Wyoming
Wyoming rangers stop blowing up dead horses due to wildfire risk
Rangers in Wyoming’s Shoshone national forest believe they have figured out how to mitigate an elevated risk of wildfires: they are no longer using explosives to blow up dead horses.
The temporary pause in the seemingly bizarre and somewhat gruesome policy comes as a lengthy dry spell in the state’s backcountry combines with hotter-than-usual temperatures, increasing the possibility of wildfires. Experts say drought and heat from the climate crisis is fueling a rise in extreme wildfires worldwide.
In less extreme times, the US Forest Service routinely blows up carcasses of fallen horses – after removing horseshoes to minimize the hazard from flying metal debris – to prevent gatherings of ravenous grizzly bears that frequent Wyoming’s open spaces.
The service follows directions from its own manual, Obliterating Animal Carcasses With Explosives, detailing best practices for detonating horses, moose and mules.
Created by the forest service’s Missoula technology and development center in 1995, it offers advice including where to place the charges and how many to use.
“Carcasses that have been partially obliterated will generally not show any trace of existence the next day,” the manual says.
The episode was first reported by the Cowboy State Daily.
Evan Guzik, Shoshone’s public affairs officer, said the service had not adopted a wholesale suspension of the use of explosives, but a temporary pause was considered necessary in the case of two horses that slipped and fell to their deaths last weekend on a remote trail near the town of Cody.
Rangers decided not to blow up the horses, and opted instead to maneuver them to the foot of a steep slope and reroute the trail around them, he said.
“Each incident is approached as a unique event and assessed individually. In this particular case, the area was thick with timber and brush that was too dry to safely obliterate the carcasses,” Guzik told the Guardian.
“[The] folks on the ground made a risk-based decision and felt that they could minimize the hazard of a carcass near a trail by creating the reroute and canvassing the area with signs alerting trail users of the potential for grizzlies in the area … without increasing the chance to spark a new wildfire.
“That may not be the case for other similar situations,” he said.
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Cody, a popular tourist town in north-east Wyoming named for its co-founder, the wild west showman Buffalo Bill Cody, has a notably dry climate and near-constant winds, making the area particularly susceptible to wildfires.
Northern Wyoming, southern Montana and other western states were affected by large numbers of wildfires this summer, and many areas are still vulnerable to new blazes during the mostly dry conditions of fall.
Wyoming, meanwhile, has an abundant population of grizzly bears, and while encounters with humans are uncommon, they can be dangerous. In May, a man was attacked and seriously injured by a grizzly in Grand Teton national park, and in July last year a woman was fatally mauled on a trail west of Yellowstone national park in Montana.
Bear gatherings are more of a concern at this time of year, experts say, because most are in their hyperphagia stage, otherwise known as when they fatten up for winter hibernation. The recently concluded Fat Bear Week at Katmai national park in Alaska celebrates the process while educating the public about the animals.
Guzik said changing seasons meant a decreasing likelihood of rangers having to decide whether to use explosives on carcasses to keep hungry grizzlies away. As well as the bears heading for hibernation, wetter conditions are expected soon. “All our fingers are crossed for rain or snow,” he said.
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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