Wyoming

Wyoming Works To Save Rapidly Vanishing Pinyon Jay That’s Down 80%

Published

3 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Wyoming Works To Save Rapidly Vanishing Pinyon Jay That’s Down 80%

Some have described the call of a pinyon jay as laughter across the landscape, but the predicament of the noisy, gregarious jay is no joke, as it is one of the most rapidly disappearing birds in the West.

The pinyon jay has been identified as a species of greatest conservation need in Wyoming wildlife action plans across its range after seeing its population crater by 80% in the last half-century.

It was proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 2022, and in August 2023 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a 90-day review of this petition and announced that a full 12-month review of the species’ status was warranted.

To help improve the bird’s chance of survival, two studies are underway in Wyoming.

“They’re just awesome birds and hopefully we do them right,” said Eric Atkinson, associate professor of biology at Northwest College in Powell, who is part of one of the studies. “Zach Wallace with Wyoming Game and Fish told me several months ago, ‘You know, this is one of those species that caught us all kind of flat-footed because we knew they were there, but nobody really showed a lot of strong concern about them. And when you look at the numbers, their precipitous decline, it’s about time that some of us look at it.’”

The Draper Natural History Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, along with research collaborators from the Bureau of Land Management, NWC, USFWS and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at the University of California-Davis began focusing on the birds in the Bighorn Basin this spring.

Meanwhile Wallace, a nongame biologist, and others in Game and Fish are conducting field research in several counties to learn more basic information on the ecology and management of pinyon jays to understand how the agency can better manage the species in Wyoming.

“Our main goal is to be able to provide timely information on the status and management needs of this species as the federal listing process proceeds,” Wallace said. “Most research available on pinyon jays is from the southwestern U.S., so it is very important for us to understand if and how that information applies in Wyoming. Regardless of whether the pinyon jay is listed, our management of this species into the future will benefit from the results of this research.”

‘You Hear Them Before You See Them’

About the size of an American robin, the pinyon jay travels in large, noisy flocks throughout pinyon-juniper and other woodlands in the western United States. This strong-flying jay gives a crowlike kaw to keep in touch with the group.

Flocks stick together year-round, breeding and foraging together in colonies that can range in size from a dozen to hundreds of individuals.

“You usually hear them before you see them, but don’t be misled; sometimes they can be amazingly quiet and you don’t even know that they’re present,” Atkinson said. “They’re kind of jokesters. One of the common names people use to apply to it is the blue crow. It does indeed look like a small blue crow. They act like it, they walk like it. Their faces are kind of crow-like.”

The bird is understudied and poorly known in most areas of its range, but data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey suggest that numbers have decreased survey-wide by 3.69% per year from 1967-2015, with an overall population loss of approximately 83.5%. Populations are predicted to be reduced by an additional 50% from 2016-2035.

Pinyon jay are found in the western United States mainly in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, central and northwest Wyoming and southeast Montana. And while there have been studies in other states, none had been done in Wyoming until these began.

“We know nothing about them really in the state of Wyoming,” said Jason Riggio, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology at the University of California-Davis, who is part of the Draper study.

Co-Principal Investigators Eric Atkinson (left) and Jason Riggio attach a store-on-board GPS tag to the bird. Store-on-board units are set to record locations every six hours. The team needs to recapture the pinyon jay in order to retrieve the data. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)
The pinyon jay has been identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in state wildlife action plans across its range after having undergone an 80 percent decline in population in the last half-century. (Photo by Kathy Lichtendahl)
The noisy, gregarious pinyon jay breed and forage together in colonies that can range in size from a dozen to hundreds of individuals. (Photo by Kathy Lichtendahl)

Are The Birds Breeding?

Wyoming Game and Fish, including Wallace and fellow nongame biologist Frank Stetler, who are based out of Lander, began studying the bird last year to try and determine its breeding status in the state.

Other goals of their study are to identify habitats selected during the breeding season specific to Wyoming, as well as important areas for habitat conservation. They also plan further monitoring to see if birds return to the same breeding sites.

“We have many questions about pinyon jays in Wyoming, but for a species that we know so little about, it makes sense to start with the basic ones first: distribution (i.e., where are they?), habitat (i.e., why are they there?) and status (i.e., how are they doing?),” Wallace said.

