Wyoming News

SNOWBLOG

Everyone who skis, snowboards or breathes knows about Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge. Drill a little deeper and most will also pull out Jackson, Big Sky, Park City, Alta, Sun Valley, Keystone. We’ve got those big hitters in our inclusive map of ski areas throughout the Rocky Mountain West (Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, New Mexico). But we’ve also got the details and coordinates on the lesser-known, affordable spots, including Bear Paw in Montana, where you can score a lift ticket for a mere 20 bucks, and Ski Hesperus in southwestern Colorado, where you can ski under stars without the crowds or the hassles.

New West Column

Kenya’s top attorney is a crooked politician helping to fleece an unstable country with a weak economy, a U.S. diplomat wrote in a cable released by WikiLeaks in November. Writing from Nairobi, the diplomat requests that Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako and his family be denied entry to the U.S. before he makes another of his frequent visits to America.

Wako, the diplomat writes, deserves pressure from the U.S. He has helped to institutionalize misconduct by Kenya’s leaders by refusing to prosecute corrupt Kenyan officials for the previous 18 years. In one egregious instance, the diplomat writes, Wako made no move to prosecute anyone connected to the Goldenberg scam, which cost Kenyan taxpayers an estimated $500 million.

Recovering some of that money, the diplomat writes, could have helped to stabilize Kenya and improve its economy—which the diplomat compares to the economic output of Wyoming.

New West Analysis

There are plenty of opportunities for governors and presidents to get cross-wise with each other, particularly in the West, where so much of the land is managed by federal land agencies like the Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish & Wildlife.

In most cases, squabbles among state and federal executives get worked out in the courts, through Congress or in the “bully pulpits” that governors and presidents use to persuade, cajole, denounce or otherwise set the stage for closed-door negotiations.

What we saw recently in Montana are all of the above, as well as something radically different.

New West Update

Bison that wandered out of Yellowstone National this winter won’t go to slaughter, if an executive order from Montana’s governor isn’t challenged.

After a federal judge ruled Feb. 14 that he wouldn’t stop the plan, Gov. Brian Schweitzer issued an order this week halting the shipment of Yellowstone National Park bison to slaughter, saying he worries about brucellosis spreading.

Currently, nearly 600 bison that wandered outside park boundaries are corralled at the park’s Stephens Creek capture facility. Park officials had planned to ship the brucellosis-positive bison to slaughter and donate the meat to tribal groups and food banks, but the governor’s order requires that they stay at Stephens Creek for 90 days.

Schweitzer said there’s a chance that brucellosis-infected bison could spread the disease while being shipped to slaughter. Brucellosis is most commonly spread when an animal encounters infected tissue from a miscarried pregnancy, and Schweitzer said if an animal aborted along the route, the aborted tissue could fall out of the truck and into a pasture.

“A cow comes along, smells it, and voila-- how did we get brucellosis in Custer?” he said.

NEW WEST FEATURE

A bipartisan team of legislators is putting forward a bill intended to make it easier for ski resorts to get permission for non-ski activities on Forest Service land.

Touted as a job-boosting measure and a way to improve year-round economies at ski resorts, the legislation is aimed particularly at summertime activities. On-mountain activities slow down in the summer, but ski areas are increasingly looking to summer recreation, like hiking, mountain biking and mountain boarding, to bring visitors during warm-weather months.

“You know that the last snowflake doesn’t signal the end of outdoor recreation,” said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., the lead sponsor of the legislation. “Our ski areas shouldn’t have to close shop once the snow stops either.”

ProPublica Feature

The EPA has proposed examining every aspect of hydraulic fracturing, from water withdrawals to waste disposal, according to a draft plan the agency released Tuesday. If the study goes forward as planned, it would be the most comprehensive investigation of whether the drilling technique risks polluting drinking water near oil and gas wells across the nation.

New West Film

Each January, movie critics and film buffs flock to Park City, Utah, to cover the Sundance Film Festival, the West’s premiere showcase for independent film. For 10 days, it’s the center of the American film world. The Telluride Film Festival, another resort town showcase of independent cinema, also makes headlines each September.

These marquee festivals are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to independent film in the West. Movie lovers around the region can also check out the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival held each February in Missoula, Montana; the Albuquerque Film Festival held each August; and the Idaho Film Festival held each March in Boise.

For a list of indie cinema events in the Rockies, check out our new film festival map. It’s sorted by date and includes links to each festival on the list.

New West Fiction

Beginning today, New West is holding a call for short fiction pieces in hopes of putting a spotlight on a few talented writers. We’re especially interested in featuring fiction by authors who write about themes relevant to our coverage area: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

If you’re a writer who thinks your work fits the bill, we want to see your submission. If you’re friends with a talented writer whose work deserves attention, tell them about us. The deadline to submit a short fiction piece is Monday, Feb. 28. Pieces should be no longer than 5,000 words.

Guest Opinion

I believe our current battle to gain greater tolerance and understanding for animals such as bison, grizzlies and wolves requires the same passion, dedication, and leadership as the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 60s.  Those who argue the election of President Obama signals that racism and bigotry no longer exist in our nation are delusional.  While we have clearly become a more enlightened and progressive nation in regard to race, fear of the unknown still leads to hate and misguided policy. 

NEW WEST FEATURE

An agreement struck between private citizens and a Texas-based oil and gas company looking to drill on public land in Wyoming may become a model for other environmentally sensitive areas facing increased drilling across the Rocky Mountain West.

While many pieces remain undecided in the proposal to develop 136 wells in the Wyoming Range west of Pinedale, Wyoming, it appears similar agreements reached between private parties—and outside of the public process for approving oil and gas drilling— are becoming more common.

These deals, often struck between conservation groups and industry, do not replace the federally mandated public review process, which requires companies interested in drilling on public land to submit a plan to federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. That plan is then evaluated and tweaked through a series of studies, reports and public comments to fit the land and wildlife, as well as users such as wildlife advocates, hunters, ranchers or recreationists.