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BODY FOUND-CODY
Body found by hunter south of Cody; suspect in custody
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — A body of a person found over the weekend in northern Wyoming has resulted in a suspect being taken into custody.
The Park County Sheriff's Office says in a statement that the body was found before 2 p.m. Saturday by a local hunter on private property south of Cody.
The agency says the death is being investigated as a homicide.
The victim has been identified as a resident from southeast Wyoming, but the Sheriff's Office did not immediately release a name or other details about the victim.
An unidentified suspect was apprehended by deputies from the Park County Sheriff's Office as well as Bureau of Land Management and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
The investigation is being conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
SHOSHONE TRIBAL CHAIRMAN
Eastern Shoshone co-chairman Leslie Shakespeare leaving
(Information from: KUWR-FM, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/wpr/)
FORT WASHAKIE, Wyo. (AP) — Eastern Shoshone Business Council Co-Chairman Leslie Shakespeare has announced his resignation.
Shakespeare says this coming Friday will be his last day on the council, which he has served on for three years.
Shakespeare tells Wyoming Public Radio that another opportunity has come up and it is in the best interest of himself and his family to take it.
Shakespeare says he's not at liberty to talk about his new position just yet, but that it's outside of tribal government.
Since he was elected in 2016, Shakespeare said he is proud to have helped improve the relationship between the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. The two tribes share the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Eastern Shoshone law requires that Shakespeare's council seat be filled through a special election.
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MONTANA-WYOMING RECREATION
Report: Montana outpaces Wyoming on recreation economy
(Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis indicate that Montana outpaces neighboring Wyoming when it comes to recreation economies.
The Billings Gazette reports that using data from 2017, the analysis puts Montana's total outdoor recreation value at $2.3 billion compared to $1.6 billion in Wyoming.
This is the first national report to drill into state-by-state recreation economies.
Rachel VandeVoort, director of the Montana office of Outdoors Recreation, said the state-by-state analysis is helpful in making decisions, such as investing in habitat, protecting public or private lands or contributing funding to new opportunities.
University of Wyoming economics professor Rob Godby attributes the disparity between the two states to Montana's larger population and more urban areas, which means more businesses catering to hunters, anglers, skiers and bikers.
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BISON-GENETIC DIVERSITY
Time ticks away at wild bison genetic diversity
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Evidence is mounting that wild North American bison are gradually shedding their genetic diversity across many of the isolated herds overseen by the U.S. government, weakening future resilience against disease and climate events in the shadow of human encroachment.
Advances in genetics are bringing the concern in to sharper focus.
Preliminary results of a genetic population analysis commissioned by the National Park Service show three small federal conservation herds would almost certainly die off within 200 years under current wildlife management techniques.
Answers to protecting genetic diversity may lie in the transfer of bison between unlike herds or initiatives to create larger herds.
North America's bison squeezed through a genetic bottleneck of fewer than 1,000 animals in the late 1800s.
GORDON-NUCLEAR WASTE
Gov. Gordon open to nuclear waste storage
(Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Gov. Mark Gordon says he is open to Wyoming pursuing a nuclear waste storage facility though he doesn't personally believe it's the best industry for the state.
Gordon told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's editorial board last week that if a good reason can be found for such an industry in Wyoming and it has adequate safeguards, he's not going to stand in its way.
The governor says he will wait to see what the state Legislature finds in its studies of the idea before making a decision.
This coming week in Casper the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee will consider a bill authorizing the governor to negotiate with the U.S. Energy Department to store spent nuclear fuel rods within the state.
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YELLOWSTONE BEARS
Yellowstone: Conflicts involving bears, humans low in 2018
(Information from: The Cody Enterprise, http://www.codyenterprise.com)
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park officials say that despite the challenges of managing visitors eager to photograph wildlife in the park, the number of conflicts involving humans and bears was low in 2018.
Yellowstone biologist Kerry Gunther says in the park's annual bear report that it was a considerable challenge to manage visitors who stopped to view and photograph bears foraging in roadside meadows, creating what she called "large bear jams."
The Cody Enterprise reports rangers were notified of 1,627 grizzly and black bear sightings in the park between March 10, 2018, the first sighting of bear activity of the spring, through Dec. 20, 2018, the last black bear sighting of the year.
Yellowstone officials predict bears will become more habituated to humans as the park welcomes more visitors.
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