Wyoming
Melting Ice Reveals Remains of 5,900-Year-Old Trees in Wyoming, Uncovering a Long-Lost Forest
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2F99%2Fa0%2F99a0a9a3-6197-404e-a955-e1cae85a9958%2Fimg_1940.jpeg?ssl=1 "Melting Ice Reveals Remains of 5,900-Year-Old Trees in Wyoming, Uncovering a Long-Lost Forest")
The trees became visible as an ice patch melted on the Beartooth Plateau, which is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Daniel Stahle
A melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains has revealed the remains of up to 5,900-year-old trees that could offer insights into past climate conditions, according to new research.
Scientists discovered more than 30 dead whitebark pine trees (Pinus albicaulis) that were entombed in ice for millennia, according to a new paper published late last month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
They found the previously hidden stand of trees on the Beartooth Plateau in northwest Wyoming, which is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The whitebark pines were lying flat but had been preserved in good condition, suggesting they were rapidly enveloped by ice.
The trees were recently exposed when the ice patch began melting due to hotter temperatures related to human-caused climate change, reports New Scientist’s Taylor Mitchell Brown. In the same area, receding ice patches have also revealed fragments of wooden hunting weapons, including one that was more than 10,000 years old.
“The plateau seems to have been the perfect place to allow for ice patches to establish and persist for thousands of years, recording important information on past climate, human activity and environmental change,” says study lead author Greg Pederson, a paleoclimatologist for the United States Geological Survey, in a statement.
The ice patch has previously revealed fragments of wooden hunting weapons.
Joe McConnell / Desert Research Institute
The trees are located 10,140 feet above sea level, which is roughly 590 feet higher than the region’s current tree line. (The tree line, also known as timberline, marks the edge of a high-elevation habitat that can support trees. Above this invisible marker, the conditions are too harsh for trees to grow.) This suggests the region’s climate was once warmer than it is today.
By studying the trees’ rings and using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers were able to determine that they lived 5,950 to 5,440 years ago. Then, they looked at data from Arctic ice core samples to understand what the climate was like during that time, a period known as the mid-Holocene.
The trees were alive during an era of falling temperatures, which have been linked with ongoing volcanic eruptions. As volcanoes in the Northern Hemisphere erupted, they spewed so much debris into the air that they blocked sunlight from reaching the surface, which caused temperatures to drop.
Eventually, around 5,100 years ago, it seemingly became so cold that the trees at that high elevation could no longer survive. The chilly weather also caused a nearby ice patch to expand and engulf the whitebark pines.
The trees are “a valuable ‘time capsule’ that tells us not only about these mountain forests 6,000 years ago, but about the climate conditions that allowed them to exist,” says Kevin Anchukaitis, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona who was not involved with the research, to New Scientist.
By learning more about the region’s past climate, scientists say they can more accurately predict the future. If global temperatures continue to rise, for example, they expect trees to start growing at higher elevations, so long as they have enough moisture.
“Year-over-year records, as well as decadal records and even century-level records are exceedingly important,” study co-author Craig Lee, a researcher of environmental archaeology at Montana State University, tells the Billings Gazette’s Brett French. “They provide comparative data points for allowing us to contextualize our more nuanced observations of the current climate that we experience today.”
Today, the whitebark pine is considered “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. These trees face several stressors, including rising temperatures, drought and wildfires. They’re also battling a pest called the mountain pine beetle and a deadly invasive fungus called white pine blister rust.
Healthy whitebark pines can live for hundreds of years—and sometimes survive up to 1,000 years. They grow at high elevations throughout the western United States and Canada, providing food for red squirrels, grizzly bears, Clark’s nutcrackers and many other creatures. They also play an important role in their high-elevation ecosystems, as they provide shade that helps keep snow cold and stable.
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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