During the breeding season from May to July, the pinyon jay can be found in southern Park County, southern and eastern Natrona County, northern Washakie County, southern Hot Springs County, southern Fremont County and southern Sweetwater County.

Habitats available to the bird in Wyoming differ from the core of their distribution because the state is near the northeastern edge of the species’ breeding range.

Recent studies in Colorado have shown pinyon jay to nest in juniper trees 75% of the time. Because juniper removal is a common habitat treatment for other species including greater sage-grouse habitat improvement, Game and Fish is trying to determine if pinyon jays nest in juniper woodlands.

“The Pinyon Pine tree that the species is named for barely occurs in our state, but Pinyon Jays occur in many areas of Wyoming,” Wallace said. “We are focused on understanding where jays occur and breed in the state and what kinds of habitat they are using. We are getting at that with a combination of observational surveys and tracking with satellite GPS transmitters.”

They began their research in April 2023, visiting 14 survey areas in the different counties two to three times throughout the season. Jays were detected at three of the 14 sites. Birds were observed a second time at each of these three sites in subsequent visits, two in Fremont County and one in Sweetwater County.

“We confirmed breeding at one of the 14 sites with approximately 35 birds present,” Stetler writes as part of the Nongame Section of the Annual Completion Report. “We confirmed breeding by observations of begging fledglings and recorded piping rattle calls, but were not able to determine the location of the colony site.”

The evidence of breeding was detected on June 11, 2023, in Fremont County. While no nests were located, the distance from closest known colony sites, presence of fledglings and observed behavior confirmed reproduction.

“We were pleased that our work last year documented the first record of breeding for pinyon jay in Wyoming,” Wallace said. “We had assumed they bred in the state, but it had never officially been documented.”

Coexisting With Greater Sage-Grouse

The Draper Museum of Natural History and its research collaborators began its study in the Bighorn Basin during the spring after being awarded $150,000 in funding earlier this year from the BLM.

Atkinson and Riggio are Co-Principal Investigators, along with Draper Natural History Museum Curator Corey Anco, wildlife biologist Destin Harrell of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and wildlife biologist Abel Guevara with the BLM Cody Field Office.

The study proposes to characterize habitat use by pinyon jays across limber pine-juniper stands and compare pinyon jay movement with greater sage-grouse foraging and breeding areas.

“With the new modern GPS transmitters and data loggers, we can accurately determine what components of the available habitat are most important to the species and then we can do our best to try to provide for pinyon jay habitat needs while at the same time finding areas where conifer encroachment into sage-grouse habitat is negatively affecting sage-grouse,” Harrell said. “It’s a dynamic balance of not competing habitat types, but two habitat types existing together with some common ground. What we do with this common ground, is a question we are looking to gain more awareness.” 

BLM lands play a central role in the pinyon jay’s habitat in northwestern Wyoming. At the start of the project, Guevara said that “successful pinyon jay conservation efforts rely on the thoughtful integration of public and private land needs.”

“This project is important to find the right balance of vegetation treatments that would benefit both greater sage-grouse and pinyon jays,” he added recently. “Once areas of pinyon jay habitat are delineated, it will help us determine if a future project will be beneficial for pinyon jays or sage-grouse or both.”

The group is studying at a variety of sites around the western Bighorn Basin where the limber pine woodlands intersect with grasslands including near Meeteetse, the North Fork and South Fork of the Shoshone River outside Cody, near Clark and in the Oregon Basin.

So far, the group has had good success capturing the birds. As of early July they’d captured 64 and attached 19 GPS loggers and seven satellite transmitters.

“Those movement tags are critical to this study because right now, we don’t know where these birds are roosting, where they nest, where they forage and how far they traveled between those sites,” Anco said. “And we need that information because we can’t address how large of an area these birds need if we don’t know how far they’re traveling between areas.”

The birds are weighed and measured to determine if there’s a morphological difference between pinyon jays at the northern part of the range where they’re using limber pine juniper habitats versus the pinyon pine habitats. They’re also tested for different diseases and parasites such as avian malaria and West Nile virus.

“So every bird that we have in hand we’re just trying to get as much information as we can,” Riggio said. “Is there a disease issue in the population that’s causing decline? Are they genetically and morphologically distinct in this northern part of the range where they have a really unique habitat versus the southern part of the range? And then also can we get some movement data to see how and where they’re using the landscape around here?”

