CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Wyoming lawmakers are considering a proposal which would require a governor's order before any of the state's winter elk feedlots could be phased out.

Jonathan Ratner, Wyoming director for the Western Watersheds Project, said the move ignores basic science, and warned it would make it much more difficult to address the potential for permanent Chronic Wasting Disease contamination across western Wyoming.

"They're making it much harder to solve this problem by cementing in the current status quo which was developed approximately a hundred years ago, prior to any understanding of disease-transmission issues or wildlife-management ethics," Ratner contended.

Conservationists warned that feedlots, where large numbers of elk gather in close quarters, are potential superspreading events for the disease.

Livestock producers and outfitters have defended winter lots to keep elk away from cattle feed and maintain large herd numbers.

House Bill 101 was introduced last week by Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, who said more voices need to be heard before feedlots are phased out.

Ratner believes the new law is unnecessary because Wyoming Game and Fish already is conducting a review of feedlots, gathering input from all stakeholders.

He noted Chronic Wasting Disease spreads through prions, which, unlike bacterial and viral infections, don't die with infected animals. Prions persist in the soil, and can be transmitted to animals through plants growing in infected areas.

"The implications of getting a prion-contaminated ecosystem, particularly the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, is certainly the largest wildlife nightmare in U.S. history," Ratner asserted.

Ratner pointed to studies that showed there is ample natural winter forage to keep elk populations strong without feedlots, which he added could lead to the elimination of entire herds once Chronic Wasting Disease takes hold.

In December, an elk infected with Chronic Wasting Disease was identified in Jackson Hole, part of a herd that relies on nearby winter feedlots.


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The Bureau of Land Management says it will start a wild horse roundup in Wyoming's White Mountain area, but wildlife advocates say the plan exceeds the agency's authority.

The BLM aims to gather nearly 600 wild horses starting August 15, in an area northwest of Rock Springs - to prevent what it calls 'further deterioration' of the land health due to impacts from the animals.

The group Wild American Horse Conservation says the agency used incorrect data to reach that number, improperly including foal counts.

Suzanne Roy, executive director of the group, said bad numbers are a problem for the local eco-tourism business the horses support, through a Wild Horse Scenic Loop drive.

"We're very concerned that the BLM is playing with numbers to remove more horses than they're legally allowed to," said Roy. "And if they are allowed to proceed, it will reduce the herd to such a low number, you'll never be able to view the horses."

Roundups involve gathering horses into holding pens until they're adopted.

But Roy said there are more horses being held than the adoption market can absorb, and that difference costs taxpayers about $70 million a year.

Roundups are an alternate population control method to sterilization. But Roy said her group advocates instead for fertility control.

"Basically, it's called immunocontraception," said Roy, "and it's a vaccine that creates an immune response in the animals and it prevents fertilization."

Roy said this method is also reversible, which is important in case of unexpected population die-offs.

The BLM is a multiple-use agency charged with balancing numerous interests - including those of the public, grazing rights and multiple wildlife species.

James "Micky" Fisher - lead public affairs specialist with the BLM Wyoming field office - said the agency isn't opposed to fertility treatments, but they're more difficult to implement.

"Unfortunately, with herd management areas of this size and even larger ones," said Fisher, "the sheer number of horses that we're required to gather to get down to the appropriate management level, fertility treatments and darting practices, they're just - they're insufficient."

A larger roundup is currently underway across four Herd Management Areas in central Wyoming.

Fisher said the BLM started the roundup on July 1, to gather over 2,700 animals.




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Wildlife experts are warning people not to get too close to the animals in national parks as the summer travel season heats up. Overeager tourists can not only put themselves in danger, but threaten the animals.

Three million people visit Montana's Yellowstone national Park each year, and many want photos with the iconic Bison that are threatened and being reintroduced to the wild.

Chamois Anderson, senior representative for the Rockies and Plains program with Defenders of Wildlife, said while interaction with animals is part of the national park experience, it's important to give the bison their space - so tourists need to keep their distance.

"You know, they pull off the roadway to view bison, or maybe bears if they see one," said Anderson, "and they just want to get that selfie or that photo with their cellphone, and they approach these animals as if they're at a zoo. These are not zoos. These animals are very wild, and we need to keep them wild."

Anderson said she tells park visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison, and 200 yards from bears and wolves.

Defenders of Wildlife has released a video on YouTube describing what to consider when interacting with animals in Montana's Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.

In North Carolina, Defenders of Wildlife's Senior Southeast Field Representative Tracy Davids said the group is going beyond educating tourists, and is also asking professional photographers to back off the remaining 20 or so Red Wolves in the eastern wetlands of the state.

"Particularly now during puppy season, we've had reports of photographers getting a little too close," said Davids. "Not so much putting themselves in jeopardy, but in a way that's harassing the wolves."

An 83-year-old woman from South Carolina sustained serious injuries when she was gored by a bison at Yellowstone in June.

The National Park Service says the bison was defending its space, came within a few feet of the woman and lifted her about a foot off the ground with its horns.

The Park Service says bison injure more people in Yellowstone than any other animal, typically one or two a year.

Wisconsin's wolf management plan has been in place for months now but the legal fallout continues.

Wildlife organizations have filed a court appeal challenging the process. A coalition announced the appeal this week, which centers on how the management plan came together under the state Department of Natural Resources.

A judge dismissed the original lawsuit earlier this spring. It accused an agency panel of breaking the rules for how it interacted with special interest groups tied to hunting.

Melissa Smith, executive director of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife, said by favoring certain voices, other wildlife groups are left behind.

"It's quite egregious that the citizens of Wisconsin do not have any legal standing to challenge rules in any decisions that's wildlife-related," Smith contended.

The coalition said the judge's decision conflicts with principals under the Public Trust Doctrine. The DNR said it cannot respond to pending litigation. The legal activity comes a few months after federal officials opted to keep the gray wolf on the endangered species list.

State law requires a wolf hunt if the animal is delisted from federal protections but the new management plan does not include a goal with specific numbers. Instead, the plan focuses on sustainability, which is a source of contention among pro-hunting groups.

Meanwhile, Smith stressed she wants state rules to be consistent.

"If you look at the deer plan, our Wisconsin deer plan, it states plain as day that deer are held in the public trust," Smith pointed out. "It seems that it's pretty inconsistent when they decide something is held in the public trust and when something is not."

Around the country, certain hunting and farming groups contend the gray wolf population has grown too large, putting livestock at risk. But conservationists countered the concerns are often overstated and management efforts need to be rooted in science.


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