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Guides face federal charges for allegedly leading illegal mountain lion hunts in Idaho, Wyoming

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Guides face federal charges for allegedly leading illegal mountain lion hunts in Idaho, Wyoming


Three wildlife guides are facing possible prison time and fines up to a quarter of a million dollars, after they allegedly ran an illegal hunting enterprise that resulted in the deaths of at least a dozen mountain lions, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

In a 13-count indictment returned at the end of August, a federal grand jury charged Michael Kulow, 44, Andrea May Major, 44, and LaVoy Linton Eborn, 47, with conspiracy to violate a federal act banning illegal trafficking of wildlife and multiple violations of the act itself, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Idaho. The guides are all from Idaho.

The charges stemmed from the trio’s alleged exploits between December 2021 and February 2022. They are accused of working illegally as big game outfitters and guides in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and the Bridger-Teton National Forest, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit said, citing the indictment. The national forests are located in southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming, respectively.

Kulow, Major and Eborn were employed in Idaho by a licensed outfitter — a company that provides various services to hunters, including guiding — when they began to independently book and accept payments from hunting clients at the end of 2021, the U.S. attorney said. The three of them allegedly guided those clients through illegal hunts for mountain lions, leading to the killings of at least 11 of the animals in Idaho, and one more Wyoming. The mountain lion killed in Wyoming was a cougar recorded by the Boone and Crockett Club.

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The trio is also accused of falsifying portions of their big game mortality reports, which Idaho requires them to submit to the state’s fish and game department, after those illegal hunts. At least three of the poached mountain lions were shipped to Texas without proper documentation, officials said, and all the animals were transported from protected land to or from Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Texas and North Carolina. Each of those transports would violate Idaho state laws as well as federal laws under the Lacey Act.

The Lacey Act prohibits illegal trafficking of wildlife and plants, and regulates how both are traded or moved between states or into the country. Under the terms of the act, it is against federal law “to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the United States, U.S. State or a foreign country,” according to Customs and Border Protection.

Amendments to the law in recent decades extended its provisions to bar trafficking of plants or animal products that were illegally harvested, as well as products without a certain kind of declaration, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says.

Kulo and Major were arrested Sept. 24 and booked with the U.S. Marshals Service in Boise, according to Hurtwit’s office. Eborn was taken into custody the following day and booked with the Marshals Service in Pocatello. Each pleaded not guilty during initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham in Idaho district court.

Their jury trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 18 in federal court in Pocatello.

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The charges were announced the same week than an 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced to six months in federal prison for violating the Lacey Act. Arthur “Jack” Schubarth was accused of illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the U.S. to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.





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Wyoming

Skier killed, another injured after avalanche triggered in Wyoming

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Skier killed, another injured after avalanche triggered in Wyoming


A skier was killed and another injured after the group they were in triggered a large avalanche while ascending a mountain in western Wyoming.

The large snowslide happened Saturday in a backcountry area about 20 miles east of Grand Teton National Park.

The Teton County Search and Rescue said it received a call to respond to a known avalanche burial on Togwotee Pass just before 12 p.m. on Saturday.

As the group of four people, according to authorities, went up a steep slope at an elevation of 10,400 feet, a large slab of snow about 5 feet thick broke away and slid, fully burying the victim. The second skier was partially buried and had an injury to his leg.

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It took rescuers about four hours to reach the scene by skis after a helicopter tried to reach the site but had to turn around because of “challenging” weather conditions.

“(Teton County Search and Rescue) extends its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased skier,” it said in a Facebook post.

The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center is investigating the avalanche.

We are deeply saddened to report that a skier has died as a result of an avalanche on Togwotee Pass on Saturday, January…

Posted by Teton County Search and Rescue on Sunday, January 5, 2025

A series of snowstorms have swept through the area in recent weeks, including one on Saturday, said National Weather Service forecaster Jason Straub.

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The skier’s death marks the fifth person to be killed by an avalanche in the U.S. this winter.





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Wondrous Wyoming (1/5/25)

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Wondrous Wyoming (1/5/25)


CASPER, Wyo. — “Taken off of Wyoming 59 Bypass at 7 a.m.,” writes photographer Nathaniel Lax. “It’s a beautiful picture of the sun rising behind the cornerstone of what we do in Wyoming: make energy. The silhouette of the power plants against the beautiful red and orange sky — it’s absolutely captivating.”

Do you have a photo that captures the beauty of Wyoming? Submit it by clicking here and filling out the form, and we may share it!

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Cowboys grind out hard-earned win at Air Force

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Cowboys grind out hard-earned win at Air Force


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Wyoming Cowboys shot a season-high 69% from behind the arc and erased a 9-point deficit en route to a 70–65 road win at Air Force on Saturday.

“If you don’t like stress, don’t watch us,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “This is what Air Force does to teams, but understand it is a complex scout and you try to play the percentages. I gave a lot of game balls out tonight and we had some big-time plays by big-time players stepping up in big moments.”

Wyoming was led by four players in double figures. Jordan Nesbitt recorded his sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe Newton scored a team-best 16 points, going 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Dontaie Allen added 14 points going 4-of-4 on 3-point attempts in the process. Matija Belic added 13 points while going 6-of-8 from the field.

Cole Henry added 8 points for the Pokes, and A.J. Wills finished with a game-best five assists.

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The Pokes shot 57.1% from the field, the seventh time the team has shot at least 50% this season. UW was extremely efficient from behind the arc, going 9-of-13.

The Pokes opened the game by taking a fast 5–0 lead on an emphatic slam dunk by Henry and a 3-pointer from Newton. However, Air Force went on an 11–0 run using the three ball for an 11–5 lead. The Falcons would push that lead to 14–7 minutes later.

Air Force hit five threes in the first eight minutes to take a 21–12 lead. However, Wyoming managed to respond, and a pair of 3-pointers by Allen made it a 23–18 game roughly halfway through the first half.

A thunderous putback slam from Nesbitt and a triple from Wills made it a 2-point deficit at 27–25 with under nine minutes left in the opening stanza.

Henry tied the game at 27–27 and Belic added an and-one play followed by a triple from Newton, allowing Wyoming to surge ahead with a 33–27 lead as the first half wound down. It was part of a 13–0 run for the Pokes, holding Air Force scoreless for more than five and a half minutes.

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After that, though, Air Force proceeded to hold Wyoming scoreless for much of the final four and a half minutes of the half, and the Falcons went into the halftime break with a 36–33 lead.

A Newton 3-pointer about four minutes into the second half made it a one-possession game, down 44–42. About eight minutes later, Allen added a pair of 3-pointers and Belic added a basket to tie the game at 55–55 with eight minutes left.

Nesbitt added a pair of free throws and gave Wyoming a 58–56 lead with just under six minutes left. Wyoming held Air Force without a point for over four minutes and built the lead to 62–56 with just over four minutes left.



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