Co-Principal Investigator Destin Harrell, left, attaches a GPS tag to an adult pinyon jay held by Co-Principal Investigator Eric Atkinson. Various vials for blood and West Nile Virus samples are shown on the table below. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)
Juvenile pinyon Jays can be identified by their lighter, dusky blue color, shorter beaks, and characteristic pink gape in the corners of their mouth. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)
When pinyon jays are observed as a survey site, the team searches the surrounding vegetation to look for evidence of nesting activity. Pinyon jays nest in colonies so if one nest is found they would expect to locate more. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)
Some of the captured birds have colored bands placed on their legs. Bird banding is one of the only ways researchers identify individual birds of the same species. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)
Researchers believe that pinyon jays are using the limber pine-juniper woodlands as its primary habitat in Wyoming. (Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West)

Keep An Eye Out

Citizen scientists are encouraged to participate in this project by monitoring backyard bird feeders and documenting observations of pinyon jays in the wild. Datasheets are available to track observations by emailing DNHMSampling@centerofthewest.org.

“The partnership with landowners who provide the trapping locations is amazing to see,” Harrell said. “People love their birds and provide seed for the birds they enjoy watching and have around. It is a wonderful setting to give back to the pinyon jay for all the joy they bring.” 

Both the Draper group and Game and Fish are sharing information with the Pinyon Jay Working Group, which was formed in 2017 with a goal of bringing together pinyon jay experts to discuss conservation needs of the species. The large, diverse partnership plans to develop a range-wide conservation strategy for the species.

“We are already in discussions with Scott Somershoe, who is a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and chair of the group,” Anco said. “He’s tasked with gathering and compiling all of the data for this species status assessment. So we’re working with Scott to provide as much useful information for that as possible.”

As their study progresses, Game and Fish biologists are continuing to do landscape-level surveys to understand exactly where pinyon jays occur in Wyoming and locate more breeding colonies. It was also a pilot year for marking birds with GPS transmitters, which will allow them to better understand the species’ habitat requirements, space use and seasonal movements.

“This year we documented breeding in another location in central Wyoming and tagged four birds with transmitters,” Wallace said. “We are currently doing on-the-ground surveys in the areas with tagged birds to understand how they are using habitat.”

Meanwhile, Draper study will extend to the eastern side of the Bighorn Basin in the upcoming year. They also hope to document breeding and roosting areas. Anco said ideally this will become a longitudinal study.

“We are not putting a cap on it,” he said. “I would like to see this study persist as long as I’m the curator at the Draper Natural History Museum.”

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Wyoming

Why visit the caribbean of wyoming this summer ?

Published

10 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Press Room

Why visit the caribbean of wyoming this summer ?

Imagine yourself basking in the warm sun, surrounded by crystal-clear waters reminiscent of the Caribbean, but instead, you’re in the heart of Wyoming. Yes, you heard that right ! Wyoming’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir, also affectionately known as the “Caribbean of Wyoming,” is a hidden gem that beckons visitors with its stunning landscapes and thrilling activities. Let me take you on a journey to this incredible destination and reveal why it should be at the top of your summer travel list.

Unveiling the natural beauty of flaming gorge reservoir

Flaming Gorge Reservoir is a marvel of nature that stretches over 91 miles amidst the rugged terrain of Wyoming and Utah. This vast body of water, created by the damming of the Green River, offers a striking contrast to the arid landscapes surrounding it.

As you stand at the edge of the reservoir, the panoramic views will leave you breathless. The turquoise waters glisten under the sun, creating a scene that rivals the most beautiful beaches in the world. The reservoir’s 42,020 acres of water surface provide ample space for water-based recreation, attracting adventurers and nature enthusiasts alike.

The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area offers a unique blend of rugged cliffs, lush forests, and serene waters. This magnificent setting provides numerous opportunities for outdoor activities such as boating, fishing, hiking, and camping. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker or someone looking to relax and soak in the natural beauty, Flaming Gorge has something for everyone.

Adventure awaits : thrilling activities at flaming gorge reservoir

If you’re seeking an adrenaline rush, Flaming Gorge Reservoir won’t disappoint. The opportunities for recreational activities are endless and guarantee an unforgettable experience.

Boating : With such vast waters, boating is a must ! Bring your own vessel or rent one from the many marinas dotted along the shoreline. Feel the wind in your hair as you zip across the lake, exploring hidden coves and scenic spots.

