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DEER POACHING
Wyoming man sentenced to 9 months in jail for poaching deer
(Information from: The Sheridan (Wyo.) Press, http://www.thesheridanpress.com/)
SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to serve nine months in jail for illegally killing deer in northern Wyoming.
The Sheridan Press reported Gregg Lambdin was convicted of 11 counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal in 4th Judicial District Court Thursday.
Officials say a plea agreement requires Lambdin to complete one year of supervised probation following his release from the Sheridan County Detention Center.
Defense attorney Jeremy Kisling presented a check on Lambdin's behalf for $254,000 in restitution and fines for Lambdin's offenses.
A district game warden says more than 100 deer carcasses were found on Lambdin's property in November 2018, including 36 showing evidence of gunshots.
The terms of restitution were calculated at $4,000 for each animal that was shot, in addition to $110,000 in fines.
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MULE DEER HABITAT
Wyoming Game And Fish completes part of mule deer project
(Information from: KUWR-FM, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/wpr/)
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has completed the first part of its project to improve mule deer habitat in the southern Bighorn Mountains.
Wyoming Public Radio reports that the agency and the Bureau of Land Management have been working on a crucial winter range for the Upper Powder River Mule Deer herd since 2011, after a 2006 wildfire wiped out much of its food source.
Game and Fish has been working to remove conifers to prevent a similar event in case of another forest fire.
Todd Caltrider, Game and Fish terrestrial habitat biologist, said over the past two years they thinned and removed juniper, ponderosa pine and limber pine across 870 acres (352 hectares) of deer habitat.
Caltrider said the herd's population has been down the past several years.
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GRANT MONEY RETURN
Wyoming city to pay back more than half of $100,000 grant
(Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming mayor was required to pay back more than half of a grant given to a city to help develop inventive ideas tackling issues in the community.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported Friday that Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge awarded the city of Cheyenne $100,000 in 2018, but only $44,000 was used.
Officials say the grant was meant to be spent by October 2018 for the project's testing phase and now more than $56,000 must be returned to the organization for lack of use or improper use.
Mayor Marian Orr says she was confused and believed the funds to be discretionary.
Bloomberg Philanthropies did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Officials say about $23,000 was used to pay for office holiday decorations, catering for public events and the mayor's travel expenses.
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SCHOOL-FALSE THREAT
Juvenile accused of falsely reporting school threat
(Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com)
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities say a juvenile was arrested for allegedly falsely reporting a threat that led to extra security measures at three Wyoming schools.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports that authorities said the juvenile admitted to telling the Safe2Tell program Friday that there was an armed suspicious person on the campus of Natrona County High School in Casper.
Students at the high school sheltered in their locked classrooms as police swept the building with long guns drawn because of the tip. The doors were also locked and all students brought inside at two other nearby schools.
The doors were also locked at a fourth school because of another unrelated tip provided later in the day about a potential threat there. That lockout was lifted after about a half hour.
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FEDERAL MINERAL ROYALTIES
US officials propose less paperwork for mineral royalty cuts
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A U.S. Bureau of Land Management proposal published Friday would make it easier for mining companies to request lower government royalty rates for certain minerals, an idea backed by supporters of an industry that supplies much of the world's baking soda. The proposal would reduce paperwork for miners who ask the BLM to lower rates for the right to mine federally owned, non-fossil-fuel minerals including trona, phosphate, potash, potassium and sulfur. Mining companies filing for lower royalty rates wouldn't have to describe exactly where the minerals would be mined or how much they've mined recently. The BLM already has such information on file, the agency stated in the proposed rule changes published in the Federal Register.
WYOMING RECORD PUMPKIN
Wyoming man grows 1,491-pound pumpkin, breaks state record
(Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming officials say a Cheyenne man has grown a pumpkin that weighs in at 1,491 pounds (676 kilograms), a new state record.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported Thursday that Andy Corbin grew the gourd in his backyard.
For perspective, scientists say newborn elephants weigh about 200 pounds (91 kilograms) on average.
Corbin says the pumpkins he grows at his east Cheyenne home require a handmade tripod to move them.
He says his pumpkins require yearlong maintenance and can gain dozens of pounds a day during growing season.
Corbin says he hopes to grow three pumpkins weighing more than 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) combined.
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