[DISCLAIMER: The “SVR News Roundup” is the personal newsletter of the author and is not an official publication of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association. The SVR News Roundup provides a weekly summary of publicly available information and also occasionally includes opinion and commentary by the author.]
Here’s your Ranch news roundup for the quiet week of April 27th, 2025:
There were no official Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) or Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) meetings on the calendar during the past week or none that I was aware of.
The one calendar item from the week occurred on Thursday, May 1st which was the first day residents could stop by Town Hall to pick up yellow bags and gloves in preparation for the TSVR Spring Roadside Clean-Up event that begins on May 8th and runs through May 11th. Here are more details:
If you haven’t already, please stop by Town Hall next week, Monday through Thursday (8am to 6pm), to pick up yellow trash bags and gloves. Then, beginning May 8th you can fill bags with roadside trash and debris and leave full bags at road intersections up until May 11th. Public Works crews will then pick up full bags on May 12th. Please, no household trash! Only the yellow bags provided at Town Hall will be picked up! For more information call Town Hall at (307) 883-8696. See you at the Spring Roadside Clean-Up!
Also this week, a new documentary film produced by the University of Wyoming was released. Unwired: Making space for pronghorn in Wyoming's Red Desert follows the catastrophic pronghorn die-off during the brutal winter of 2022-2023 and how problem fencing contributed to the tragedy. Since that devastating winter an estimated 18,000 acres of habitat in Wyoming’s Red Desert has been restored for pronghorn use via removal and replacement of fencing that impeded pronghorn movement. The fence rehabilitation project opened up habitat that had been inaccessible to pronghorn since the 1950s. Click below to watch the film which has a run-time of just over nine minutes. I found it inspiring!
Other news and notes for the week:
Another update on the Hardman Bridge project was posted to the TSVR News & Notices webpage on Wednesday. You can read that update here.
It’s official, the Broad-tailed hummingbirds are back at the Ranch! A resident who lives just west of me confirmed a sighting at their feeder this past Monday. Thanks Miles! I’ve also finally laid eyes on the little beauties at my feeder this week too. I love hummingbird season!
On Friday, the SVRA announced that Cedar Creek Golf Course is now open. That should make all you duffers very happy!
Also on Friday, the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew began their 11th year of trails and trailhead maintenance and construction. For this inaugural week of the season the Trail Crew conducted spring maintenance at Fox Run Park and on Maple Trail #3052. It was a beautiful mountain weekend and the Trail Crew will be at it on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through September.
Interested in getting out there and lending a hand? Visit the SVR Trail Crew Facebook page or contact the Trails Committee Chair at: svrtrails@gmail.com
Here are your calendar items for next week:
The TSVR Spring Roadside Clean-Up event begins on Thursday, May 8th and runs through May 11th. Let’s get out there and tidy up the neighborhoods folks!
Also on Thursday, May 8th at 4:30pm the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town hall.
Final thoughts—Well, it has finally happened, as if pocket gophers and voles weren’t enough now I’ve got ground squirrels too! In all honesty, I’m not surprised. I noticed a couple of years ago that ground squirrels had staked a claim near some homes just south of me. I surmise they are Uinta ground squirrels which are most common in northwest Wyoming. I suppose it was really just a matter of time before they came in search of new territory. For a short sojourn I was under the illusion that where I live, on the north-end of the Ranch at a higher elevation, would serve as a deterrent to the invasion of yet another rodent species that tends be more fond of lower climes. But, au contraire mon ami, these little buggers seem just as content in my backyard despite the thinner air! Oh well, at least their presence will result in more pickings for Mr. Fox next time he comes around. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying this awesome spring weather. It really is gorgeous out there!
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