Willwood Silt Dilemma

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 108TH YEAR/ISSUE 21 WYOMING GRIZZLY HUNT TO TARGET CONFLICT AREAS HUNTERS WILL BE ALLOWED TO HARVEST UP TO 24 fall and winter and the best A grizzly bear is available science,” said Brian pictured in Grand BEARS IN FIRST HUNT IN MORE THAN FOUR DECADES Nesvik, the Wyoming Game and Teton in 2016. The Fish Department’s chief game Wyoming Game and BY MARK DAVIS a limit of 24 grizzlies, with up to run for an additional two weeks warden and chief of the wildlife Fish Department Tribune Staff Writer 12 (10 males and two females) in hunt areas 7 and 8, away from division. “It contains proposed is planning to offer allowed to be taken in six hunt the parks. regulations that would ensure a hunting season yoming plans to offer areas bordering Yellowstone Hunters may take any griz- Wyoming will meet its commit- for grizzlies in a grizzly season for and Grand Teton national parks zly except dependent cubs and ment to manage for a healthy areas outside of Wthe first time in more and an additional 12 in two ar- sows with dependent cubs. The and viable population of grizzly Yellowstone and than 40 years with a limit of two eas away from the parks. proposed regulations incor- bears.” Teton national dozen bears outside of national The proposed hunting season porate some suggestions from Input from the public in parks, with a limit of parks in the northwest corner of would run from Sept. 15 to Nov. citizens. the draft includes mandatory 24 bears. the state. 15 in six of the eight hunt areas “This draft was shaped by Photo courtesy The department is proposing (hunt areas 1-6). The season will public input we received this See Grizzly, Page 3 National Park Service County commission asks state for help with Clark ranch BY CJ BAKER the public’s benefit,” the com- Tribune Editor mission wrote. That line and other parts of ather than asking the the two-page letter to Mead State of Wyoming to sim- were significantly changed Rply hand over 657 acres of from a draft version the com- land in Clark, Park County commission had approved in Janu- missioners are now opting to in- ary. stead seek suggestions on how “It wasn’t like it was before,” to better manage Commission Vice the property. Chairman Jake Commission- ‘Our intent is Fulkerson ex- ers decided last plained at last month to form to continue the week’s meeting. a committee of public access and In the initial local citizens to draft, commis- consider ways to easements that sioners proposed improve the for- currently exist ...’ telling Mead mer Beartooth that, “This let- Ranch, which Commission letter ter serves as our Park County Road and Bridge crews remove what’s left of a berm that stood on the north end of the fairgrounds’ main arena on Monday has fallen into to Gov. Matt Mead request that un- afternoon. County officials are overhauling the arena to make it more multifunctional — and to free up space. Tribune photo by CJ Baker some disrepair restricted owner- after being seized from a drug ship [of the property] be given smuggler in the 1990s. Last to Park County.” week, commissioners asked However, the board changed Main arena at fairgrounds getting a makeover Gov. Matt Mead for his input on course after the draft drew the ranch, too. criticism from anglers and oth- BY CJ BAKER the 12-foot-high dirt berms — Heart Mountain area resident focus for activities down there “We are writing to ask you to ers who enjoy the public access Tribune Editor which were used for racing Ed Wells put the issue on the was more towards the motor- investigate what can be done by offered at the Beartooth Ranch turns — on the north and south county’s radar. sports end of it and now we’re the state or its agencies that will property. Critics were particu- he Park County Fair- ends of the arena and the sur- “Our whole focus on this from going back towards more live- develop its potential, using the larly concerned commissioners grounds’ main arena is rounding guardrail. the start is just multi-use, multi- stock-oriented,” he said. “And, current deed restrictions and Tgetting flattened out and With races generally taking use, multi-use,” Wells said. “We I’m just playing the devil’s easements while maintaining See Ranch, Page 2 resized. place only during the annual don’t want to take anything advocate here, are we sure this County commissioners voted fair, the berms are “not a usable away; we want to add to the pile is what we want to do? I mean, last week to make the space in piece of space of usefulness to four years from now [are] we front of the grandstands less of except for one the grounds.” going to say, ‘Oh, we’re going to a racetrack and more of a multi- week a year One part of go back to motorsports?’” functional arena. — and that is ‘Our whole focus on the proposal is Barrett, however, indicated “Our goal all along when we something we this from the start is to have the are- the change should provide more built the new building [Heart would like to just multi-use, multi- na meet Pro- options rather than fewer. Mountain Hall] there [at the get away from,” fessional Rodeo “Pretty much every fair- fairgrounds] was to ramp this said Park Coun- use, multi-use.’ Cowboys Asso- grounds has an arena, and up, instead of … for two weeks ty Events Coor- ciation (PRCA) in that arena, they host all of [it’s] used as fair and a few dinator Teecee Ed Wells standards, their activities — like the demo other events, get this where Barrett. Heart Mountain resident opening up the derby, motorsports,” she said. it’s really bringing events in,” Though last possibility of “Anything like that can fit with- Commissioner Tim French said. week’s commission meeting hosting a sanctioned rodeo. in the [confines] of the arena Overhauling the arena will “go was the first public discussion Commissioner Joe Tilden that’s proposed.” a long way towards helping on the subject, French said wondered aloud whether coun- Cody City Council Presi- Park County commissioners say the former Beartooth Ranch that,” French said. county officials have been dis- ty officials were sure they want- dent Landon Greer partici- — including the old ranch house — has become ‘an eyesore and As part of the first step, cussing changes to the arena for ed to make the changes. pated in the earlier discussions, expense’ under state management. They’re asking Gov. Matt county crews have spent the a few months, with a group of “Obviously, at some point Mead for suggestions on how to improve the situation. last several days removing about a half-dozen people. in time it was decided that the See Arena, Page 2 Photo courtesy Park County Commissioner Jake Fulkerson Wyoming Legislature WILLWOOD SILT DILEMMA forced to extend session Task force leaders: Mother Nature main culprit LATE-NIGHT COMPROMISE REACHED TOO CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT BY MARK DAVIS BY ARNO ROSENFELD as to vote on the construc- Tribune Staff Writer Casper Star Tribune tion bill and one on education Via Wyoming News Exchange spending, which could not be fter a large silt re- finalized before the building lease turned the Shoshone he Wyoming Legislature measure was complete. ARiver gray below the has extended what was The main budget bill, which Willwood Dam and prompted a Tsupposed to be a four- funds most state agencies, public outcry in 2016, federal, week budget session was passed by roughly state and local officials formed after the House and two-thirds of law- a trio of working groups to study Senate failed to makers in the the problem. agree on state House and Senate The announcement might construction after reaching a have inspired hope that a combi- spending. The deal to remove nation of technology and atten- two chambers both construction would eventually solve the passed a bud- tion and educa- decades-old issue of silt behind get Saturday tion cuts from the dam. morning, the the budget. The But recent watershed studies last scheduled idea was that indicate it may be impossible to day of the ses- those two topics stop much of the sediment from sion, but could not break an would then be addressed in reaching the river; even those impasse on the construction separate pieces of legislation. who feel there’s some hope to legislation until after 10 p.m. But the same tensions that slow the influx of silt agree it that night, at which point was prevented a budget deal from will be a long-term, uphill battle too late to write a new bill, being reached before remov- to stop a fraction of the problem. vote on it, sign it and deliver ing those items continued once Turbidity downstream of the it to Gov. Matt Mead for his they were broken out: The Sen- Willwood Dam has been tightly approval. ate wanted to reduce spending regulated since the Clean Water Roger Smith, Willwood Irrigation District chairman of the board, and Ann Trosper, Powell/Clarks Fork Instead, lawmakers will far more aggressively than the Act was enacted in 1972. In the Conservation District manager, check out equipment set up to measure turbidity downstream of the reconvene this week to re- House, which wanted to rely Willwood Dam. The measurements are transmitted back to Smith’s office, allowing realtime analysis of ceive any line-item vetoes to See Silt, Page 8 turbidity in the Shoshone River.

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