Wyoming
‘Son Of A Poacher’ Recalls Wyoming Game Warden’s Career With Book Series
Reflecting on his life and career path as a Wyoming game warden, Scott Werbelow recalled decidedly different experiences with different men.
While he made his life’s work advancing Wyoming wildlife, he grew up in the shadow of an opposite legacy with an alcoholic father and unrepentant poacher.
“We saw the game warden’s truck, and my dad said, ‘Oh shit, there’s the goddamn game warden!’” he told Cowboy State Daily about one of the memories he has of his father. “He took a two-track off the main road, and we hid behind a hill until the warden was gone.”
Later, his parents divorced and his mother remarried a rancher.
Werbelow recalled that “when I was about 10 or 12,” telling the local Wyoming Game and Fish Department warden, Bob Trebelcock, that a trap that Werbelow set had gone missing.
“I told him, ‘I think somebody stole my trap’ and he told me, ‘OK, I’ll look for it,’” Werbelow said.
“About two days later, he came back to the ranch. And he had my trap. I thought he was God, that he’d hunted down that guy who stole my trap,” he said.
Turns out, Trebelcock had himself taken the trap because it wasn’t properly tagged, then brought it back to the young Werbelow, along with a lesson about doing things the right way.
“I saw what my dad was doing, and then I saw that guy who was enforcing the law, and I thought that he was a pretty cool guy,” Werbelow said.
He knew right then what he wanted to be — a Game and Fish game warden.
Book Series
Werbelow is 30 years into his career with Game and Fish. He lives in Meeteetse and is the game warden supervisor for the Cody region.
That’s a long way to come for the son of a poacher whose excessive drinking led to death at age 40 from sclerosis of the liver.
It’s a story so unusual and inspiring, Werbelow decided to write it down. So far, he’s written and published two autobiographical books, “Son of a Poacher: Wyoming Warden in the Making” and “Son of a Poacher II: Blast From My Past.”
Volume III is being edited, and Werbelow hopes it will publish soon.
“The second book takes us to about 1999, and at the end of the third book, we’re at about 2004,” he said, so there’s likely to be more volumes.
Werbelow was born in 1968 and spent his first five years in Emblem, Wyoming. Then his parents divorced and later his mother married Martin Mayland, who owned ranches north of Greybull.
Werbelow described Mayland as a great stepfather who taught him the value of hard, honest ranch work, along with how to hunt, fish and trap ethically, within the boundaries of the law.
“My parents instilled self-confidence and a strong work ethic in me from a very young age,” Werbelow states in his online biography.
Werbelow was set on his dream of becoming a game warden, but struggled in school. When he graduated from high school, his brother talked him into going to Chadron State College in Nebraska and earn a degree in industrial technology.
But the hankering to put on the distinctive red shirt and badge of a Game and Fish warden wasn’t so easily put to rest. Back then, jobs with Game and Fish were scarce and competition was fierce.
Werbelow eventually managed to get hired on as a temporary wildlife damage technician and worked his way up.
His big break came when we was called to be the full-time elk feeding ground manager in the Pinedale area. That morphed into a “game warden/feeding ground manager” position, and his career took off from there.
Why Do People Poach?
Given his genetic roots, Werbelow has done much pondering over why people poach — or kill animals illegally or out of season — rather than hunting legally and ethically.
He said that question really started to nag at him when he and his brother were young and spending time with their biological father.
One time, their father made them cut the head off a mule deer that he had shot illegally “and was still alive,” Werbelow said.
The cruelty and blatant disregard for the rules that his father displayed was baffling.
“I thought, ‘Why would my dad do that? Why didn’t he at least take the meat?’” Werbelow said.
Werbelow said he eventually concluded that his father shot animals whenever he could, regardless of whether it was legal or ethical, simply because he liked doing it.
“My dad didn’t poach for food, and he didn’t even really want the trophies. He just liked shooting animals,” he said.
And while busting countless poachers as a game warden, Werbelow frequently encountered that same mentality.
“I interviewed a guy after a poaching bust one time, and he told me, ‘I just get a high off the crack of the rifle, and seeing something die,’” Werbelow said.
For other poachers, it’s all about the ego trip of scoring a big trophy, he added.
“Maybe once, they legally shoot a big animal, say, a 30-inch buck mule deer, and they get all this recognition from their friends,” he said. “And then they feel like they’re this great, mighty hunter, and it’s the only great thing they’ve ever done. And they want that feeling again, and they don’t care if they have to break the law to get it.”
Dangerous Work
Game wardens work long, odd hours and are constantly on call, Werbelow said.
But he’s loved every minute his job has put him in Wyoming’s fantastic outdoors. And the job is great, because he never knows what to expect.
“You might get a call that somebody got attacked by a grizzly bear, maybe even killed by a grizzly bear. And then you go from that to somebody calling about a skunk in a parking lot with a jar stuck over its head,” Werbelow said.
Game wardens also must go into dangerous situations, frequently alone and almost always involving people who are armed.
“The typical guy I’m dealing with has a rifle, a pistol, a can of bear spray and a knife,” Werbelow said. “I’m probably most scared of the guy with the bear spray, who could hit you with that out of the blue and incapacitate you.”
