Articles written by Mike Koshmrl
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Understaffed, overworked wardens leery of predator night hunting
CHEYENNE—An “unprecedented” shortage of Wyoming game wardens is adding to angst about a legislative proposal that would attract coyote hunters onto public land at night, adding to the thinned corps’ around-the-clock duties. “Our folks are... Full story
No easy fixes in sight for Wyo's statewide housing shortage
SHOSHONI-Up until the last few years, many residents of this town of 600 people near the east bank of Boysen Reservoir believed their community was dying out. The median age was 55. Businesses had... Full story
Mysterious moth-eating grizzlies have a people problem
ABSAROKA RANGE—Andy Pils was silent as he scanned with his Vortex spotting scope, its lens focused on a steep, talus-covered mountainside some 2.5 miles away. Two weeks before, 10 grizzly bears were clustered together in the same area flipping rock... Full story
Targeted: Lawmakers in the political crosshairs of Wyo Gun Owners
Editor’s Note: Please note strong language in second graph that may offend some readers. The man had already left one voicemail on Sen. Larry Hicks’ (R-Baggs) personal cell phone. By the second message, the senator could tell from the caller’s... Full story
Smallmouth bass at Yellowstone's doorstep, posing potential 'nightmare'
True to its species’ reputation, the undersized smallmouth bass lacked neither ambition nor aggression: The roughly 10-inch fish attacked a nine-inch streamer. The Montana State University student who hooked it would later regret letting the bron... Full story
Crossover voting ban dies, other election legislation prevails
Wyoming voters’ have retained their right to change party affiliation on election day after a bill to restrict the practice died in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Senate File 97 – Change in party affiliation died quietly when it did not... Full story
Court cans low-impact film permits in Grand Teton, Yellowstone parks
JACKSON — The National Park Service has changed its permitting requirements so that commercial filmmakers no longer have to pay fees or gain clearance as long as shoots are small and not in the wilderness. That nationwide change in regulation,... Full story
Final cull: Exotic goat herd trimmed by 43 in Teton Park
JACKSON – Rangers have decided to pull volunteer hunters out of the Tetons early and cease the cull of exotic mountain goats for now. Volunteers killed 43 goats during a six-week effort. Grand Teton National Park Chief Ranger Michael Nash opted to... Full story
Grand Teton goat cull works toward elimination of mountain goats
JACKSON - "Mountaineering with a rifle" is how Taylor Glenn summed up his first few hours of pursuing mountain goats in Grand Teton National Park. The morning of Sept. 23, Glenn was soft-spoken and... Full story
Bridger-Teton campers disregard fire ban
JACKSON — While doing her job to prevent forest fires, Lesley Williams Gomez encountered what she described as entitled attitudes and reckless behavior last Friday night on Shadow Mountain. The Bridger-Teton National Forest fire prevention... Full story
Yellowstone's biggest concessionaire requires masks
JACKSON — The hordes flowing through Yellowstone National Park will be required to wear masks in dozens of areas, indoors and out, this summer. The National Park Service itself has not mandated masks to blunt the spread of COVID-19, but Xanterra,... Full story
Agencies gear up for antler rush
JACKSON — Pat Tenney led a crew that hiked east over the National Elk Refuge foothills Wednesday morning, and members strung out 14 people wide looking for points telling of antlers sticking up through the sagebrush. The team of Bridger-Teton... Full story
Park staffing, services crippled by COVID; Yellowstone and Grand Teton experience will be different in 2020
JACKSON — In an ordinary summer a destination park as famous as Yellowstone brings on some 500 seasonal employees, about tripling its staff, to help handle the crush of 4-million-plus tourists drawn from around the world. In a world changed by the... Full story
Plan to put Wi-Fi in historic park buildings criticized
JACKSON — When Yellowstone wrapped up its telecommunications plan a decade ago, the park specifically designated historic buildings like the Old Faithful Lodge and Lake Hotel cabins as places that wouldn’t be modernized with Wi-Fi technology.... Full story
Game and Fish to eliminate elk feedground
JACKSON — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will eliminate the legally embattled Alkali Creek elk feedground in coming years as the threat of chronic wasting disease looms. The Bridger-Teton National Forest feedground, the lowest elevation of th... Full story
Wildlife Services commits to review of methods
JACKSON — Facing legal pressure, a federal agency that kills wildlife deemed to be a nuisance has agreed to reassess its plans for operating in Wyoming. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services will take that step because of a... Full story
Grizzlies returned to threatened species status
JACKSON — Wyoming and two neighboring states lost decision-making authority over grizzly bears with a federal judge’s ruling more than 10 months ago, but it wasn’t until this week that the federal government formally completed the paperwork to... Full story
Wyoming lawmakers won't touch 'yote whacking' with snowmobiles
JACKSON — A Jackson Hole woman’s effort to criminalize running down and running over coyotes with snowmobiles was shot down last week by a legislative committee. Local wildlife activist Lisa Robertson has had the ear of Rep. Mike Yin, of Teton Co... Full story
Legislators consider licenses for fishing guides
JACKSON — Early every summer, Jackson Hole fishing guides trailer their drift boats to the simmered Green and New Fork rivers to cast for trout while the hometown Snake River is still sediment-choked, running high and all but unfishable. Sublette... Full story
Game and Fish considers selling land to pay for housing
JACKSON — A half square mile of sagebrush flats and rolling Gros Ventre Range foothills with remarkable Teton views is being considered for a sale to raise funds for a state agency that’s been bit by Jackson Hole’s housing crisis. The... Full story
Requirement for hunters to carry bear spray being considered
JACKSON — Wyoming wildlife officials gathering in Rock Springs plan to discuss the idea of requiring hunters to carry bear spray in the grizzly-occupied Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Such a mandate is perhaps unlikely. The reason it’s coming up... Full story
Effort to prevent beaver trapping backfires
JACKSON — Lisa Robertson says she was just curious what would happen two years ago when she put in applications to become the sole person permitted to run beaver trap lines in a few creek drainages near Jackson. Being the founder of an... Full story
Grand Teton examines plan to improve cell service
JACKSON — Where a phone call today is an iffy proposition, visitors and residents of Grand Teton National Park may soon have all their smartphones’ capabilities at their fingertips. A proposal being driven by telecommunications companies, and... Full story
Teton commissioners give up on recommendations for land use
JACKSON — Fireworks flew at the final meeting over future wilderness in Teton County, but irreconcilable differences ruled the day. After two years of wrangling over how to best manage Teton County’s federal public lands, the final outcome was...
Teton commissioner asks Cheney to back off on public land issues
JACKSON — At least one Teton County commissioner has rebuked U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s legislative intervention in a county-led land management planning process. Mark Newcomb, chairman of the county board, has drafted a letter requesting the...
