Wyoming
Many Washington State Locals Not Thrilled With Grizzly Reintroduction
If Wyoming grizzlies are selected to repopulate Washington State’s remote North Cascades region, they might not receive a warm welcome from locals.
“They are a major, major apex predator, they are at the top of the food chain,” Omak, Washington, resident Chance Cornell told Cowboy State Daily on Friday during a brief break from his job at a local hotel and casino.
He and his wife are avid hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, but Cornell said he’s not sure how he feels about possibly running into grizzlies in the backcountry.
“Now you’re talking about a grizzly bear. I think it’s going to come with some challenges. I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don’t know,” he said.
Northeast Oregon resident Bud Ludwigson told Cowboy State Daily that Washington’s North Cascades region has long been one of his favorite hiking and backpacking destinations.
But with grizzlies moving in, he’s not sure if he’ll keep going back.
“I guess as a hiker, a backpacker and somebody who ventures into the mountains, (the presence of grizzlies) is something that scares me when I’m in Yellowstone country, Montana or Canada,” he said. “When I’m here in Oregon or in Washington, all I’ve had to worry about are black bears. But grizzlies are on a whole other level.”
Bears Will Be Flown In
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies recently green-lighted plans to reintroduce grizzlies to the North Cascades. Wyoming was named as a possible source for bears to transplant. But there’s been no final word yet on where the first batch of reintroduced grizzlies will come from.
When the reintroductions begin, possibly as soon as this summer, bears will be trucked into staging areas. The sedated grizzlies will then be placed in nets or on platforms slung under helicopters and flown to release sites in the backcountry.
Typical Concerns
Wyoming resident Rob Wallace is former U.S. assistant secretary of the Interior. He recently told Cowboy State Daily that in 2019, he went to Omak to represent the Interior Department during local public hearings regarding the grizzly reintroductions.
At the time, local resistance to the idea was strong, he said. Locals cited many of the same concerns that folks in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Colorado have about large predators such as grizzlies and wolves.
They expressed worry over grizzlies attacking cattle and possibly disrupting other existing land uses, Wallace said.
Will It Affect Tourism?
Cornell said the effects on tourism are also a concern.
“We do rely on tourism as part of the economy. There isn’t a whole lot of industry here,” he said.
“There’s hiking trails, there’s biking trails,” and people also enjoy boating and fishing, he said.
With that many people out and about, the presence of grizzlies could put a new twist on things, Cornell said.
“They’re saying, ‘Oh, this is going to work.’ But what happens when it doesn’t work?” he said.
As to whether the reintroduction of grizzly bears could hurt local tourism, “I think it might,” Cornell said. “I think it might slow down. Or, maybe I’m 100% wrong and maybe we won’t see any change in tourism at all.”
Ludwigson said he’s also worried about what could happen when grizzlies return to an area where, unlike Wyoming, people aren’t used to them.
“There are just a lot of unprepared people in those mountains,” he said.
Mixed Feelings
Cornell said he and his wife like getting outside as much as they can and hunt mule deer, whitetail deer, turkey and waterfowl.
“We are generally armed when we go to the outdoors,” he said.
However, the area where the bears will be introduced is “a national park,” where firearms aren’t allowed, he added.
“I don’t think (the grizzly reintroductions) will deter anything I’m doing. I’ve never seen a grizzly in real life out in the wild. We’ve seen some black bears. There’s something way different between a black bear and a grizzly,” Cornell said. “But where they’re going to be putting them, heck, maybe we’ll never see them.”
Ludwigson said he’s tried to consider both sides of the debate over grizzly reintroduction, but ultimately leans against the idea.
“Just as a recreationalist, I don’t support it, and I don’t want to go up there and deal with that additional threat of a much larger mammal,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two men were detained in Wyoming in connection with a fatal shooting at a downtown Salt Lake hotel that killed one man.
Carlos Chee, 23, and Chino Aguilar, 21, were both wanted for first-degree felony murder after the victim, identified as Christian Lee, 32, was found dead in a room at the Springhill Suites near 600 South and 300 West.
According to warrants issued for their arrest, Chee and Aguilar met with Lee and another woman at the hotel to sell marijuana. During the alleged drug deal, Aguilar allegedly shot and killed Lee after he tried to grab at his gun.
MORE | Shootings
Investigators said they found Lee dead in the room upon arrival, as well as a single shell casing on the floor and a small amount of marijuana on the television stand.
The woman told investigators she had met Chee on a dating app and that he agreed to come to the hotel to sell her marijuana. She had been hanging out with him in the room, which Lee rented for her to use, when Lee asked them to leave. Lee was then shot and killed following a brief confrontation.
