Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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Crook County Weed and Pest is reaching out for input on the potential listing of cheatgrass as a noxious weed. Because this could have significant financial impacts and might affect the district’s ability to assist in treating other weeds and pests, says District Supervisor Alycia Davis, the board wants to hear from the public before casting its vote. A Call for Action The weed and pest districts for ten Wyoming counties have called for cheatgrass to be added to the State Designated Noxious Weed List, throwing their support behind prevention a...
Wyoming Game & Fish has confirmed that live zebra mussels have been intercepted at the border for the first time this year. The watercraft was intercepted at the Beulah check station on September 22 when the owner stopped for an inspection. Inspectors immediately decontaminated the watercraft and removed zebra mussels in multiple water intakes, along the pontoon and in other areas of the boat. According to Game & Fish, the watercraft had been moored for several months at Pactola Reservoir in South Dakota, where mussels were discovered in 2022....
A rock climber is reported to have died after falling from Devils Tower on Sunday. According to Devils Tower National Monument, 21-year-old Stewart Phillip Porter of Eau Claire, WI, sustained major injuries after falling from the second pitch of El Cracko Diablo. Devils Tower Law Enforcement was informed of the accident around 8 p.m. and found Porter approximately 40 minutes later. A Hulett EMS paramedic pronounced him dead at the scene. Crook County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the incident. Porter’s partner was stranded on the Tow...
A toxin advisory has been issued for Keyhole Reservoir due to harmful levels of cyanotoxins present in the water. A harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) is described by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as an abundance of a substance that is always present in surface waters at low levels and play an important role in the aquatic ecosystem, but can bloom into a harmful overabundance. Cyanobacteria is able to produce toxins and other irritants that can have harmful health effects to people and animals, including pets and...
The Black Hills National Forest is proposing changes to recreation fees at picnic sites, day-use areas and campgrounds during the “shoulder season”. These times generally include the months of March to April and September to November, during which the Forest Service says usage has increased significantly over the past few years. This, according to a press release, creates the need for “additional supplies, facility cleaning, toilet pumping and staff attention”. The proposal would increase fees from $0 to $5 at some picnic sites and day-use...
The hunt area on the western border of Crook County is among this year’s focus points for chronic wasting disease (CWD) monitoring. Wyoming Game & Fish has been working to understand the distribution and prevalence of the always-fatal disease since 1997, using focused sampling due to the limited testing capacity of the Game & Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory. Submitting a sample of a deer harvested in hunt area 18 will not be mandatory this year. However, as a focus area, Game & Fish is requesting that hunters assist through a voluntary s...
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a proposed roadmap that aims to increase the development of solar energy on public lands in Western states. The Western Solar Plan was first instituted in 2012 and is now set to be expanded to an additional five states, including Wyoming. The total area encompasses around 162 million acres of public land and would make 31 million of these acres available for solar applications. The proposal aims to identify “solar application areas”, which are broad areas of BLM lands where solar proposals wou...
Did you know that milkweed is the only plant that monarch butterflies lay their eggs on? Did you know that ingesting milkweed plants actually makes monarch caterpillars toxic to their predators? Or, did you know that it is estimated that the monarch butterfly population has decreased as much as 90% – as if every person living in the United States, except for those living in Ohio and Florida, disappeared? The relationship between monarch butterflies and milkweed plants is remarkable and b...
Two thirds of Crook County has now slipped into a state of severe drought, with the southeastern quarter of the county now listed as experiencing moderate drought. These conditions have triggered wildfire assistance for agricultural producers in this county through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). The FSA began by reviewing the variety of fire assistance it offers and identified the counties authorized for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands outside of the primary nesting season, for which a county must...
The U.S. Forest Service is considering fee increases to specific sites across the Black Hills and motorized OHV use permits. If approved, the increases would become effective in 2025. Locally, the only proposed increases would be for use of the motorized trails, which would include a new day fee of $10 per vehicle, as well as an increase from $20 to $30 for the weekly fee and from $25 to $50 for a season pass. The additional proposed increases include Meeker Cabin near Custer, Summit Ridge Cabin near Newcastle, Jenny Gulch Picnic Area at...
Lightning is usually the biggest troublemaker when fire season gets underway, with human mistakes also playing their part. This year, though, an unexpected culprit has made its presence felt in Crook County. Hay swathers have caused five of the most recent fires, including one that was first reported on Saturday afternoon. “They hit rocks and it causes a spark or a bearing goes out and gets hot,” says Fire Warden Charlie Harrison. “The ones we have had this year appear to be caused by the spark from a rock.” Swather fires have so far included t...
Black Hills National Forest Supervisor Shawn Cochran has signed a Stage 1 fire restrictions order for the Black Hills National Forest in Wyoming. Special Order 180 became effective July 23 and will remain so through December 15, unless rescinded sooner. “Persistent long-term drought conditions and recent high temperatures combined with the lack of moisture have dramatically increased the fire danger, said Jason Virtue, Black Hills National Forest Fire Staff Officer. “Conditions are ripe for large fire potential, and people need to be ext...
