Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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On a beautiful, sunny afternoon, Sunday, September 28, 2022, the Devils Tower Natural History Association (DTNHA) hosted the annual Old Settlers' Picnic at the Devils Tower campground. The Oshoto Community Church conducted a worship service after which picnickers enjoyed music provided by Jim Traversie's band, Badger Horse, while they ate their lunches and later had cupcakes, cider and coffee provided by the association. After guests had finished their picnics, emcee Sandra Mooney, DTNHA...
Crook County Natural Resource District has teamed up with Keyhole State Park to purchase and install signage that will educate the public about the dangers of harmful cyanotoxins caused by cyanobacteria algae blooms. The signs were delivered to the park's superintendent, Greg Deveraux, last week – a timely moment to install them, as it turns out, because the bloom advisory changed to a toxin advisory on October 27. According to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, advisories are i...
A portion of the trails in the Bearlodge that are popularly used by recreationists during the snowy months of the year will be closed this winter due to a timber stand improvement project. The U.S. Forest Service has announced that certain trails north and west of Warren Peak will be closed to snowmobiles to make way for the Woods Timber Stand Improvement project, which will involve thinning of certain pine stands to improve the growth of the remaining trees, diversify habitat and reduce fire...
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has discontinued sales of Type 7 licenses in Deer Hunt Areas 1, 2 and 3 in the northern Black Hills. These hunt areas in northeastern Wyoming have experienced a second consecutive year of an epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) virus outbreak, resulting in higher-than-expected deer mortality. Despite the die-off last year, there were still many parts of the Black Hills with high concentrations of deer on private lands, which is why Game and Fish continued to issue these licenses. However, given this current...
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from mule deer hunters this fall collecting lymph node samples for chronic wasting disease testing (CWD). Samples are requested from any mule deer harvested in the Black Hills (Hunt Areas 1-6). CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system in mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose. Game and Fish has tracked the distribution and prevalence of CWD since 1997 to better understand how it affects deer and elk populations. Hunters submitting samples from their harvested deer are crucial to h...
The first signigicant snow storm of the year blew in on Sunday night, snow-packing roads and hobbling road construction, not to mention throwing a damber on every ofther fall project that hadn't made it past the procrastination stage....
The Bureau of Land Management has followed the lead of the county in lifting its fire restrictions on public lands in Crook County, as well as in Campbell, Converse, Platte and Sheridan counties. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service has lifted its stage one restrictions on the Bearlodge and Hell Canyon Ranger Districts. It is now once again permissible to build a campfire on BLM-administered lands. Smoking is also allowed, as is the operation of a chainsaw and the use of an arc of gas welder or an acetylene or other type of torch. However, the BL...
Boat ramp and aquatic invasive species inspection hours at both Glendo and Keyhole state parks are adjusting to accommodate the waning sunlight hours. Beginning Mon., Oct. 24, boat ramp use and AIS inspection hours will be limited to sunrise to sunset. Boaters can check the Keyhole and Glendo sunrise/sunset tables for time references. Ramp restrictions — and the requirement for an aquatic invasive species inspection before launching — are due to the threat of zebra mussels from Pactola Reservoir in South Dakota spreading to Wyo...
As winter approaches, National Weather Service forecasters encourage people to prepare for extreme snow and cold conditions by taking the following actions. • Make sure your vehicle is ready for cold temperatures by having its battery, antifreeze, wipers and windshield washer, ignition, thermostat and tires checked. • Assemble an emergency supply kit for each vehicle. It should contain a windshield scraper, jumper cables, tool kit, tow chain or rope, tire chains, bag of sand or cat litter, shovel, flashlight with extra batteries and first aid...
Black Hills National Forest officials are proposing to restore the Moskee burn area, located approximately 15 miles southeast of Sundance off Moskee Road. In August 1936, a wildfire burned approximately 4700 acres on National Forest lands and 2400 acres on private lands near the old town of Moskee. The Forest Service re-planted and seeded around 2500 acres of the burned area with non-native Ponderosa Pine from outside the Black Hills area. Foresters say the non-native, dense stands of planted pine are unlikely to develop into a healthy,...
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced that an open house public meeting will take place on November 2 in Lusk to solicit early public involvement in the revision of the Newcastle Resource Management Plan (RMP). This process will ultimately create an updated version of the document that defines how the BLM approaches management of everything from livestock grazing and fire management to air quality and minerals on the lands it governs within northeast Wyoming. It’s the first time since 1999 that the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for...
Crook County's two new game wardens introduced themselves to the county commissioners last week and provided information on the rights of citizens if they find themselves face to face with a dangerous predator. Nate Holst has joined the Wyoming Game & Fish department (WGF) as the Sundance Game Warden, while Mitchell Kern will be his counterpart in Moorcroft. The two men asked to be added to October's agenda after receiving a letter from the commission requesting a more proactive approach to...
