One of Bear River state park’s white heifers gave birth to a snowy calf, which is healthy and runs in circles called ‘zoomies’
Staffers at the Bear River state park in south-west Wyoming welcomed four brown bison calves this spring and thought the birthing season was finished.
But earlier this month, as staff visited the animals’ pasture, they saw a “little white ball of fluff”, park superintendent Tyfani Sager said.
Continue reading...Park staff say calf was a potential hazard to people after man touched the animal, causing it to be shunned by its herd
A man who picked up a bison calf in Yellowstone National Park caused it to be shunned by its herd, prompting park officials to kill the animal rather than allow it to be a hazard to visitors.
Park officials defended the decision to kill the newborn bison.
Continue reading...Agreement between California, Arizona and Nevada will cut water consumption by 13% but experts warn river is still in serious peril
A hard-fought agreement between California, Arizona and Nevada to slash the states’ use of the shrinking Colorado River is only a temporary salve to a long-term water crisis that continues to threaten the foundations of life in the American west, experts have warned.
The deal, announced on Monday, between the three states that make up the lower portion of the sprawling Colorado basin will pare back 13% of water consumption from the beleaguered river over the next three years if adopted, averting the prospect of more stringent cuts imposed by the federal government. Backed by $1.2bn in federal funds, the bulk of the reductions are structured to encourage voluntary cuts taken by rights holders, in exchange for grant money.
Continue reading...Bill from Republican-controlled legislature comes as measures to crack down on abortion pills gather pace across the country
Wyoming has become the first US state to outlaw the use or prescription of medication abortion pills after the governor, Mark Gordon, signed into law a bill that was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month.
The crux of the two-page Wyoming bill is a provision making it illegal to “prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion”.
Continue reading...Firefighter killed in Michigan by power line, while 13 million people under winter weather advisories across the country
Nearly a million people across the US were without power on Thursday afternoon as a powerful winter storm brought bitter cold, stirred up gusty winds and pounded several states with blizzard conditions from coast to coast.
Michigan bore the brunt of power outages on Thursday with more than 820,000 homes and businesses left cold into the evening, as the state faced one of the worst ice storms seen in decades. DTE, one of the largest power providers in the state, reported “extreme amounts of damage” to power infrastructure after ice roughly three-quarters of an inch thick accumulated in some areas.
Continue reading...More than 15 million people under winter advisory while several areas in midwest and Great Plains face intense snowstorms
More than 15 million people are under a winter advisory as of Tuesday, as several areas in the midwest and Great Plains face intense snowstorms, Axios reported.
Storm warnings are in effect across a dozen states, including parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota.
Continue reading...Park officials are investigating the discovery, spotted in Abyss Pool in the southern part of the national park
An investigation is under way after a Yellowstone employee spotted part of a foot, in a shoe, floating in a hot spring in the national park.
The discovery was made on Tuesday at Abyss Pool, in the southern part of Yellowstone, and led to the temporary closure of the West Thumb Geyser Basin and its parking lot.
Continue reading...The vice-chair of the House January 6 panel faced retribution from state voters for going against the former president
Liz Cheney has paid the price for her staunch opposition to Donald Trump’s assault on American democracy by losing her seat in Congress to a challenger backed by the former president.
The vice-chair of the January 6 committee was beaten by a conservative lawyer, Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House of Representatives.
Continue reading...Species at risk of death from collision with proliferating wind power but rising temperatures could cut ranges by 40%
The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the US west’s most spectacular predators, the golden eagle – as the species teeters on the edge of decline.
Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on seven-foot wings and a favored location for wind farms.
Continue reading...Polls show congresswoman trailing far behind conservative lawyer Harriet Hageman in Wyoming’s Republican primary
Widely praised for her defence of democracy during the January 6 committee hearings, Liz Cheney looks set to lose her seat in Congress on Tuesday to a rival backed by former US president Donald Trump.
Opinion polls show Cheney trailing far behind conservative lawyer Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House of Representatives.
