Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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Well, how about that we’re already into the month of March! Here are a few Wyoming news stories and other items of interest from the past week of March 3rd, 2024:
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) published a press release (on the last day of February) detailing the results of an aerial population survey of the Wyoming Range mule deer herd. The findings were not good with an estimated 11,000 animals remaining out of the approximately 30,000 mule deer counted just a year ago in February 2023. The WGFD also estimates the fawn ratio for the deer herd is now just 34 fawns for every 100 does—the lowest on record since the herd was designated in 1982. The severe winter of 2022-2023 is to blame. Despite this bleak report, there is some good news in terms of the quality of current forage and optimism the herd will rebound over the next five years. Read the full press release here.
WGFD’s estimate of the decline of the Wyoming Range mule deer herd. 
Mule deer in deep snow. [Photo credit: Danita Delimont/Shutterstock.com] Tuesday, March 5th, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported following the past weekend’s big snow dump the National Elk Refuge has finally begun feeding wintering elk. It’s the latest start to wapiti feeding on record! You can read the full story here.
[Photo Credit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.] On Friday, March 8th, the Wyoming Legislature conducted its final day of the 2024 Budget Session. Sadly, a number of promising bills aimed at reducing property taxes did not survive the legislative carnage. [You can see the current status of tax bills passed and failed on the Wyoming Taxpayers Association website at this link.] One bill that did pass was House Bill 3 which, if signed by the Governor, will establish a 50% property tax reduction for long-term homeowners (i.e., for those age 65 and older who have paid property taxes in Wyoming for 25 years or more). Here are two other surviving property tax bills we hope also make it to the Governor’s desk:
House Bill 45 would put a 3% (or 5%) cap on year-to-year tax increases in Wyoming. The bill would go into effect for tax year 2024.
Senate File 54 would provide a one-time tax exemption for the first $200,000 of a home’s assessed value. An amendment late in the week proposed to change the exemption to a percentage-based approach (i.e., to exempt 25% of the fair market value of a single family home worth $3 million or less in Wyoming). The bill would only go into effect for the current tax year.
We’ll see how all of this pans out in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Lastly—here are a some Wyoming historical events (some well known, others obscure) that occurred during the month of February. [I probably should have included these in last week’s post, but here the are now for your perusal.]
February 5th, 1927—the Meadowlark was designated as the state bird of Wyoming.
Western Meadowlark, the state bird of Wyoming. [Photo credit: www.wildaboutbirds.com] February 9th, 1916—Bill Carlisle robs passengers on the Union Pacific Portland Rose between Green River and Rock Springs, Wyoming.
February 17th, 1870—Esther Hobart Morris was appointed as the first female Justice of the Peace in the United States; she served a 9-month stint in South Pass City.
February 26th, 1846—William Frederick Cody (later to become known as “Buffalo Bill”) was born near Leclaire, Iowa.
That’s all for now—thanks for reading and have a good week ya’ll!
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