More than a few times, he’s followed possible game law violation cases into hunting camps at night.
“You’re outnumbered. And they’re drinking, and they’re angry because you could be writing them a ticket,” Werbelow said.
“There’s been some situations where I’ve just decided to back out. To just say, ‘OK, you guys have a good evening,’ and then wait and come back with two or three other guys in the morning,” he said. “It’s just better to deal with them in the morning.
“Your brain’s your best weapon, and it will tell you if a situation is turning into something that you can’t handle on your own.”
Inspiring The Next Generation
Though anecdotes from his career anchor the “Son of a Poacher” series, Werbelow said the books also delve deeply into all aspects of his life.
“If you read these books, you’ll probably end up knowing me better than you wanted to,” he said with a chuckle.
He also shared a wry quote from the forthcoming third volume: “I have learned over the years that there are no perfect women or horses! You must decide what you are willing to tolerate.”
And he hopes the narrative of how he overcame his life’s challenges will inspire others.
“I look at my childhood and how I grew up, all the crap I went through,” he said. “My first book, it’s meant to inspire kids. If you want something bad enough, you can get what you want in life.”
He also hopes to get more young people interested in his career field. When he was starting out, the competition was almost impossible. There could easily be 10 other highly qualified candidates vying for the same open game warden slot.
Now, Game and Fish struggles to find only a few qualified candidates, he said.
Aspiring game wardens must be prepared to work hard, and sacrifice some of their own outdoor aspirations.
“If you really like to hunt and fish, you should probably not be a game warden. Because during hunting season, you’re not going to get to go out hunting on opening day, or just take a week off anytime during the season,” Werbelow said.
As he approaches the end of his career, he’s not sure what he’ll do next.
“At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve been blessed to have had this job for 30 years,” he said. “I spent my whole life doing what I love to do, so I’m not sure what my hobbies are going to be when I retire, because I’m probably going to want to do different things.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
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.
The 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season is nearly done. Two state champions were crowned in Classes 1A and 2A last Saturday. Southeast won the 1A title for the third consecutive season, and Sundance won the 2A title for the first time in eight years. Class 3A and 4A held their regional tournaments, which qualified teams for the state tournament later this week in Casper.
WYOPREPS WEEK 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS 2026
These are the girls’ basketball team records for all games played through March 7, 2026. For all but 16 teams, this is the final record of the season. Those squads will play in the 3A-4A state tournament starting on Thursday in Casper.
1A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Burlington 24-5, 8-0
Riverside 14-10, 6-2
Dubois 11-10, 4-4
St. Stephens 3-16, 1-7
Meeteetse 1-20, 1-7
1A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cokeville 23-4, 10-0
Little Snake River 23-4, 8-2
Farson-Eden 16-12, 5-5
Saratoga 13-11, 5-5
Ft. Washakie 8-13, 2-8
Encampment 3-19, 0-10
1A Northeast: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Upton 16-7, 10-0
Kaycee 13-12, 7-3
Hulett 12-13, 7-3
Arvada-Clearmont 9-12, 4-6
Casper Christian 4-13, 2-8
Midwest 1-16, 0-10
1A Southeast: (Overall Record, followed by Reg. Season Points)
Southeast 24-5, 40 points
Lingle-Ft. Laramie 17-11, 31 points
Lusk 15-13, 26 points
H.E.M. 13-11, 24 points
Rock River 6-14, 12 points
Guernsey-Sunrise 2-18, 4 points
2A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Thermopolis 16-13, 5-1
Greybull 16-15, 4-2
Rocky Mountain 9-17, 2-4
Shoshoni 11-18, 1-5
2A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wyoming Indian 23-7, 6-0
Big Piney 8-16, 4-2
Kemmerer 2-21, 1-5
Wind River 2-23, 1-5
2A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Sundance 23-4, 5-0
Big Horn 21-6, 4-1
Tongue River 18-11, 3-2
Pine Bluffs 17-12, 2-3
Moorcroft 7-18, 1-4
Wright 3-23, 0-5
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3A West: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cody 24-0, 10-0
Lander 21-4, 9-1
Pinedale 20-5, 7-3
Powell 16-9, 6-4
Lovell 16-10, 4-6
Worland 9-16, 2-8
Lyman 10-11, 2-8
Mountain View 4-19, 0-10
3A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wheatland 22-4, 10-0
Buffalo 13-11, 8-2
Douglas 14-11, 6-4
Burns 16-13, 5-5
Torrington 10-11, 5-5
Glenrock 12-13, 3-7
Newcastle 1-22, 1-9
Rawlins 2-21, 0-10
4A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Green River 23-2, 6-0
Natrona County 9-16, 4-2
Kelly Walsh 8-15, 2-4
Rock Springs 5-20, 0-6
4A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Star Valley 16-7, 5-1
Evanston 16-10, 5-1
Riverton 7-19, 1-5
Jackson 3-19, 1-5
4A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cheyenne East 21-3, 11-1
Cheyenne Central 16-9, 10-2
Sheridan 14-10, 7-5
Thunder Basin 14-10, 6-6
Laramie 12-11, 6-6
Campbell County 1-19, 1-10
Cheyenne South 1-21, 0-11
*The second Campbell County-Cheyenne South girls’ game was canceled.
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