Generations of Wyoming wildlife managers have mowed over swaths of the sagebrush sea, a practice long believed to improve conditions for wildlife in places like the Green River Basin, near Baggs and the Platte Valley.
The technique, which often leaves behind a mosaic pattern, has historically targeted species like mule deer and sage grouse, though it’s thought to have holistic benefits that trickle down the food web. By opening up the mature sagebrush canopy, the thinking goes, mowing boosts the volume of wildflowers, grasses and young shrubs that sprout, essentially making the landscape more nutritious.
Several recently published studies, however, challenge the supposed benefits of sagebrush mowing, even suggesting that the mechanical manipulation of the embattled biome is potentially causing unintended harm for other species.
An award-winning University of Wyoming study, co-led by ecologist Jeff Beck, found that mowing and spraying the herbicide tebuthiuron on Wyoming big sagebrush had no benefits whatsoever for grass production and wildflower growth, nor did it stimulate the assemblage of insects. Sage grouse, in turn, were mostly unaffected — ecologists detected no gains in nest success or the survival of sage grouse broods and adult females. The imperiled bird species even slightly avoided manipulated swaths of the sagebrush-steppe landscape, the data showed.
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“In our study design, we purposely tested the Wyoming Game and Fish Department protocols for treating sagebrush in core [sage grouse] areas,” Beck told WyoFile. “The treatments didn’t do what they’re supposed to do.”
Sagebrush in this photo was mowed in an irregular shaped pattern, or “mosaic”, to create an edge effect. (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
Meanwhile, unaffiliated research out of the University of Wyoming and Game and Fish’s Non-Game Division has also found that sagebrush-dependent songbirds suffered from mowing’s unintended consequences in central and western Wyoming.
“We found no Brewer’s sparrows or sage thrashers nesting in the mowed footprint posttreatment, which suggests complete loss of nesting habitat for these species,” a University of Wyoming-led research team wrote in a 2018 Ornithological Applications study. “Mowing was associated with higher nestling condition and nest survival for Vesper sparrows but not for the sagebrush-obligate species.”
Brewer’s sparrows, a designated species of greatest conservation need, decrease in density significantly in areas where sagebrush has been mowed, according to multiple, unaffiliated studies conducted in Wyoming. (Paul Graham/Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
Game and Fish non-game biologists took a similar look at how mowing and aeration affected sagebrush-dependent songbirds in the Green River Basin in 2022, recently publishing the preliminary results in their annual “job completion report.”
“Strictly from a bird perspective, that area is the bread basket of sagebrush,” Game and Fish Statewide Non-Game Bird Biologist Zach Wallace told WyoFile. “In my opinion, if we’re going to manage it — or remove it for management — we should consider the broader impacts of that. That was part of that motivation for our study on the songbirds. What are the potential effects?”
Sage thrashers, Brewer’s sparrows and sagebrush sparrows — all designated as “species of greatest conservation need” — were found in lower abundance in mowed areas, the non-game biologists found. Meanwhile, Vesper sparrows and horned larks, which are habitat generalists, capitalized on the mown areas, increasing in abundance.
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(Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
Beck’s study, which kicked off in 2011, made use of a massive dataset amassed from tracking 620 female sage grouse in central Wyoming with very-high frequency radio and GPS transmitters. The dataset, and others, were also used to assess the impacts free-roaming horses are having on sage grouse. Those results: Overpopulated horses are driving down sage grouse survival rates.
Decade-long effort
There were four goals of the 9-year study, which was led by ecologist Kurt Smith. The research team sought to ascertain how mowing and spraying tebuthiuron influenced sage grouse reproductive success and survival, and they also wanted to determine how it changed nesting and brood-rearing habitat selection. The scientific inquiry also examined how vegetation responded, in addition to pinning down forbs and insect responses.
Six years of post-mowing monitoring found that fluctuations in vegetation growth were tied to precipitation and other weather variables, not habitat manipulations.
“There were the same [annual changes] in the treated and untreated areas,” Beck said.
