Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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I’m a little early with this week’s Around the 307, however, the exceedingly sad news out of northwest Wyoming from this past Tuesday has compelled me to get this post out to readers ahead of schedule. With that, here are a few Cowboy State news items for the week of October 20th, 2024:
It is with great sadness I include this opening news that on the evening of Tuesday, October 22nd, the matriarch of the Tetons, Grizzly Bear 399, was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Highway 26/89 in the Snake River Canyon. [Read the October 23rd U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Press Release here.] Grizzly 399 had reportedly been observed the day before near Astoria Hot Springs with her cub Rowdy, also known by some as Spirit, pulling an elk carcass into the willows. The next evening she was hit by a driver near mile marker 126 in Lincoln County; the driver was traveling through the canyon on his way home from work. The incident was deemed an unavoidable accident and no citation was issued. Grizzly 399’s identity was confirmed by the USFWS through ear tags and a microchip. The whereabouts of her yearling cub Rowdy are currently unknown, although there is no evidence the yearling was involved in the accident. Wildlife officials are optimistic about the cub’s chances for survival given it’s just about 18 months old and denning season is right around the corner. At 28 years of age Grizzly 399 was the oldest known reproducing grizzly bear on record. A mother to at least 18 cubs in her nearly 30 years in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE), Grizzly 399 had become an ambassador for her species and garnered a worldwide following. She will be very missed. The media is currently filled with stories about the death of Grizzly 399; here’s a link to an article at the Jackson Hole News & Guide and also one from Cowboy State Daily.
While I personally have seen a lot of grizzly bears in northwest Wyoming, I was never fortunate enough to see Grizzly 399. Given her advanced age, I was hopeful she would simply head off to hibernate sometime in the next couple of years and then never be seen again. Her sudden and tragic death was decidedly unexpected and I found myself profoundly upset by the news. I was also shocked to learn she had ventured so far south and was actually killed in north Lincoln County. In previous years she had been reported in the very southern parts of Jackson, however, I don’t recall her ever being seen as far south as she was during the final days of her life. If there is any comfort to be had it is in the realization that Grizzly 399’s final journey south is a testament to the recovery of a species first protected under the 1975 Endangered Species Act when a mere 150 grizzlies were left in Yellowstone National Park. Today, there are an estimated 1,000 grizzly bears in the GYE.
In other news, on Monday October 21st Cowboy State Daily published this article about Laramie County’s purchase of Wyoming’s tallest building in anticipation of local government growth and the need to serve a burgeoning population. The price tag of the Wyoming Financial Center was a cool $5.5 million. One of the things I found most endearing about this story is that the tallest building in Wyoming is a mere 148 feet in height and 9 stories. Gotta love the Cowboy State!
Finally, for a little positive news, in the week four National Coaches’ poll released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the University of Wyoming men’s cross country program was ranked 20th in the Nation! You can read the full story in this Star Valley Independent article.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading and we’ll look ahead to more hopeful news next week.
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