We find it very interesting that there is not one mention of the Public Comments being acknowledged.
June 30, 2017
A public meeting of the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (Commission) will be held
on July 18-20, 2017, at the Town of Afton Civic Center, 150 South Washington Street,
Afton, WY. As authorized by W.S. § 23-1-301-303 and W.S. § 23-1-401, the Commission
will discuss and may vote to take action on several matters. For informational
presentations, the Commission may vote to take action on, or provide the Department
direction on, items covered in the presentation.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Tour 1:00 p.m.
The Commission will tour the Auburn Fish Hatchery, Alpine Feedground, and a public access
area along the Salt River. The tour is open to the public. The Department cannot provide
transportation for the public.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Executive Session begins at 8:00 a.m.
A representative from the Attorney General’s Office will update the Commission on matters
concerning litigation. A representative from the Department may update the Commission on
matters concerning the purchase of real estate. The Commission will be asked to approve the
Executive Session Minutes from the April 2017 Commission Meeting.
Open Session begins at approximately 9:45 a.m.
1. Presenter: Commission President. Approval of Commission Meeting Minutes. The
Commission will be asked to vote to approve the April 2017 Commission Meeting Minutes.
2. Presenter: Scott Talbott, Director. Director’s Report. The Director will provide an update
to the Commission on his activities since the last Commission meeting. Informational
presentation.
3. Awards and Recognition
● Volunteer Hunter Education Instructors
July 2017 Commission Meeting Agenda
Page 2
4. Department Awards:
● Director’s Office Employee of the Year Award
● Services Division Employee of the Year Award
● Wildlife Division Employee of the Year Award
● Fiscal Division Employee of the Year Award
● Fish Division Employee of the Year Award
● Team of the Year Award
● Director’s Award
5. Presenter: Scott Edberg, Deputy Chief, Wildlife Division. Damage Claim Appeal
#17125. The Commission will be asked to vote to approve the Department’s
recommendation for partial payment for Damage Claim Appeal #17125.
6. Presenter: Dan Thompson, Large Carnivore Section Supervisor, Wildlife Division.
Chapter 42, Mountain Lion Hunting Seasons. The Commission will be asked to vote to
approve the revised Chapter 42, Mountain Lion Hunting Seasons.
7. Presenter: Dan Thompson, Large Carnivore Section Supervisor, Wildlife Division.
Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons. The Commission will be asked to vote to
approve the revised Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons.
8. Presenter: Renny MacKay, Communications Director. Public Engagement Proposal
Overview. The Commission will be provided with information on the Department’s proposal
to seek feedback and input from the public to better understand the public’s attitudes, values
and expectations about wildlife and its management in Wyoming and to use that input to help
create a strategic plan for the Department.
9. Presenters: John Kennedy, Deputy Director, and Meredith Wood, Chief Fiscal Officer,
Fiscal Division. Approval of the Commission’s FY 2018 Budget. The Commission will be
asked to vote to approve the Commission’s FY 2018 budget.
10. Presenters: John Kennedy, Deputy Director, and Meredith Wood, Chief Fiscal Officer,
Fiscal Division. FY19-20 General Fund Budget for Health Insurance and Grizzly Bear
Management. The Commission will be asked to vote to approve the FY19-20 General Fund
Budget for Health Insurance and Grizzly Bear Management as required by Wyoming Statute
§ 23-1-502 (d) and (e).
July 2017 Commission Meeting Agenda
Page 3
11. Presenter: John Lund, Pinedale Region Wildlife Supervisor, Wildlife Division. Pinedale
Region Mule Deer Winter Range Task Force. The Commission will be provided with a
presentation on the Pinedale Region’s mule deer winter range enforcement efforts.
Informational presentation.
12. Call to the public.
Adjourn for the day.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Executive Session (if needed) begins at 7:00 a.m.
Open Session begins at 8:00 a.m.
13. Presenter : Scott Edberg, Deputy Chief, Wildlife Division. Chapter 28, Regulation
Governing Big or Trophy Game Animal or Game Bird or Gray Wolf Damage Claims.