Sage grouse, meanwhile, were essentially unaffected by the treatments, though they tended to slightly avoid treated areas with barer ground.
Greater sage grouse feed on Wyoming big sagebrush leaves and flowers at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. (Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Those results were perhaps unexpected.
“Some biologists — older biologists, maybe — have a deep-seated belief that these treatments work,” Beck said.
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Anna Chalfoun, a professor and USGS Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit member and co-author of the study, said that it’s been a longstanding assumption that sagebrush manipulations were effective for conserving sage grouse — a bird that’s been petitioned for Endangered Species Act protections and receives a lot of attention.
“It’s a very appealing concept, right? With limited conservation resources, if we just focus on this high-profile species of concern, then we’ll de facto be supporting all of these other species,” Chalfoun said. “But a management premise only works if it works.”
The long-running study suggests that it does not work, though there are limits to the conclusions wildlife managers can draw.
Limitations
Although Beck and his colleagues detected no silver linings or benefits in the six-year stretch after mowing or spraying, sagebrush is a notoriously slow-growing shrub.
“There’s a possibility that if you wait 15, 20 years, something will be different,” Beck said.
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Although the period assessed in the researchers’ manuscript came to a close in 2019, monitoring of the area is continuing. Ecologists will track how the landscape grows back for years to come, doing so by keeping tabs on fenced exclosures that are half-treated and half-untreated.
(Wildlife Monographs)
The study area off to the east of the Wind River Range was also limited to the most widespread of all sagebrush subspecies: Wyoming big sagebrush.
“It’s not as resilient as mountain big sagebrush, which grows at higher elevation,” Beck said. “Wyoming big sagebrush is lower in elevation typically, it’s drier, and it’s known to not be as resilient.”
Flowering plants tend to increase in areas where mountain big sagebrush has been mowed or chemically treated, according to a 2006 study cited in Beck’s recent paper. Sage grouse also increased use of those areas.
Modern mowing and learning
Nowadays, the “vast majority” of mowing and other sagebrush treatments spearheaded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department are completed in areas dominated by mountain big sagebrush. The state agency began focusing on that subspecies instead of slower-growing Wyoming big sagebrush even before the University of Wyoming study results began arriving, said Ian Tator, Game and Fish’s statewide terrestrial habitat manager.
“We’ve taken that information [from the study] and used it to fine-tune what we were already doing,” Tator told WyoFile.
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In recent years, sagebrush mowing has been a targeted endeavor in Wyoming. During 2023, a total of 1,866 acres of sagebrush — about three square miles — was mowed, “chopped,” or aerated, according to Game and Fish’s statewide habitat plan annual report. The five-year-average number of treated acres comes in at just over 2,400 acres.
A typical mosaic mowing treatment photographed in 2023, one year after it was cut. The new growth of sagebrush and the herbaceous response, including forbs, achieved what wildlife managers sought. (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)
Mowed and treated acreages of sagebrush aren’t necessarily selected with a specific species in mind, Tator said.
“In our mind, we are doing this work in order to improve conditions for all species,” he said. “[We’re] looking at the system holistically and trying to do what’s right by the system — and also, doing no harm.”
Research, including from within Game and Fish itself, suggesting that mowing is harming sagebrush-dependent songbirds came about “a lot more recently,” he said.
“We certainly are adaptively managing,” Tator said. “If it turns out that we are doing harm for a species and we need to reconsider our approach, then we definitely will.”
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BILLINGS— Activists on both sides praised and criticized the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling of abortion bans as unconstitutional on Tuesday in a 4-1 majority.
The ruling marks the end of a four-year legal battle in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban went in place with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights on a federal level.
Watch for the report:
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Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional
The ban was put on hold after Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, led a suit against the state.
“I was holding my breath as I opened it and read it. But soon that turned to being rather elated. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opinion,” said Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president.
Vanessa Willardson
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Julie Burkhart
The decision comes after a years-long fight and setbacks, including an arsonist who set the clinic on fire in May of 2022.
“We were set to open that next month, but unfortunately that arson set us back by 11 months. We weren’t able to open that until 2023. It was quite devastating,” said Burkhart.
