Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Individuals wearing orange vests will be out and about in the Black Hills National Forest over the next year collecting input on traffic within the forest. Contract employees will be stationed in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along forest service roads and will be out in all types of weather conditions near signs that say “Traffic Survey Ahead.” The National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) survey began on October 1 and will go through September 30, 2024. The information gathered is useful for forest planning as well as local com...
Wyoming Game & Fish is reminding hunters of a regulation change this season that affects youth deer license-holders. Due to low populations, a full-price, youth deer license does not permit the harvest of mule deer does or fawns during an antlered deer season. This year, youth hunters possessing a full-price, youth deer license may take an antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer (including does and fawns) during an antlered deer season in accordance with the species limitation of their license in the hunt area(s) where their license is vali...
As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, boating season is winding down in Wyoming – and so are the check stations that protect local water bodies from invasive aquatic species. Check stations will begin to close or reduce their hours this month, but the Wyoming Game & Fish Department still requires that any watercraft transported into Wyoming until November 30 undergo a mandatory inspection by an authorized inspector. “Boaters who need to get their watercraft inspected between now and the end of November can stop by a Game and Fis...
Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Governor Mark Gordon joined forces last week to announce a collaborative initiative to expand conservation education opportunities for Wyoming’s youth under Game and Fish’s Inspire a Kid campaign. “Wyoming’s conservation heritage is a through-line that goes back generations,” Governor Gordon said. “Ensuring students have opportunities to experience hands-on learning and gain crucial outdoor skills and knowledge should be part of our commitm...
The first signs of fall are beginning to appear around the area. Up on Warren Peak early this week, yellowing leaves are now dotted throughout the canopy....
Hunting seasons this fall may be negatively affected by poor deer numbers, according to Sundance Game Warden Nate Holst, but elk and turkeys are doing just fine and should make for plentiful harvest opportunities. Deer The deer population in this county was hit by an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) a couple of years ago, which affected both white-tailed deer and pronghorn antelope. Cases were identified across the east of the state, including in Crook County, in 2021. EHD is not...
The Crook County Commission has submitted comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s plans to revise its resource management plan (RMP) for northeast Wyoming. Pointing out that the county needs its natural resources to survive economically, the commission’s letter urges the federal agency to be mindful of the priorities laid out in the Crook County Natural Resource Management Plan (NRMP), which was adopted at the end of 2020. “Crook County’s economic viability is highly dependent on the availability and utilization of natural resourc...
Crook County is one of the focus areas for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing this year and hunters are asked for their help to collect lymph node samples. "Game and Fish is requesting samples from herds we've not addressed in a while, where we are trying to get a significant sample size so we can accurately determine what the CWD prevalence is in these herds," says Jessica Jennings-Gaines, Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor. Deer hunt areas 1 through 6, all located in this...
The Black Hills National Forest is announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Spruce Vegetation Management Project and is seeking public comment on the proposed project. The project is located on National Forest System lands south of Spearfish Canyon, east of the Wyoming/South Dakota border, north of the Crazy Horse Memorial and west of Interstate 90. The project includes management activities on approximately 3614 acres in mixed conifer stands. The modified proposed action includes approximately 493 acres...
With human cases in nearby states and a higher-than-usual number of mosquito pools within Wyoming testing positive for West Nile virus, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) wants people to remember to protect themselves from mosquito bites. “Wyoming’s reported human West Nile virus case numbers have been quite low the past several years,” Courtney Tillman, epidemiologist with WDH, said. “But with more positive mosquito pools being reported this summer than we have seen in nearly 10 years and cases popping up in neighbor states, a reminde...
A partial burn ban went into effect across the county on August 1, imposing caution on county residents as the summer weather finally settles in and the danger of wildfire increases. With the risk of fire set to increase as the rains clear up and the land dries out, creating a heavy fuel load and dry summer conditions the restrictions were approved by the county commissioners on Tuesday and aim to offset situations that could over-extend the county’s firefighting capabilities. The county will be imposing open burn restrictions that prohibit the...
Keyhole State Park will host Lanternfest Saturday, August 5. This family-friendly event will provide opportunities for kayaking and paddleboarding as well as glow painting and other outdoor activities and games, which are all free with the price of park admission. The event begins at 10 a.m. at Keyhole’s beach area south of the marina in which people are invited to help clean up the beach. From 5-8 p.m., activities will be held at the boat launch within Keyhole’s Tatanka Campground and will include kayaking and paddle boarding, glow pai...
Do you graze livestock on federal land? Do you like to camp off the grid in areas that belong to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)? Do you live near a chunk of BLM land that you would like to stay just how it is – or, alternatively, do you think better use could be made of it? As the BLM ramps up the scoping period for revising its land management plan, Jeanne Whalen, consulting for the Crook County Commissioners, urges anyone who is currently impacted by BLM land in any way to consider making a comment. “They want to hear from the peo...
