For many outdoors enthusiasts in the West, rabbit hunting is more than a pastime—it’s a rite of winter, a way to connect with the land, and a chance to sharpen skills in one of America’s most iconic ecosystems: the sagebrush sea. Stretching across 13 states, this sprawling habitat is home to a variety of rabbit species, from the elusive pygmy rabbit to the more abundant cottontail and jackrabbit. In Wyoming, hunters find themselves at the heart of prime rabbit country, where wide-open valleys, rolling sage flats, and rocky outcrops create both challenge and opportunity.

If you’re new to it, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department lays out the rules to keep it all fair and sustainable.

Wyoming’s organized rabbit-hunting history dates back nearly a century. On December 27, 1926, community leaders in Rawlins embarked on the state’s first formal rabbit hunt in the mountains near Medicine Bow. The event was a resounding success, returning nearly 1,000 rabbits to town to be distributed to families in need.

The tradition continued in 1934 when Casper held its own community hunt. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, the hunt “provided enough rabbits to feed hundreds of families… No one tried to take more than a reasonable share; the most taken by one family was 11 rabbits for a family of 10. The result was that rabbit sizzled and fried in hundreds of Casper homes last night.” These early hunts highlight Wyoming’s unique connection to rabbit hunting—not only as recreation but also as a vital support for local communities.

Fast forward to last weekend, and the spirit of Wyoming’s rabbit-hunting community is alive and thriving. Riverton hosted the 47th Annual 5-Shot Rabbit Hunt, a beloved event that brings together the local women’s hunting community. Organized by Jessica Smith for the past eight years, the hunt challenges teams of two to harvest the most rabbits, with each participant limited to five shots—creating a goal of 10 rabbits per team.

This year’s warmer temperatures and rabbit disease shifted the focus from cottontails to the notoriously skittish jackrabbits, adding a layer of difficulty. For all their cuteness, rabbits are not easy to hunt. They bolt suddenly, cover ground incredibly fast, and are experts at dodging, backtracking, and vanishing into cover. Their coloring blends perfectly with natural environments, and they often freeze, lying flat to the ground, making them nearly invisible. And those large ears detect threats from afar, giving them ample warning to escape before a hunter gets close.

Wyoming’s vast landscapes reward patience and observation. Cottontails favor brushy creek bottoms, rocky outcrops, and dense patches of sage and rabbitbrush. Jackrabbits thrive in open sage flats, using their speed and alertness to evade predators. Pygmy rabbits, the state’s smallest and rarest, dig intricate burrows in big sagebrush with deep soils. Early morning and late afternoon are prime times to spot rabbits moving between feeding and resting areas.

Rabbit hunting in Wyoming offers a mix of history, skill, and time outdoors. From the early community hunts in Rawlins and Casper to modern events like the 5-Shot Rabbit Hunt, the tradition continues to bring people together and connect them with the land. Whether you’re glassing the sagebrush flats or carefully stalking rabbits along rocky draws, the hunt provides an enjoyable and accessible way to experience Wyoming’s wide-open spaces while practicing responsible and sustainable hunting.

LANDER, Wyoming (ABC4) — Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly fight at a Wyoming bar last weekend.

According to a press release from the Lander Police Department, officers responded to the Maverick Bar at 11:15 p.m. on Jan. 9 after a report of a disturbance. When officers arrived, they learned that a physical fight had occurred.

Emergency medical services were requested, and one individual involved in the altercation was pronounced deceased at the scene, having succumbed to his injuries. After an investigation, the Lander Police Department was able to locate three men connected to the death.

One of the men has been charged with murder in the second degree, and the two other men have been charged with accessory before the fact to murder in the second degree. The Lander Police Department notes that these charges include the consideration of lesser offenses of manslaughter and accessory to manslaughter.

According to Wyoming news outlet Cowboy State Daily, the three involved are Richard “Deak” Dollard, 59; his brother Justin Dollard, 54; and his nephew Jesse Dollard, 21. Richard Dollard is facing murder in the second degree, while the other two are facing the accessory charges.

Cowboy State Daily says that Richard Dollard is listed as a U.S. Bureau of Land Management field staff law enforcement ranger. They obtained court documents that say witnesses saw Richard Dollard strangling the victim after a fight started between them.

Through the police department’s investigation, they reviewed critical case facts, examined video surveillance, and completed interviews with involved parties and witnesses. Police say they worked closely with the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation and the Fremont County Attorney’s Office to investigate the case and determine appropriate charges.

Although three individuals have been arrested, the Lander Police Department says this is still an open investigation, and asks that anyone who witnessed the event or believes they have “crucial evidence” contact them at (307) 332-3401 and ask for Sgt. Lutterman or Detective Mattocks.

As the data center boom overtakes rural America, impacted residents are often divided over whether these facilities help or harm their communities. But the commissioners of Laramie County, Wyoming, are willing to bet that building the largest data center campus in the U.S. will bring in jobs, tax revenue, and long-term economic growth.

On January 6, they unanimously approved two site plans for a proposed power plant and data center campus to be built south of Cheyenne. The power plant project, called the BFC Power and Cheyenne Power Hub, is being developed by Tallgrass Energy. It will ultimately provide electricity to the Project Jade data center campus being built by AI infrastructure company Crusoe.

Crusoe and Tallgrass announced the partnership in July, revealing that the data center campus will open with a capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW) but will be designed to scale up to 10 GW. Achieving that maximum capacity would make it the largest single AI campus in the U.S.

Big projects with big impacts

The joint project will now progress to the construction phase in the Switch Grass Industrial Park area, located 8 miles south of Cheyenne, according to documentation obtained by Inside Climate News.

Project Jade will be developed on a 600-acre (243-hectare) parcel of land and will consist of five data centers, two support buildings, and additional supporting infrastructure. The BFC Power and Cheyenne Power Hub project will be built right next door on a 659-acre (267-hectare) parcel and will consist of two power generation facilities plus supporting infrastructure.

Crusoe and Tallgrass expect to begin construction in the first quarter of this year, and the first data center building should be operational by the end of 2027, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports.

Before the final vote, the Hyndman Homesites Homeowners Association—which represents a community near the project—wrote a letter to the county commissioners expressing residents’ concerns about drilling deep wells into the local aquifer, gas turbine emissions, the location of wastewater ponds, and other impacts, according to ICN.

Ahead of the final vote, the Hyndman Homesites Homeowners Association, which represents a community near the project, sent a letter to the county commissioners raising concerns about deep aquifer wells, gas turbine emissions, wastewater pond locations, and other impacts, according to ICN.

Studies suggest they’re right to be worried. Researchers have found that data center facilities much smaller than the proposed Jade campus emit harmful air pollutants such as fine particulate matter, guzzle local water resources, and drive up energy bills.

Promises of sustainability

The projects’ developers say they have plans to mitigate local impacts. To reduce the data centers’ water demand, Crusoe intends to implement closed-loop cooling systems that recycle treated water and treatment fluids, according to a 2024 Impact Report.

When Crusoe and Tallgrass announced their partnership in July, they said the data center campus’s proximity to Tallgrass’s existing CO2 sequestration hub will also provide long-term carbon capture solutions for the gas turbines powering the data centers. They added that “future renewable energy developments in the region” could eventually supplement the facilities’ power demand.

Whether these prove to be viable, meaningful solutions remains to be seen. County leadership is apparently comfortable enough with the risks to allow the projects to move forward. The true costs and benefits of their decision won’t become clear until these facilities are operational and the campus begins drawing power, water, and scrutiny at scale.