SVR & 307 News Roundup
Week of 19 November 2023
With the Thanksgiving holiday this week (and no scheduled Star Valley Ranch events), we decided to combine our weekly news emails to cover other happenings here on the Ranch as well as a few hand-picked items from across the Cowboy State. Here we go!
At Star Valley Ranch and locally:
On November 17th, Silver Star, our local Star Valley internet provider, announced it was awarded Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) funding to expand its high-speed internet services. This ACAM funding enables Silver Star to accelerate efforts to implement high-speed internet connectivity. For the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR), our understanding is Silver Star intends to begin its high-speed internet build for our town in spring of 2025 with completion by the end of 2026. You can read the Silver Star press release here.
Winter also attempted to make an appearance this week with some welcome snowfall around the Ranch on Thanksgiving Day. We probably had about 2” at our house from Thanksgiving morning into Friday, however, much of that snow has now melted as of the writing of this blog post despite the decidedly cold temperatures that have followed. The Turkey Day snow did, however, provide the opportunity for some stellar animal track observations!
Can you identify these tracks? Each print is about 3" x 3". This week also saw more big cat activity at the Ranch. On Tuesday, November 21st, TSVR sent out a mountain lion warning for a reported sighting in the northern area of town. I can attest to the validity of this warning as my husband and I saw not one, but two mountain lions on our property this week! Wow! Talk about a bucket list animal sighting! We are truly blessed to live in this beautiful and still very wild place called Wyoming. Here are some personal photos and video of these majestic creatures. (Note when you click the video link it may take you to the Close to Home 307 website where the video is embedded as part of this week’s blog post.)
And, after all that excitement, here are a few Around the 307 newsworthy items:
While we didn’t get much snow at Star Valley Ranch, central areas of the Cowboy State got clobbered during the Thanksgiving storm. Check out the snow totals at this National Weather Service link. Lander had over 28”—Yikes!
I didn’t know this, however, apparently 20% of the world’s helium comes from right here in Wyoming from a facility known as Shute Creek near La Barge. Helium prices have risen globally since 2006 with supply shortages the likely culprit for the steady increase in costs. While we all know helium as the inert gas that fills party balloons, helium also is a critical component in high-tech manufacturing, scientific research, medical technology, and more. Read the whole story on Wyoming’s unique helium supply here.
Given we’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving, I couldn’t let this story on the history of wild turkey hunting in Wyoming pass by. The turkey is not a native wild bird of the Cowboy State. In 1935, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department traded native sage-grouse to New Mexico for 15 Merriam’s turkeys (nine hens and six toms). These imports were released in Platte County and after some ups and downs a wild turkey population took hold around Wheatland and north toward the Black Hills. By 1955, hunters could begin harvesting wild turkeys in Wyoming and today there are fall and spring turkey hunting seasons. Read the full story here.
Wyoming’s wild turkey hunt seasons only allow taking of tom turkeys.
No calendar items for Star Valley Ranch next week, however, here are a couple of local events to take note of:
Tomorrow, Monday, November 27th, look for the full “Beaver” moon to rise. You can read about the Beaver Moon at the Farmer’s Almanac.
Saturday, December 2nd, a Christmas Bazaar will be held from 9am to 2pm at Holy Family Catholic Church in Thayne Wyoming.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and thank you so much for reading! If you like this weekly news blog, please share the Close to Home 307 website with your family and friends. Reach out to me by email anytime at: close2home307@gmail.com