Chee and Aguilar allegedly fled the scene in a 2013 Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate that was later found outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming just a few hours later.
The two men were taken into custody and detained at the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
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ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.
Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.
Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.
MORE | Officer-Involved Shooting
During the encounter, a deputy discharged their weapon and struck the individual.
Emergency medical personnel rendered aid, and the individual was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation.
The deputy who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.
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by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile
Albert Sommers, former Wyoming Speaker of the House, announced Thursday he will attempt to reclaim a seat he formerly held for more than a decade in the statehouse.
“Leadership matters,” Sommers, a lifelong cattle rancher, wrote in a press release. “Right now, the Wyoming House is too often focused on division instead of solutions. We need steady, effective leadership that solves problems—not rhetoric and political theater.”
Voters in 2013 first elected Sommers to House District 20, which encompasses Sublette County and an eastern section of Lincoln County. As a lawmaker, Sommers largely focused on health care, education and water issues. Over six terms, he rose through the ranks, serving in leadership positions and chairing committees focused on education funding and broadband.
In his announcement, Sommers highlighted his legislative work to establish funding for rural hospitals, prioritize “responsible property tax relief,” as well as the creation of the Wyoming Colorado River Advisory Committee within the State Engineer’s Office, “to ensure our water users have a voice in critical decisions affecting the Green River Valley,” he wrote.
As speaker, Sommers was a frequent target of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as well as the DC-based State Freedom Caucus Network, even getting the attention of Fox News and other national, conservative news outlets. They often accused Sommers of not being conservative enough, and criticized him for keeping bills in “the drawer,” which has long been code for the unilateral power a speaker has to kill legislation by holding it back. (The practice of holding bills has been used to a much higher degree under Freedom Caucus leadership.)
In 2023, Sommers used the speaker’s powers to kill bills related to a school voucher program, banning instruction on gender and sexual orientation from some classrooms and criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors. At the time, Sommers defended his decision to hold back “bills that are unconstitutional, not well vetted, duplicate bills or debates, and bills that negate local control, restrict the rights of people or risk costly litigation financed by the people of Wyoming.”
He reiterated that philosophy and defended his record in his Thursday campaign announcement.
“I am a common-sense conservative who believes in getting things done. I support our core industries—oil and gas, ranching, and tourism—and I will continue to fight for the people and natural resources of Sublette County and LaBarge. I am pro-gun, pro-life, pro-family, and pro-education,” Sommers wrote. “I also take seriously my oath to uphold the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, which means I didn’t support bills that violated those constitutions. I read bills carefully and I voted accordingly.”
Following his term as speaker, Sommers stepped away from the House to run for Senate District 14 in 2024. He lost in the primary election to political newcomer Laura Pearson, a Freedom Caucus-endorsed Republican from Kemmerer, who also won in the general election. Her Senate win coincided with the Freedom Caucus winning control of the House.
“That race didn’t go my way, and I respected the outcome,” Sommers said in a Thursday press release. But “the direction of the Wyoming House,” since then, he said, has “raised serious concerns.”
Sommers pointed to the Freedom Caucus and its budget proposal, which, despite a funding surplus, included major cuts and funding denials. Ahead of the session, the caucus said its sights were set on shrinking spending and limiting the growth of government.
In his Thursday press release, Sommers criticized “decisions that cut food assistance for vulnerable children, reduced business opportunities, slashed funding to the University of Wyoming, eliminated resources for cheatgrass control, denied raises for state employees, and removed positions critical to protecting Wyoming’s water rights.”
Most of those proposals did not make it into the final budget bill.
Sommers also pointed to a controversy that dominated the 2026 session after a Teton County conservative activist handed out campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor. Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously voted to ban such behavior before a House Special Investigative Committee found that the exchange did not violate the Wyoming Constitution nor did it amount to legislative misconduct. A Laramie County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation is still underway.
But “controversies like ‘Checkgate’ undermined public trust, and decorum in the House deteriorated,” Sommers said.
“Transparency and accessibility will remain central to how I serve,” Sommers said. “As I’ve done before, I will provide regular updates on legislation, seek your input, and clearly explain my votes.”
Incumbent bows out
Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, currently represents House District 20, but announced Thursday morning that he would not seek reelection.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as your State Representative for House District 20. When I first ran, I had hoped to serve up to three terms and continue building on what I learned during my first term,” Schmid wrote in a Facebook post. “But life can change your priorities. Over the past year, my family has gone through some difficult times. My wife is dealing with serious health issues, and the death of my brother, Jim, just a few short weeks ago have made it clear to me where I need to spend my time.”
In March, Bill Winney, a perennial candidate and former nuclear submarine commander, announced he would run for House District 20.
The official candidate filing period opens May 14.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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