Yellowstone fears visitors are too bold around animals
After a peaceful quarter century, bears in Yellowstone National park killed two visitors last summer. Now, park officials are adamantly warning visitors to forget the sense of security they feel at zoos and amusement parks because Yellowstone is a wild place. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez reports.
Safety official tries to help Wyoming reduce traffics deaths
One of the issues surrounding workplace safety is the number of serious highway crashes related to work. In fact, 2010 statistics show that better than half of the fatalities in Wyoming were transportation related. Colonel Mark Trostel is the former head of the Colorado Highway Patrol. During his time that state went from have one of the lowest traffic safety records to the fifth best. He is currently working to improve Encana’s traffic safety record and so far so good. Trostel has been chosen to help Wyoming find ways to improve its ranking. We caught up with him during a recent presentation in Gillette. Trostel says the first thing Wyoming needs to do is to get more information.
New efforts focus on restoring sage grouse habitat, to prevent endangered species listing
Sage grouse have been dying out in Wyoming and across the west for years, and the bird is being considered for endangered species listing. As a result, Wyoming has made a major push to preserve prime sage grouse habitat. But recently, scientists have been warning that conservation may not be enough. Studies have recommended that in addition to protecting habitat that’s still intact, the state needs to restore areas that have been disturbed. So now, a variety of agencies are working to come up with a plan for large-scale restoration. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden reports.
Research indicates sage grouse dislike human-made noise
As we’ve just heard, there’s a lot of concern over declining sage grouse numbers. And a lot of effort is going into keeping the birds from being included on the endangered species list. Part of that effort involves studying which aspects of human activity are most problematic. A new study published in the journal Conservation Biology examines how human-made noise – particularly the noise associated with gas development – affects sage grouse. We’re joined now by Jessica Blickley, one of the authors of the report. She says her study is part of an ongoing effort to understand exactly what it is about energy development most affects the birds.
Laramie residents discuss what they want to hear from candidates
During this election season candidates for public office are discussing a number of topics. We asked Wyoming Public Radio’s Madison Williams to ask people in Laramie what issues they’d like to hear candidates discuss.
Democratic Candidate for U-S House Chris Henrichsen discusses health care, energy issues and why he wants to be Wyoming’s next Congressman
Casper College Political Science Professor Chris Henrichsen is running for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. He joins us for the first time to discuss his campaign and some of the issues facing the state and nation….
Laramie’s Mark Jenkins discusses his recent Everest trip
Laramie resident Mark Jenkins recently returned to Wyoming after climbing Mount Everest. Jenkins is a travel writer for Outside Magazine and a contributor to National Geographic … and he joins us now to discuss his experience. He says Everest expeditions are long -- typically two months or even longer.