“I don’t think it’s moral, ethical, appropriate for anyone to tell another person what they can or cannot do with their own body,” she added.
Wellspring Health Access
Wellspring Health Access after 2022 fire
For a Montana advocacy group, it was a different story.
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“I was very disappointed,” said Amy Seymour, president of Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
“These pre-born children who are unique, complete, living, individual human beings from the moment of their conception, they can be protected if Wyoming decides to have a constitutional amendment to that degree,” she added.
Vanessa Willardson
Amy Seymour
Wyoming state Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican, echoed Seymour’s sentiments with a written statement.
“Today’s decision is an abomination. Four unelected justices thwarted the will of the people to establish a ‘right’ to kill an innocent baby. Thanks to these justices, Wyoming has some of the most radical abortion laws in America. I will not stand for that, and will continue fighting for innocent unborn babies,” said Neiman.
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Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal
GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.
Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.
The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.
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This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.
As a plaintiff in the 2022 lawsuit that kicked off years of legal sparring over Wyoming abortion rights, Dr. Giovannina Anthony had waited a long time for Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision on the state’s abortion bans.
“It has been a long road,” she said. One with ups and downs, drawbacks and delays. And even though the high court ruled against the state’s abortion bans, she’s not under the illusion that the fight for abortion access is over.
“But at least today, we can claim a victory and say, it was really worth it,” said Anthony, a Jackson obstetrician. “It was worth it to go four years and keep it up and keep raising money and keep the awareness going. I’m really proud of our team. I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”
In reading the Supreme Court’s decision siding with plaintiffs, Anthony said, “Clearly, this is a court that holds a lot of respect for our constitution.”
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That’s because much of the decision hinged on constitutional language.
Anthony and other plaintiffs argued that abortion is enshrined in the “right of health care access” in Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution. The clause states, “Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.”
The state’s attorneys, meanwhile, countered that abortion isn’t health care.
But in deciding what that language means in this case, “all five Wyoming Supreme Court justices agreed that the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy is a woman’s own health care decision protected by Article 1, Section 38,” the court’s summary stated.
As abortion rights activists in Wyoming and beyond celebrated the decision, the anti-abortion camp decried it and called for legislative action.
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“This ruling is profoundly unfortunate and sadly serves to only prolong the ultimate proper resolution of this issue,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement. While the ruling may settle a legal question for the time being, Gordon said, “it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself.”
Anti-abortion activists in the silent March for Life in Cheyenne in January 2020. (Nadav Soroker, Wyoming Tribune Eagle/Wyoming News Exchange)
Gordon asked the Attorney General’s office to file a petition for rehearing the decision, which it will file within 15 days.
The voters of Wyoming should settle the matter once and for all, Gordon argued. “A constitutional amendment taken to the people of Wyoming would trump any and all judicial decisions.”
He called on the Legislature to pass such an amendment during the upcoming session and deliver it to his desk. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to appear on the ballot in the following general election.
Gordon may get his wish during the Legislature’s 2026 budget session, which convenes Feb. 9.
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State lawmakers are already preparing a bill to modify the Wyoming Constitution and clear a path for another attempted abortion ban. Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican from Hulett, said that he’s been workshopping language with Torrington Republican Sen. Cheri Steinmetz.
“I’ve got to run it by a lot of other people,” Neiman said.
Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman listen during a 2023 hearing on their request to defend Wyoming’s abortion ban. (Brad Boner/Jackson Hole News&Guide/Pool)
Ideally, he added, a single constitutional amendment would be considered, although the legislative strategy is still up for discussion.
“We’ve got a little over a month before we have to be in session,” Neiman said. “That’ll give us time to kind of see which is maybe the best plan of action.”
A constitutional amendment would have to navigate the legislative process in a 20-day session geared toward passing Wyoming’s budget. Then, in the 2026 general election, more than half of Wyoming voters who cast a ballot would have to agree to the constitutional change.
Neiman struck an optimistic tone about an amendment’s prospects of passing the first hurdle during the session in Cheyenne.