The Commission will be asked to vote to approve the revised Chapter 28, Regulation
Governing Big or Trophy Game Animal or Game Bird or Gray Wolf Damage Claims.
14. Presenter: Scot Kofron, Branch Chief, Services Division. Authorization to Proceed with
Negotiations for Acquiring or Disposing of Fee Title and/or Less Than Fee Title
Property Rights. The Commission will be asked to vote to authorize the Department to
proceed with negotiations for the acquisition or disposal of fee title and/or less than fee title
property rights on two projects: A. Lander Front Conservation Easement Donation (Fremont
County); and B. Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area Road Easement and
Grazing Lease Exchange (Fremont County).
15. Presenter: Scot Kofron, Branch Chief, Services Division. Approval to Acquire or
Dispose Fee Title and/or Less than Fee Title Property Rights. The Commission will be
asked to vote to approve the acquisition or disposal of fee title and/or less than fee title
property rights on four projects: A. Boulder Rearing Station Power Line Easement (Sublette
County); B. South Park Wildlife Habitat Management Area Lower Valley Energy
Easements (Sublette County); C. Sunlight Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area Power
Line Easement (Park County); and D. Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp Power Line
Easement (Fremont County).
16. Presenter: Brian Parker, Lander Habitat and Access Supervisor, Services Division.
Sand Mesa Wildlife Habitat Management Area 5-year Farming Plan. The Commission
will be asked to vote to approve the Sand Mesa Wildlife Habitat Management Area 5-year
Farming Plan.
July 2017 Commission Meeting Agenda
Page 4
17. Presenter: Matt Pollock, Casper Habitat and Access Coordinator; Services Division.
Chain Lakes Wildlife Habitat Management Area 5-year Grazing Plan. The Commission
will be asked to vote to approve the Chain Lakes Wildlife Habitat Management Area 5-year
Grazing Plan.
18. Presenter: Doug Brimeyer, Deputy Chief, Wildlife Division. Revision of Objectives for
11 Elk Herd Units. The Commission will be asked to vote to approve management
objectives for 11 elk herd units across Wyoming.
19. Presenter: Scott Edberg, Deputy Chief, Wildlife Division. Update on the Cow Elk
Captured from a Department Feedground for USDA-APHIS Brucellosis Research and
Request to Import Elk for Research Purposes. The Commission will be provided with an
update of the 20 seropositive pregnant cow elk captured from a Department elk feedground
and sent to the Colorado State University/USDA-APHIS Wildlife Research Facility in Ft.
Collins, Colorado in February 2017. The Commission will also be asked to vote to approve
the Department’s request to import 10-20 elk from the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Research
Facility to the Thorne-Williams Wildlife Research Center at Sybille. These elk will be used
for various wildlife research projects, including Chronic Wasting Disease research.
20. Presenter: Jean Cole, Chief, Fiscal Division. License Selling Agent Appointments. The
Commission will be asked to vote to approve new applications for license selling agents
Worland Farm and Ranch in Worland, Wyoming, and Clark’s Fork Trading Company in
Clarks, Wyoming. The Commission will also be asked to vote to approve the transfer of
license selling agent ownership of Rooch’s Marina in Glendo, Wyoming and The Hitching
Rail in Thayne, Wyoming.
21. Presenter: Dave Zafft, Fisheries Management Coordinator, Fish Division. Chapter 62,
Regulation for Aquatic Invasive Species. The Commission will be asked to vote to
approve the revised Chapter 62, Regulation for Aquatic Invasive Species.
22. Presenter: Glenn Pauley, Planning Coordinator, Director’s Office. State Wildlife Action
Plan. The Commission will be asked to vote to approve the 2017 State Wildlife Action Plan.
23. Call to the public.
Adjourn
The order of agenda items is subject to change. The State of Wyoming supports the Americans
with Disabilities Act. Anyone needing auxiliary aids should contact the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department at 307-777-4501. Every effort will be made for reasonable accommodations.
WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT
5400 Bishop Blvd. Cheyenne, WY 82006
Phone: (307) 777-4600 Fax: (307) 777-4699
wgfd.wyo.gov
GOVERNOR
MATTHEW H. MEAD
DIRECTOR
SCOTT TALBOTT
COMMISSIONERS
KEITH CULVER – President
MARK ANSELMI – Vice President
GAY LYNN BYRD
PATRICK CRANK
PETER J. DUBE
DAVID RAEL
MIKE SCHMID
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
July 18, 2017 Tour Schedule
1:00 p.m. Depart from the Fairfield Inn in Afton and travel to the Auburn Fish Hatchery
1:30 p.m. Auburn Fish Hatchery Tour
Ed Berry – Tour Guide
2:30 p.m. Travel to the Diversion Public Access Area
3:00 p.m. Diversion Public Access Area
Rob Gipson, Diana Miller, and Clark Johnson – Fisheries Projects
Anna Senecal – Aquatic Habitat Projects
Derek Lemon – Star Valley Public Access Areas
3:30 p.m. Travel to Alpine Elk Feedground
4:00 p.m. Alpine Elk Feedground
Gary Fralick and James Hobbs – Elk Management Issues
Dave Hyde – Feedground Operations
Ben Wise – Feedground/Disease Management
Derek Lemon – Department WHMAs
4:40 p.m. Travel to Afton
5:10 p.m. Arrive at Fairfield Inn in Afton
Comments
There’s a history of government at all levels disregard public input. What typically happens when one gets into a position of power, they believe that their opinions are facts, unless they’re exposed to reall or near-term elections. Commissions are appointed and don’t always serve merely until their appointers exit office.
(I’m reminded of the Oneida story called “Who speaks for wolf?” which is in part about the community’s necessity to listen to the viewpoints of everyone, even those who don’t have a voice)
An issue, that is sort of “I told you so” but not worth using in argument, was the emergence of CWD – Chronic Wasting Disease.
Wyoming has had a problem for about 50 years with CWD in elk and native mule deer. I think the epicenter of where that emerged was there or in Colorado. CWD was not know to infect eaters of the affected ungulates, and due to the time frame of emergence, it was very probably a result of having killed off the wolf. The last one I can think of was killed in Yellowstone in the middle 1920s.
You don’t want to hear the particulars, but killing wolves in the US started by the 1620s in Massachusetts, and flowed west with the European immigration. Wolf-killing almost preceded the settled agricultural practices in WY and the west, with “wolfers” poisoning from the 1840s into the 1920s. As soon as Wyoming had established Euroamerican government, it offered bounties sometime after the civil war, probably after the plains indians were starved by killing the bison, about 1875.
The “wolfer” thing was when they traveled around wherever they were hired, and later, when they killed for bounty; they became professional careers, and were still pretty active decades later in Canada. I think poisoning is still legal in some Provinces, and of course, USDA Wildlife Services and Canadian Provincial agencies still do it.
But the “farming” (feeding and eradication of predators) of elk done in the west, caused a lot of sedentary elk herds, and the dangerous prion, viral, and some intractable bacterial diseases followed. Brucellosis, is not really a bison disease, but, brought by european domestic cattle in the 19th century, elk caught it easily, and it is now common in some elk herds. Because in summer, mule deer disperse in the high country, the unexplained (so far) diminution of mulies may have a big CWD component. But nature recycles and most ungulate death is rather like the NASS cattle stats I posted. Illness is big.
In the really rough and steep country here, the Wolf used to find a LOT of carrion. I’d inspect it, and though you cannot tell if those caught by a bear, for instance, were ill, you can tell that its a factor in survival of the inclement seasons. I always noticed that there was a lot more smelly carrion where big predators avoid or are hunted down.
This comment is in response to the commission agenda, which mentions taking elk to experiment on CWD. It’s a terrible-looking disease, as are bluetongue and other brain diseases. They haven’t controlled it at all – nor has CO or other states.
Wyoming needs wolves, although outside resort towns many are anti-wolf. CWD is not known to species-jump to humans, but if predators are kept to tiny numbers (the wolf plan is aimed at keeping the state population down to just above the number that will trigger reinstatement of Federal ESA) or absent by ignorant humans, just wait.