With most of the nation now seeing significant wildland fire activity, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has increased its fire preparedness level to a level five – the highest on the scale. The decision has been made in response to fire activity already occurring, with a high potential for additional large fires to emerge. At level five, all fire-qualified federal employees become available for wildlife response. National resources are heavily committed and additional measures are taken to support individual areas. As of Tuesday, 6...
A doe and fawn pronghorn forage east of Sundance just off Fuller road on Tuesday. With temperatures falling closer to seasonable numbers, man and beast alike were able to enjoy a bit more time outdoors....
A fire that flared back up several days after it was first reported neared 300 acres in size before it was contained last week. Though structures in the area were threatened, none were ultimately lost. The Ridge Fire was located on Douglas Rd southwest of Sundance and was first reported at 2 p.m. on July 9. It was discovered to be a flare-up from a previous fire on July 6. On day one, according to Fire Warden Charlie Harrison, it displayed extreme fire behavior and the rate of spread was rapid,...
It won’t surprise anyone who stuck their nose out of the air conditioning over the last week that the county is heading back into drought conditions. The National Integrated Drought Information System reports that more than a quarter of the county is now in a condition of moderate drought – a 23% increase on the previous week. The drought zones, which account for 27.4% of the county, are located along the northern border and also the southern border and southeast corner. Streamflows on the Belle Fourche River at the South Dakota border are cur...
Crook County's Jeff Garman has been named the 2024 Wyoming Tree Farmer of the year by Wyoming State Forestry. Each year, the award recognizes a family-owned woodland for its outstanding sustainable forest management, honoring individuals who go above and beyond in their commitment to responsible forest management. The Garmans have spent several decades working with professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wyoming State Forestry on stewardship of their land. The goal of this...
Just under 61,000 acres of land have been treated for grasshoppers, bringing an end to this year's insecticide program through the Crook County Weed & Pest District. The district launched the program in response to predictions of a bad grasshopper season this year, planning an overhead spray of Dimilin® to combat the pests. The process began in March with outreach to gauge public interest, after which District Supervisor Alycia Conroy-Davis worked to obtain an emergency insecticide managemen...
Crook County Sheriff’s Office reports a successful search and rescue operation last week in which a young man was reunited with his father and brother at Reuter Campground. The report came in at around 9:15 p.m. on June 20 that an 18-year-old who had been camping with his brother and father had gone missing. According to the father, the male had gone mountain biking at around 5 p.m. on the trail system, but had not returned by 8 p.m. The father had gone looking for him, but was not able to locate him before dark so called 911 to report him m...
Fire restrictions are back in place on BLM land within Crook County and the agency is asking for the public’s help to prevent human-caused fires by being safe and responsible while enjoying the outdoors. “Preventable wildfires threaten lives, property, and precious resources every year,” says Craig Short, BLM High Plains District Fire Management Officer. “Firefighters are needed more than ever to keep Americans safe, so please, do your part to prevent human-caused wildfires.” A fire ban was initially put in place in March due to the abundance...
Bear sightings near populated parts of the county have been more common than usual so far this year, according to Game Warden Nate Holst. A few sightings have taken place near Sundance, as well as one in Moorcroft that Holst says was hanging around for a while near the D Road. The latest sighting near Sundance took place on Monday evening, says Holst. In this case, the spotter thought it was a grizzly due to its coloring, but it was identified as a blond phase black bear. Grizzlies are not...
Wyoming Game & Fish is asking citizens to keep their eyes peeled for dead rabbits, whether in your yard or on your property or in another outdoor area. The department is currently monitoring for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHD2V), which was first detected in this state in 2020 and has already been identified in 20 rabbits across eight counties this year. The disease is highly contagious and is believed to kill between a third and half of wild rabbits that become infected. It has been detected in wild cottontails and jackrabbits but may...
Both Governor Mark Gordon and the Crook County Commissioners have expressed displeasure with how the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has handled the process of changing how it manages old-growth forests. “The State’s concerns about the process, timeline and substance of the National Old-growth Amendment (NOGA) persist, are in fact increasing, and have become indicative of why the Forest Service should perform its effort at a forest unit level, not on a national scale,” wrote the governor last week in a letter to Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agric...
The Black Hills National Forest will conduct its first Moon Walk of the year on Saturday, June 22 at 7 p.m. The activity will start at the Spearfish Canyon public parking area, located at the mouth of the canyon. Please join Black Hills National Forest staff for a Moon “Drive” through Spearfish Canyon to learn more about the wildlife you may see, specifically on a cliff edge or foraging along the byway. Mountain goats are charismatic creatures, photogenic and fun to watch. They are also wild animals that will protect themselves if they fee...
Winners of the Sundance Rod and Gun Club's 2004 kids' fishing derby, left to right: Bergen Hammersley –first fish 9" trout, fourth longest trout (tie) 10¼"; Wyatt Cheshier – longest sucker 9"; Livia Ellsbury – third longest trout 10-5/8"; Brynlee Bock – longest trout 11-7/16"; Ella Ellsbury – fourth longest trout (tie) 10¼"; CK McDonald – second longest trout 11". About 30 kids, from three years old to twelve, fished from 1 to 3 p.m. on June 1. Everyone had at least one hot dog...