Continue reading...Victims included a husband and wife from Wisconsin after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park
Three people have died and one remains critically injured after being struck by lightning near the White House on Thursday night, including a husband and wife from Wisconsin celebrating more than five decades of marriage.
Dramatic images showed bolts streaking through the air on Thursday as a severe thunderstorm swept through the US capital. Scientists say that the climate crisis is increasing the likelihood of lightning strikes across the country.
Continue reading...Heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a dramatic flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the national park’s terrain
The forces of fire and ice shaped Yellowstone national park over thousands of years. It took decades longer for humans to tame it enough for tourists to visit, often from the comfort of their cars.
In just days, heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a dramatic flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the park’s terrain and the communities that have grown around it.
Continue reading...All entrances to national park blocked off as floods inundate roads and bridges, and some houses swept completely away
Yellowstone national park has closed down in the face of extreme weather that caused major flooding after record levels of rainfall.
The surging floodwaters had pulled houses into rivers and forced rescues by air and boat, but they have now begun to slowly recede, leaving tourists and others stranded after roads and bridges were knocked out by torrential rains that swelled waterways to record levels.
Continue reading...The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors as officials assess damage to roads and bridges
Record flooding and rockslides following a burst of heavy rains prompted the rare closure on Monday of all five entrances to Yellowstone national park at the start of the summer tourist season, the park superintendent said.
The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors, including those with lodging and camping reservations, at least through Wednesday, as officials assess damage to roads, bridges and other facilities.
Continue reading...A $1,500 donation will buy an Inheritance Pass, valid for entry in 2172, part of a fundraising effort to celebrate the park’s 150th year
Yellowstone national park is offering an annual pass valid for entry in 2172 in exchange for a $1,500 donation, part of a fundraising efforts in honor of the park’s 150th birthday.
The park hopes that the tickets, dubbed “The Inheritance Passes”, will be used by the donor’s descendants. Yellowstone Forever, the park’s fundraising arm, will use the money to support park projects such as trail improvements, education, native fish conservation and scientific studies.
Continue reading...In Oklahoma, Idaho, Wyoming and California, the next generation of GOP extremists are passing laws, picking their own voters … and preparing for power
The website of the Oklahoma Republican party has a running countdown to the 2024 presidential election measured in “Maga days”, “Maga hours”, “Maga minutes” and “Maga seconds” – Maga being shorthand for Donald Trump’s timeworn slogan, “Make America great again”.
The state party chairman, John Bennett, a veteran of three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has described Islam as a “cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out” and posted a yellow Star of David on Facebook to liken coronavirus vaccine mandates to the persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany.
Continue reading...Officials have announced that Kemmerer, population 2,600, will be the site of a plant featuring a liquid sodium-cooled reactor
A tiny city in the top US coal-mining state of Wyoming is set to become the home of an experimental nuclear power project backed by Bill Gates.
The new Natrium nuclear power plant will be located in Kemmerer, officials announced on Tuesday, and will replace a coal-fired plant that is set to close in 2025.
Continue reading...Coroner estimates Petito died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September
Gabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of death was homicide, Wyoming authorities have announced.
The Teton county coroner, Brent Blue, announced the findings of Petito’s autopsy at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday. He also estimated that Petito had died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September.
Continue reading...Autopsy to identify the remains and determine cause of death as police resume searching swampy reserve for Brian Laundrie
Medical examiners in North Port, Florida, were scheduled to conduct an autopsy on Tuesday on a body found in Wyoming, seeking to determine if it is Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old “van life” traveler who disappeared.
Related: Gabby Petito: Florida police search home of fiance after remains found
Continue reading...Thousands have been forced to evacuate from Alaska to Wyoming amid soaring temperatures and a drought
Nearly 60 wildfires were burning across 10 states in the parched American west on Tuesday, with the largest, in Oregon, consuming an area nearly twice the size of Portland.
The fires have torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.
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