Summer took its time arriving this year but, once it did get here, the temperatures soared seemingly overnight. While the forecast still shows a few potential storms on the horizon, the hot weather appears to be sticking around for now. With that in mind, and with a “heat dome” covering part of the nation recently and heatwaves across the world, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued guidance on how to spot heat-related illness and how to prevent them from occurring. More than 700 people die from extreme heat each year in the United S...
The Black Hills National Forest is proposing to conduct timber harvest and thinning operations on approximately 1400 acres, in the Shotgun project area on National Forest lands in the Bear Lodge Mountains and northwestern Black Hills of Wyoming. Proposed timber harvest areas are ponderosa pine forest, consisting of scattered mature trees and many seedlings and saplings. The project area consists of three divisions: Blacktail, Lehner and Wapiti, spread across the district. The sequence of treatments in this system includes 1) an optional...
Celebrate National Forest Week (NFW), July 10 – 16, 2023 on the Black Hills National Forest. NFW highlights the incredible 193-million-acre National Forest System across the country and all the benefits it provides to the public. Several free Forest events, including a guided hike, a forest photography workshop, educational programs at the Pactola Visitor Center and a campground sing-along will be taking place next week to showcase some of the amazing outdoor opportunities that can be found within the Black Hills National Forest. Upcoming P...
On Sat., July 22, the National Park Service and Devils Tower Natural History Association will host the Annual Bat Festival in the picnic area of the monument from 12 to 10 p.m. This festival will include presentations and fun educational activities all about the amazing nighttime resident of Devils Tower/Bear Lodge – The Bat! There will be an interactive inflatable cave, movie screenings, demonstrations on building bat roosts, information booths, costume contests, crafts, games, activities for kids and special guest presenters. There will a...
The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday opened a 45-day public scoping period to gather comments to inform an environmental impact statement for planned revisions to the resource management plans for the Newcastle Field Office and Nebraska planning area. The proposed revision would replace the existing 23-year-old Newcastle RMP that guides the management of approximately 287,900 acres of public lands and 1.7 million acres of federal mineral estate managed by the BLM in Crook, Weston and Niobrara counties in Wyoming. Through this process, BLM...
Increased vigilance for invasive mussels has already resulted in five thwarted attempts to cross the Wyoming border this summer. Two of the five infested watercraft traveled through the check station in Beulah. Wyoming Game & Fish stepped up its efforts to stop zebra and quagga mussels from reaching waters in this state after an infestation of the invasive creatures was reported at Pactola Reservoir around this time last year, just 30 miles from the Wyoming border. This was the closest location...
Brodie Kelly from Upton went Fly fishing on Gray's Reef on the Platte river with his grandfather Randy Evans from Sundance. This was Brodie's first time fly fishing and this is the first fish he caught, a 28-inch rainbow....
Though the Crook County Weed & Pest District budget is not yet finalized for the year ahead, it's looking likely that it will include some extra that could be used to assist landowners who are dealing with grasshopper problems this summer. Alycia Conroy-Davis, District Supervisor, presented the most recent draft of the district's annual general budget to the Crook County Commissioners on Monday. She explained that the grasshoppers are so bad in some areas that the Crook County Weed & Pest Board...
Warren Peak is resplendent with wildflowers this week thanks to rainy spring days across the area. According to the National Weather Service, June 9 and 10 brought over an inch to many places. A total of 1.05 inches were recorded near Alva during that time period, for instance....
The Sundance Rod and Gun Club's annual kids' fishing derby was held Sat., June 3 at Sundance Pond. Almost 40 kids, ages 13 and under, registered in sort of rainy conditions at noon. But the rain stopped at 1 p.m. and the weather was very nice for two hours for the kids to fish. The longest trout was caught by Adam Frazier and Brock Chandler at 9¾". The second longest trout was caught by Grayson Hooper at 9½". The first fish was caught by Adam Frazier. The longest perch was caught...
The month of June holds spiritual and cultural significance for the tribes closely associated with Mato Tipila – Bear Lodge (Devils Tower). The 1995 Devils Tower National Monument Climbing Management Plan established a voluntary closure for all climbing routes on the Tower out of respect for the cultural activities of Native Americans. The voluntary climbing closure has been implemented each June since 1996. As a result, the average number of climbers that choose not to climb during June has led to an 85% reduction. The National Park Service a...
With warmer weather finally arriving, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) wants residents to enjoy favorite activities while also avoiding certain illnesses often linked with summer fun. “If not done safely, many warm weather activities can sometimes cause unpleasant stomach-related symptoms and occasionally serious illness,” says Courtney Tillman, epidemiologist with WDH. Diseases such as cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis and shigellosis are diarrheal illnesses caused by swallowing water from pools or outdoor sources contaminated with ani...