Black Hills National Forest officials are proposing to restore the Moskee burn area, located approximately 15 miles southeast of Sundance off Moskee Road. In August, 1936, a wildfire burned approximately 4700 acres on National Forest lands and 2400 acres on private lands near the old town of Moskee. The Forest Service re-planted and seeded around 2500 acres of the burned area with non-native Ponderosa Pine from outside the Black Hills area. Foresters say the non-native, dense stands of planted pine are unlikely to develop into a healthy,...
Two popular Wyoming boating locations are changing their protocols for watercraft inspections to protect waters from zebra mussels, an aquatic invasive species. These changes, instituted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, will begin Oct. 5. At both Keyhole and Glendo state parks, all watercraft will be inspected at the boat ramp before launching. Inspection hours will be 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Use of the boat ramp is restricted to 7...
When a fire reaches near enough 7000 acres with multiple homes scattered inside its borders on the kind of terrain that's more friendly to flames than human feet, how can it be possible that not a single structure was lost? There are many reasons that the battle against the recent Fish Fire was an astonishing success, but they all boil down to one thing: collaboration. The agencies responsible for taking care of Wyoming's lands and the people who call it home have worked together for a number...
Theoretically, the fall season has arrived. In many parts of the county, however, it's hard to tell that summer is over, with the season's colors speckling the still-green foliage....
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun the long process of revising the document that defines how it approaches management of everything from livestock grazing and fire management to air quality and minerals on the lands it governs within northeast Wyoming. It’s the first time this century that the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the tri-county region of Crook, Weston and Niobrara counties will be revisited. “The last time we went through this process for the Newcastle Field Office was in the 1990s,” says Tyson Finnicum, public affai...
At the request of Commissioner Kelly Dennis – himself acting on behalf of a “concerned citizen” in Hulett – a letter has been sent to the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission to request a new approach to a predator problem in the area. Dennis told his fellow commissioners that there is currently an issue with lions around Hulett, and the concerned citizen on whose behalf he was raising the issue does not feel that the game warden’s approach of “avoid it and it will go away” is sufficient. He requested that the county write and submit a letter asking...
The U.S. Forest Service has announced its plans to rehabilitate the land burned during the recent Fish Fire, with the goal of reducing the risk of beetle infestation, mitigating future fire hazards and restoring the forest vegetation. The Fish Fire was finally declared controlled just over a week ago, having burned a total of 6793 acres. This included 3230 acres of National Forest lands. According to a press release, "The Forest Service is proposing to remove burned pine from areas of 100...
Crook County Natural Resource District is looking for landowners to participate in a new conservation project developed in partnership with its counterpart in Weston County. The aim of the Northeast Wyoming Habitat Improvement Partnership is to, "Enhance and conserve wildlife habitats by addressing conifer encroachment and selectively thinning woodland areas to reduce raptor predation in core sage-grouse areas, to promote quality forage for mule deer, to improve elk habitat and to deter another...
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has designated Crook County’s six deer hunt areas (1-6) as focus areas this year for monitoring Chronic Wasting Disease. Hunters are asked to submit lymph node samples from deer and elk taken within the county to help track the spread of the disease. “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,” said Hank Edwards, Game and Fish Wildlife Health...
With invasive zebra mussels now known to be present nearby, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department (WGF) has developed a rapid response plan specific to Wyoming water bodies including Keyhole Reservoir. Meanwhile, watercraft owners have been reminded to clean, drain and dry their boats before moving between bodies of water and are asked to ensure they follow all the regulations for AIS inspections. According to Game & Fish, invasive zebra and quagga mussels have not yet been found in Wyoming. However, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and...
The U.S. Forest Service has followed the lead of local counties, cities and state agencies in calling for fire restrictions within the Black Hills National Forest. Black Hills National Forest Supervisor Jeff Tomac has signed a special order BKFfor Stage 1 Fire Restrictions on both the Bearlodge and Hell Canyon Ranger Districts. The restrictions became effective at the end of last week. In a press release, the U.S. Forest Service stated that restrictions are not taken lightly, but are necessary due to dry fuel conditions, persistent fire...
Crook County has joined the call for the U.S. Forest Service to rethink its draft assessments for the revised Black Hills National Forest Plan. A comment letter submitted by the county commissioners touts "significant concerns" with the science used to create the drafts, and with the level of public input solicited so far. "I think we probably have some of the most comprehensive comments that will be submitted," commented Dru Palmer of Dru Consulting, who prepared the 21-page letter on behalf of...
Fair week is underway, and the fairgrounds are full to brimming with livestock, exhibits and their owners. On Tuesday, judges were hard at work judging static exhibits, FFA projects and open class, as well as overseeing the public fashion review. Their hard work was rewarded later in the day by the official fair-kick off ice cream social. Events continue this week with Thursday's animal shows, including sheep, rabbits, cats and pocket pets, and the beef and wool shows on Friday. Upcoming...