Fishing : Flaming Gorge is renowned for its world-class fishing. The reservoir is teeming with species like trout, bass, and kokanee salmon. The annual fishing tournaments held here attract anglers from far and wide, adding a sense of camaraderie and friendly competition to the experience.

Hiking and Biking : The surrounding landscapes offer excellent trails for hiking and mountain biking. Trails like the Canyon Rim Trail provide breathtaking views of the reservoir and the surrounding canyons. It’s the perfect way to connect with nature and experience the region’s unique geology.

Camping : For those who love to immerse themselves in the great outdoors, camping at Flaming Gorge is a must. Numerous campgrounds provide stunning views and easy access to the water, making it an ideal spot to unwind after a day of adventure.

Water Sports : If you’re up for some excitement, try your hand at water skiing, jet skiing, or paddleboarding. The calm and clear waters of the reservoir are perfect for these activities, ensuring a memorable time for all.

Discovering the rich history and culture around flaming gorge reservoir

While the natural beauty and outdoor activities of Flaming Gorge Reservoir are undoubtedly captivating, the area also boasts a rich history and vibrant culture.

The Utah Museum of Natural History is a great starting point to learn about the region’s geological and paleontological significance. You’ll discover that the area around Flaming Gorge was once home to prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs.

For history buffs, the Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center provides insights into the reservoir’s creation and the engineering marvel that is the Flaming Gorge Dam. Constructed in 1964, this colossal structure stands as a testament to human ingenuity and offers guided tours that delve into its history and impact on the region.

Additionally, you can explore the charming towns nearby, such as Green River and Dutch John. These towns are steeped in history and offer a glimpse into the life of early settlers and the development of the American West.

Plan your perfect trip : practical tips and recommendations

To make the most of your visit to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, I’ve compiled some practical tips and recommendations.

Best Time to Visit : Summer is undoubtedly the best time to visit, with temperatures ranging from the mid-70s to the low 90s Fahrenheit. This season provides ideal conditions for all outdoor activities and ensures a comfortable experience.

Accommodation : From cozy cabins and lodges to well-equipped campgrounds, there’s a range of accommodation options to suit every preference. Booking in advance is recommended, especially during peak summer months.

Essential Gear : Depending on your planned activities, pack appropriate gear. If you’re boating or fishing, ensure you have life jackets, fishing rods, and tackle. For hiking and camping, good quality hiking boots, tents, and sleeping bags are essential.

Local Cuisine : Don’t miss the chance to savor local delicacies at nearby eateries. Whether it’s a hearty breakfast to fuel your adventures or a relaxing dinner with a view, the local restaurants offer delicious options for every palate.

Activity	Equipment Needed	Recommendations
Boating	Boat, Life Jackets	Rent from local marinas
Fishing	Fishing Rods, Tackle	Join annual fishing tournaments
Hiking	Hiking Boots, Backpack	Explore Canyon Rim Trail
Camping	Tent, Sleeping Bag	Book campgrounds in advance
Water Sports	Jet Ski, Paddleboard	Rent from local facilities

Stay Safe and Respect Nature : Finally, remember to prioritize safety during your trip. Follow local guidelines and respect the environment by leaving no trace. The beauty of Flaming Gorge Reservoir is a treasure that we must preserve for future generations.

So, there you have it ! With its stunning scenery, thrilling activities, rich history, and practical tips, Flaming Gorge Reservoir truly is the “Caribbean of Wyoming.” Pack your bags and get ready for an unforgettable summer adventure !

Editor-in-Chief at The Oracle CE

I’m from Malvern, Arkansas and I’m an Innovative Media major. My minor is in Sociology. I went from being a stagehand to being a student. I like to travel, play music and skateboard.

My goal is to become a foreign correspondant and I’m currently learning Russian.

Latest posts by Lance Brownfield (see all)

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Wyoming

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Sunday, July 21, 2024

Published

17 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Press Room

Mostly sunny in Wyoming on Sunday with a chance of afternoon rain in many areas. Smoky or hazy in some locations. Highs from the low 70s to near 90. Lows from the mid 40s to near 60.

Central:

Casper: Chance of rain mainly after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Areas of smoke between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., otherwise mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 55 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

Lander: Sunny today with a high near 81 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

Shoshoni: Sunny and breezy today with a high near 86 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Areas of smoke after midnight, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 58 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

Southwest:

Evanston: Patchy smoke after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny today with a high near 84. Patchy smoke before midnight, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 51.

