
Whitney Tarver – Team Roping (Mon PM, Fri AM)
Emeree Tavegie – Pole Bending (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Dylan Thar – Breakaway Roping (Tues AM, Thurs PM)
Hadley Thompson – Breakaway Roping (Mon AM, Fri PM); Pole Bending (Tues PM, Thurs AM); Goat Tying (Wed AM, Wed PM)
Cruz Viles – Team Roping (Mon AM, Fri PM)
Tuf Weber – Shooting Trap
The Light Rifle competition is on Tuesday, July 21, and the Short Go is on Wednesday, July 22 at 1:30 p.m. The Trap Shooting competition is on Thursday, July 23, and the Short Go is on Friday, July 24 at 8 a.m. The Reined Cow Horse event will start on Monday, July 20, and go through Thursday, July 23, each day at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Reined Cow Horse Championship Short Go is on Friday at 4 p.m. The Cutting Events start on Sunday at 7 p.m., then will run at 9 a.m. from Monday through Friday. The 12th Cutting performance is Saturday, July 25 at 8 a.m. The Cutting Championship Short Go is on Saturday at 2 p.m.
National High School Finals Rodeo
National High School Finals Rodeo
Gallery Credit: Dakota Riddle Photography
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