Wyoming
Wildlife Officials Relocate Two Montana Grizzlies to Yellowstone Ecosystem – Flathead Beacon
Wildlife management officials from Montana celebrated the translocation of two grizzly bears from northwest Montana to Wyoming, supplementing the genetic pool of the population around Yellowstone National Park and bolstering arguments for state management of the iconic species.
In an announcement on Aug. 2, Gov. Greg Gianforte and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon announced that two bears had been successfully trapped near the Middle Fork Flathead River, part of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE), and released in Wyoming’s Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE).
“Due to the work and sacrifice of Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and many Montanans over many decades, we’ve been successful in helping the grizzly bear recover,” Gianforte said during a Monday press conference in Helena. “Since Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grizzly bear under the Endangered Species Act, this milestone marks the first time we have a confirmed NCDE bear in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. The state of Montana has made genetic connectivity between these two ecosystems a priority and now we have acted on that priority.”
Grizzlies in the Lower 48 states are protected as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) with six defined recovery areas across the northwestern United States. In both the NCDE and GYE recovery areas the grizzly population is estimated around 1,100, with roughly 80 bears in the Selkirk recovery area that spans the Washington-Idaho-British Columbia border, around 40 bears in Montana’s Cabinet-Yaak recovery area. A handful of grizzlies have been documented in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, while there are currently no bears in Washington’s Northern Cascades.
Recovery Plan. Graphic by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Despite an increase in the number of animals and expanded ranges in the two largest populations, the animals remain isolated from each other with no documented grizzlies crossing between the NCDE and the GYE.
The physical separation prevents any genetic mixing between the two groups with potential long-term implications for the conservation of the species. The translocation of grizzlies from one population to the other supplements the existing gene pool and increases the sustainability of the population.
“We’ve done a lot to help improve the conditions of the Yellowstone and the NCDE grizzly bear population. Both of those populations have met their recovery goals or exceeded them, really,” FWP Research Biologist Cecily Costello said. “Natural movement between these two populations might happen in the future, but this basically gave a head start to that process.”
Costello said that the GYE bears have a lower genetic diversity than other grizzly populations in the Lower 48 with biologists estimating they have been isolated for roughly 100 years. While there is no immediate danger to the population’s genetics and no evidence of inbreeding, the addition of the two Montana bears will serve to bolster the population long term.
“It’s really trying to allow for this population to have enough diversity in their genetics to respond really well to any kind of changes in the future,” Costello said.
After spending two months trying to trap suitable bears to move to Wyoming, biologists with FWP captured the two grizzlies back-to-back within 48 hours along a remote section of the Middle Fork Flathead River.
The first bear, a sub-adult female, was captured near the headwaters of the Middle Fork Flathead River and was released in the Blackrock drainage approximately 35 miles northwest of Dubois, Wyoming on July 30.
The following day Yellowstone National park personnel released a sub-adult male south of Yellowstone Lake within the park boundaries.
Republican officials across the western states have long pushed for the delisting of grizzlies with management returned to the states. Montana officials petitioned FWS to remove the distinct NCDE grizzlies from the ESA back in 2021, citing the robust population and the state’s track record in conserving both the species and its habitat. Idaho and Wyoming officials have also submitted their own petitions for delisting — Wyoming for the GYE, and Idaho for all grizzlies in the Lower 48.
In late July, the FWS announced it would release a decision over delisting the species by the end of January of next year, according to a court filing related to the three state petitions. If either of the distinct populations, or the species as a whole, was delisted, management would be turned over to the states, a future Montana officials have already begun planning for.
“The bottom line is this: The Endangered Species Act was designed to keep species from going extinct, not manage a robust population that’s growing,” Gianforte said during his press conference. “Working with state of Wyoming and our partners, we achieved the goals set for us and we’ve shown the ability to manage bears, protect habitat and population numbers. It’s time for the state to take over management of these iconic animals. It’s time to have full authority for grizzly bears in Montana returned back to Montana.”
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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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