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Yellowstone asks Wyoming to adopt ‘orphan’ Beartooth Highway

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The Beartooth Highway is a high-altitude scenic byway that snakes along the Montana-Wyoming border and tops out at nearly 11,000 feet.

Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk traveled to Cheyenne on Thursday to ask Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and state transportation officials to participate in a unique adopt-a-highway program. Wenk wasn't looking for volunteers to clean up roadside litter. Instead, he asked Wyoming to take ownership of an "orphan" stretch of the Beartooth Highway. The soaring, scenic byway connects the Montana towns of Cooke City and Red Lodge, but it also passes through nearly 35 miles of high country just inside Wyoming's northern boundary. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, beartooth highway, budget, dan wenk, matt mead, plowing, wydot

Wyoming won’t pay to operate Yellowstone and Grand Teton during shutdown

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Wyoming will not pay to operate Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks under a plan announced Thursday that could allow some states to cover the costs of reopening national parks closed under the government shutdown. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the federal government would consider offers from states to cover operational costs to reopen some parks, according to the Associated Press. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, Yellowstone, government shutdown, matt mead, sequestration, wyoming

Wyoming Gov. Mead open to Grand Teton land swap

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Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead is open to the idea of a land trade that would transfer state-owned property into Grand Teton National Park, but he won't wait indefinitely to reach a deal, he said Monday. Mead's comments came in a press conference during which he addressed several topics, including a visit Thursday by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to Grand Teton National Park. She expressed support for a deal that would move two square miles of land owned by Wyoming into Grand Teton. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, News, grand teton national park, land swap, matt mead, sally jewell

Jackson Hole celebrates pathway completion, National Elk Refuge centennial

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Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead speaks Saturday at the centennial celebration for the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyo. (Yellowstone Gate/Ruffin Prevost - click to enlarge)

Two celebrations of public lands projects in Jackson Hole last week drew dignitaries from across the spectrum of state, local and federal governments, and both were praised as models of cooperative efforts that have made local landscapes more livable and sustainable. The recent completion of the second phase of a multipurpose pathway connecting the Wyoming communities of Moose and Jackson was marked by separate events at both ends of the pathway. Also, the National Elk Refuge, spanning from the northern end of Jackson to the southern end of Grand Teton National Park, marked its centennial. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, grand teton national park, grand teton pathways, jackson, matt mead, national elk refuge, pathway, ray lahood

Wyoming governor wants quicker review of Yellowstone bear protections

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Wildlife officials have proposed ending federal protections for Yellowstone area grizzly bears.

Wyoming governor Matt Mead has written to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking for the removal of federal protections for grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act, saying the Yellowstone bear situation is "severe and costly" for Wyoming. Mead said he hoped to accelerate what could be a two-year review and analysis of how changes in Yellowstone bear habitat and food sources might affect the grizzly's status as a protected species. "Two years is too long and the cost is too great," Mead wrote. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Wildlife, endangered species act, grizzlies, grizzly bear, ken salazar, matt mead, trenindg, yellowstone bear