Rock Springs: Sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

Kemmerer: Sunny and breezy today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

Western Wyoming:

Pinedale: Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 77 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 45.

Afton: Sunny today with a high near 85 and mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 49 and wind from 13-18 mph.

La Barge: Sunny today with a high near 79 and breezy, gradually becoming clear overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Northwest:

Dubois: Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny today with a high near 77 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 48 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

Jackson: Sunny today with a high near 85 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 47.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park: Sunny today with a high near 78 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 42.

Bighorn Basin:

Thermopolis: Areas of smoke after 1 p.m., otherwisesunny today with a high near 87 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke after 3 a.m. and a low near 59.

Cody: Sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 58.

Powell: Sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke after midnight and a low near 58.

North Central:

Buffalo: Slight chance of rain after noon, areas of smoke, otherwise sunny and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Areas of smoke, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 61.

Sheridan: Widespread haze, slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 90. Widespread haze, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 55.

Dayton: Widespread haze, slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 86. Widespread haze, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

Northeast:

Gillette: Widespread haze, slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Widespread haze, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 57 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph.

Sundance: Chance of rain, widespread haze, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 78. Partly cloudy overnight with widespread haze and a low near 56.

Hulett: Widespread haze, chance of rain mainly before 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84. Widespread haze, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

Eastern Plains:

Torrington: Chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 83 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 55.

Lusk: Chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 79 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

Wright: Widespread haze, slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with widespread haze and a low near 55.

Southeast:

Cheyenne: Chance of rain mainly after noon, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 74. Slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. tonight, otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 52.

Laramie: Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 71. Slight chance of rain before 9 p.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 47.

Pine Bluffs: Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 78. Slight chance of rain before midnight, otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 52.

South Central:

Rawlins: Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny and breezy today with a high near 78 and afternoon wind from 15-20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saratoga: Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 78 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 46.

Wamsutter: Sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 48 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

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Wyoming

Eating Wyoming: Casper's Pho Saigon Has Loyal Following For Its…

Published

1 day ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

Eating Wyoming: Casper's Pho Saigon Has Loyal Following For Its…

CASPER — Customers say the little family restaurant on the corner of East 12th and South Beverly streets may be nearly 8,200 miles from Vietnam, but serves up some seriously legit pho, or rice noodle soup.

Just ask Anna Tran who, with companion Jim Thompson, were checking out Pho Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant for the first time on a recent afternoon.

“I usually don’t like to go out for pho. I think most restaurants don’t make it very well, and so far this is excellent. I say that truthfully,” said Tran, who recently moved to Casper. “I usually don’t like to order pho when I go out to Vietnamese restaurants.”

“And she was born in Vietnam,” Thompson interjected. “Her parents only speak Vietnamese, that’s what they cook at home a lot. She is very familiar with this.”

The small, 10-table eatery in the Beverly Plaza offers traditional Vietnamese fare from a family that arrived in Wyoming from Vietnam in 2003.

Manager Hieu Le, the only family member who speaks English, said staff includes his father, mother and his wife, Thuy.

They’ve been serving up their family recipes since Jan. 1, 2014, Le said.

Pho Specialty

The specialty is the pho, pronounced as fuh, soup with bone broth, rice noodles and thin slices of meat. It’s garnished with spices, fresh herbs, onions, while bean sprouts, lime, hot peppers and various hot sauces that can be added for taste.

Le and most others in the culinary industry believe the dish began in Saigon, but its true origin isn’t known for sure.

Pho Saigon offers six varieties of the soup that, depending on the selection, includes either rare steak, meatballs, chicken, shrimp or a combination. The soup is served in a big bowl steamy hot with plenty of long rice noodles. A large spoon, chopsticks and fork are the utensils needed to conquer it.

Kisa King, visiting Casper from Oklahoma, uses chopsticks.

She said whenever she visits the Oil City she always goes to the restaurant.

“It’s the best food, it has the best flavor,” she said. “Other places I’ve tried in Oklahoma are no match for it. My favorite is … the meatball pho and the spring rolls.”

The spring rolls come in rice paper with lettuce, shrimp, and “a really good peanut sauce,” she said.

