Wyoming
Grizzlies killed record high number of cattle in Wyoming, 2024 data shows – WyoFile
Every year is a conflict-prone year for the scores of cattle and grizzly bears that mix annually on Union Pass, but Coke Landers was especially glad to put 2024 behind him.
The run-ins started shortly after the historic Green River Drift delivered many thousands of cattle to the national forest to fatten up over the summer. By the time ranchers herded the domestic bovids off the vast 267-square-mile Upper Green River grazing allotment on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in the fall, some 94 head of cattle were confirmed to have been killed by large carnivores, he said.
“Ninety-one of them were bears and three were wolves,” said Landers, who took the reins of the Upper Green River Cattlemen’s Association from former president Albert Sommers a few years ago.
“That was the highest ever,” Landers said. “It was a record.”
That’s especially notable considering that the Upper Green has been the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s epicenter of grizzly-cattle conflict over the last couple of decades. It’s also been the site of a not-yet completely resolved legal battle about that conflict, stemming from a federal assessment that OK’d killing up to 72 Endangered Species Act-protected grizzlies due to cattle grazing on public land.
Across grizzly range in the Equality State, it was a tough year for not only bruins killing cattle but for conflict generally. Grizzlies, in turn, were killed at record rates.
The phenomenon was partially explained by the dry year, which 2024 certainly was: More than 800,000 acres in Wyoming burned. The result is desiccated vegetation and sparse berry crops that send the adaptable omnivores looking for alternative food sources. Oftentimes, they end up finding trouble instead.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials ran through the numbers and nature of the conflicts during their commission meeting last week in Cody.
“They’re occurring on private lands, the majority of these conflicts,” said Brian Debolt, the large carnivore conflict coordinator for Game and Fish.
Grizzly bears have stopped expanding their range in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, federal biologists say. Nevertheless, much of where they occur today is outside of what Wyoming officials believe to be “suitable habitat.”
“The amount of private land occupied by grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem — outside of suitable habitat — is bigger than the area of New Jersey,” Debolt said. “Frankly, I get frustrated.”
A graph Debolt presented showed that upwards of 60% of all verified grizzly conflicts in 2024 occurred on private property.
Another graph broke down the cause of the conflict. Cattle dominated with 188 of 242 — a whopping 78% — of all confirmed Wyoming grizzly bear conflicts attributed to domestic bovids in 2024. In order, the next largest conflict sources were pet food, livestock feed and birdseed (13 conflicts) and property damage (11 conflicts).
Grizzlies also killed a record number of Wyoming cattle, Game and Fish Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson told WyoFile.
“It’s definitely our highest level of conflict,” Thompson said. “There’s this notion that nobody’s doing anything about it. That’s not true. Those producers are doing as much as they can to reduce that conflict potential — as are we.”
About half of Wyoming’s grizzly depredations in 2024 occurred in the Upper Green. Four grizzlies there were captured and killed in response, Thompson said.
There’s been mixed results from efforts to stem the grizzly bear-cattle bloodshed on the massive Bridger-Teton National Forest allotment. Nearly a decade ago, range riders attempted an experimental herding technique to keep cattle bunched up and less vulnerable.
“The herding actually made the kills worse,” Landers said.
More recently, the Upper Green River Cattlemen’s Association tested out motion-triggered LED lights known as “flasher tags” that were fastened to calves’ ears.
“I put 250 in, and I didn’t have any calves killed with a flasher tag that year,” Landers said. “But when I pulled the flasher tags in the fall, of the 250, there were only 10 of them that were still working.”
Wyoming secured, but then lost, a federal grant that was going to allow Upper Green cattlemen to scale up the effort with more durable flasher tags, according to Thompson. He didn’t specify exactly what happened to the grant, which went away during a period of extreme turmoil for the federal workforce and grants provided by the federal government under the Trump administration.
“There’s a lot of unknowns right now, let’s put it that way,” Thompson said. “But we still figured out a way to do a pilot component to look at some of these things. We’re still moving forward.”
A new prototype of the tags, Landers said, went out on 14 calves during the 2024 grazing season.
“One of my calves with a flasher tag got killed,” Landers said, “but all of those flasher tags were working when they came home.”
In 2025, they’re going to try another design again, just not in big numbers, he said.
A few months out from the Bridger-Teton grazing season, Landers is encouraged by the relatively big snow year in the region. Snowpack readings in the Upper Green River drainage were sitting at 110% of the long-term median as of Tuesday, but a SNOTEL site up in the allotment was at 127%.
“We should have plenty of moisture and hopefully not as dry of a summer,” Landers said. “A better berry crop does make a difference.”
If an easy conflict year doesn’t come to fruition, the status quo will have to do. Although there’s plenty of carnage, the system is one that the Upper Green River Cattlemen’s Association president says is working.
“The way our cattle association has been living with the bears and the wolves — and with our state’s compensation program — is a pretty good success story,” Landers said. “Honestly, we’re living together. We’re not always getting along, but we’re living together and we’re getting it done.”
Grizzlies in Wyoming and throughout the Lower 48 continue to be managed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. A Biden-era proposal to extend that classification, which precludes grizzly bear hunting, is open to public comments through May 16.
The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.
WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026
Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.
Class 1A
Paul McNiven – Burlington
Bitner Philpott – Burlington
Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)
Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville
Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie
Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)
Corbin Matthews – Lusk
Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)
Jace Westring – Saratoga
Hazen Williams – Saratoga
TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)
Nic Schiller – Upton
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Class 2A
Caleb Adsit – Big Horn
Chase Garber – Big Horn
Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)
Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain
Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni
Kade Mills – Sundance
Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)
Zak Hastie – Thermopolis
Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)
Joseph Kimbrell – Wright
Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)
Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian
Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)
Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian
The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.
Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026
Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw
A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.
One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”
The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”
The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.
It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.
The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.
Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”
Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”
The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.
SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.
Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”
Both bills go into effect July 1.
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.
The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.
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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.
Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.
With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.
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