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“I can’t speak for the other chamber,” he said, “but in my chamber I’ve got a lot of phone calls and a lot of texts from a lot of my legislators who are just beside themselves at what happened.”
Senate President Bo Biteman did not return a phone call before this story published.
Victorious
Chelsea’s Fund, an organization that helps pay for abortion services, was another of the plaintiffs that challenged Wyoming’s abortion bans. Executive Director Janean Forsyth said Tuesday’s decision affirms what her organization has long known: “that abortion is essential health care, and Wyoming women have a constitutional right and the freedom to make their own health care decisions, and that should be without government interference.”
Forsyth was flooded with messages and calls Tuesday, she said, especially from the community of reproductive rights organizations.
“I think that [the news is] a beacon of hope for, not only Wyoming communities and families, but also nationwide,” she said.
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Christine Lichtenfels was Chelsea’s Fund executive director when the original suit was filed and throughout much of the legal battle. Relief wasn’t quite the word to describe how she felt Tuesday, she said.
“In reading the decision, there is just a sense that, ‘Oh, there is reason in the world,” she said. “It makes me think that, yes, Wyoming is the Equality State. We can say that now without cringing.”
(Disclosure: Lichtenfels is currently working with WyoFile on an unrelated legal matter.)
The Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper is pictured in December 2022, and shows signs of May 2022 arson, including boarded up windows. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)
Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Knowing the decision would directly impact the facility’s fate, Clinic President Julie Burkhart was nervous when she opened it. Reading quickly dispelled her fears, she said, as it dawned on her that the justices sided with the plaintiffs’ legal team.
“We are delighted,” she told WyoFile.
Many people questioned her 2021 decision to open an abortion clinic in such a conservative state, she said. The court decision solidifies an intuition she felt back then about Wyoming residents’ sense of what’s fair and right.
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Burkhart and colleagues expect future challenges to arise, however.
“While we celebrate today’s ruling, we know that anti-abortion politicians will continue their push to restrict access to health care in Wyoming with new, harmful proposals in the state legislature,” Burkart said in a statement. “Patients should not have to live in fear that their health care decisions will be suddenly upended at the whim of a judge or lawmaker.”
Across the state in Jackson, Dr. Anthony anticipates the Wyoming Freedom Caucus will attempt to pass laws that impose targeted restrictions against abortion providers — such as forcing patients to hear a fetal heartbeat or wait a certain time period before the procedure.
“Unfortunately, the fight’s not over,” Anthony said, “but this is a great moment for us.”
Heartache
Abortion opponents expressed sadness Tuesday and vehemently disagreed with the court’s opinion.
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State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams was lead sponsor of one of the abortion bans. The Cody Republican and chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus did not respond to a request for comment, but posted about the decision on X.
“My heart aches for Wyoming today,” Rodriguez Williams posted. “Thanks to the decision of four unelected, unchecked attorneys, it’s open season in Wyoming for innocent, preborn babies. Make no mistake: courts can get things wrong, and they sure did get this wrong. I’ll never stop fighting to protect life.”
Anti-abortion billboards can be seen along some Wyoming highways. (Tennessee Watson/WyoFile)
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray also protested the decision, which he called “outrageously wrong” and “a leftwing activist decision totally out of touch with the Wyoming Constitution.”
Natrona County anti-abortion activist Bob Brechtel, a former Wyoming House member, also expressed frustration with the courts, criticizing the nearly two-year-long wait for a decision and saying he was “ashamed” of the outcome from the high court.
In 2011, Brechtel co-sponsored the bill authorizing a later-successful constitutional amendment ballot measure that now protects individuals’ rights to make their own health care decisions. Born out of opposition to the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, what became Article 1, Section 38 caused some lawmakers to worry about potential unintended consequences.
Fifteen years later, one unintended consequence came to fruition. Reached Tuesday, Brechtel confirmed that he did not intend to protect women’s right to have an abortion in Wyoming.
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“There was nothing in the legislation about killing innocent human beings,” he said. “This whole thing has been completely regenerated into something that it was never intended to be.”