Her companion, Daniel Groom, characterized the food as “good” and “something different than burgers and quesadillas.”

Le said in addition to the menu, which lists the restaurant’s dishes in Vietnamese names, he created a companion photo book that shows each dish, so people know exactly what they are ordering.

Pho Saigon Manager Hieu Le said his family has been running the little 20-seat Vietnamese restaurant since 2014. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Anna Tran and Jim Thompson were checking out Pho Saigon for the first time. Tran said the pho soup was “legit” and the broth better than what she can make. She grew up in a Vietnamese family. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Cowboy State Daily recently tried the Pho Ga dish at Pho Saigon. The pho soups come with hot broth seasoned with spices and herbs filled with rice noodles and a side of bean sprouts, lime and hot peppers that can be added to the soup as desired. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Emma Plett and Nate Holloway ordered takeout from Pho Saigon. Hollway, of Laramie, said he always tries to stop at the restaurant when he is in town. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Pho Saigon has seating for just more than 20 people with individual tables. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Pho Saigon Manager Hieu Le said in his spare time he likes to make clay figurines and create paintings. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Pho Saigon Manager Hieu Le has painted all of the poster-like artwork that covers the walls at Pho Saigon. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)

Egg Rolls, Rice Noodle Bowls And More

In addition to the pho, the restaurant offers egg rolls, a selection of rice noodle bowls with different meat and vegetable selections such as bun tom, a dish that includes noodles, shrimp, vegetables and a lime chili fish sauce.

There are also five lo mein dishes with stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and one’s selection of meat. The menu also includes five different rice platters such as com suon dai han, rice and barbecued beef with vegetables in their version.

Laramie’s Nate Holloway was visiting Casper with his girlfriend, Emma Plett, and ordered some takeout.

“I usually go for lo mein, it’s a stir-fried soft noodle with veggies and whatever meat you like,” he said. “This is actually the first Vietnamese restaurant I came to when I was younger and lived in town.”

In addition to the food, the drink menu includes a variety of milk teas and tasty fruit flavored ice teas.

Le said from time to time the restaurant will offer specials that he advertises on Facebook.

Cowboy State Daily’s visit included a big bowl of pho with chicken and some peach iced tea.

Core Following

After 10 years in business, Le said the restaurant has developed a relationship with a core group of customers. A family atmosphere is the goal.

“They have supported us. And sometimes we take care of them, too,” he said. “It’s not about the money we want from customer, we want them to have a good time here and know that it’s a place that feels like home.”

The restaurant interior includes colorful plastic plants that resemble the plants and fruit that can be found in Southeast Asia. On the walls are distinctive poster-sized paintings Le has created in his off time. He also has several hand-crafted clay figurines he makes for sale.

“When I am not working, that is my hobby,” he said. “I didn’t take any art classes, that is just me and me alone.”

The family was able to make their way to Casper thanks to an aunt who married a World War II veteran stationed in Vietnam during that war. She came to the country in the early 1950s.

In Vietnam, Le said his family moved from place to place until they, like many other immigrants, came to America for a better life.

“Over there the poverty is really bad. You eat what you make,” he said.

Le said his mother and father generally run the restaurant’s kitchen and his wife helps as a waitress. He fills in and does whatever is needed. They make enough for a living, but not enough quite yet to hire help.

They just continue to trust the restaurant for their future.

Pho Saigon is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“It’s all about having a good time, have a good meal, you come happy and you leave happy,” Le said.

Contact Dale Killingbeck at dale@cowboystatedaily.com

Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Jayesh Patil via Google)
Casper may be 8,200 miles from Vietnam, but Pho Saigon is as legit as it gets. (Pho Saigon via Facebook)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Kyle Green via Google)
Casper may be 8,200 miles from Vietnam, but Pho Saigon is as legit as it gets. (Pho Saigon via Facebook)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Joshua Baughcum via Google)
Casper may be 8,200 miles from Vietnam, but Pho Saigon is as legit as it gets. (Pho Saigon via Facebook)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (John Hettgar via Google)
Casper may be 8,200 miles from Vietnam, but Pho Saigon is as legit as it gets. (Pho Saigon via Facebook)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Grace Woolfolk via Google)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Daniel Garcia via Google)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Brian Bassett via Google)
Customers rave about the authentic food at Pho Saigon in Casper, Wyoming. (Aaron Kaylor via Google)