SVI Media is a member of the Wyoming News Exchange. These stories come courtesy of the WNE.
Lawsuit demands updated grizzly recovery plan
PINEDALE (WNE) — While appeals of the 2018 court decision leading to Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzly bear relisting continue, another lawsuit filed against federal agencies is taking shape, in the same Montana courtroom.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a complaint in Missoula’s U.S. District Court on June 27 against Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Margaret Everson “for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.”
“Specifically, the (FWS) has failed to prepare a timely grizzly bear five-year status review in violation of … the ESA, failed to update or amend its outdated grizzly bear recovery plan, … failed to evaluate or pursue further grizzly bear recovery in violation of … the ESA and unreasonably denied the Center (for Biological Diversity) 2014 petition for an updated and amended grizzly bear recovery plan in violation of the APA,” the complaint says.
The complaint states that the updated grizzly bear recovery plan is long overdue; the FWS prepared one in 1982 that was revised in 1993 and supplemented after that, according to the document.
Supplements were prepared in 1996, 1997, 2007, 2017 and 2018, it says. In 2011, the FWS had released a five-year status review and “found that the 1993 Recovery Plan was no longer based upon the best available science and needed to be updated” and “specifically noted that (it) must evaluate other areas of the grizzly bear’s historic range in the lower 48 states to determine their habitat suitability for grizzly bear recovery, including historic habitat in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon and southern Washington. But the (FWS) never updated the plan in the manner that (FWS) itself had said was necessary,” the complaint says.
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Man accused of holding wife hostage gets status hearing
CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man accused of kidnapping and beating his wife had a status hearing in Laramie County District Court on Monday.
Daniel Richard Doby Jr. is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault and battery, and other related charges.
Doby’s attorney stood for him in court Monday due to health reasons. His trial was originally set for June 4, but had to be rescheduled due to his dialysis.
His case is set to be heard in front of District Judge Steven K. Sharpe.
On July 24, 2017, the Cheyenne Police Department responded to a call where the victim escaped her kidnapping and was at her mother’s house.
When police arrived, they noted the victim had several extensive injuries to her face and body. Her eyes were swollen and one was swollen shut, and she had bruises and smeared or dried blood on her face, throat, arms and legs.
There were also cuts scattered throughout her body, and a chunk of hair appeared to be ripped out of her head.
The victim told police her husband of three weeks, Doby, had held her hostage since July 21, 2017, at their home. She said he stopped her from leaving the home several times, and hit and strangled her.
She said the two got into an argument July 21, 2017, when she accidentally called Doby by her ex-husband’s name. Doby then severally assaulted her.
The victim was able to escape when Doby fell asleep after over 70 hours of holding her hostage.
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Game and Fish relocates grizzlies
CODY (WNE) — Another day, another grizzly taking a Game and Fish-sponsored trip.
The latest all-expenses-paid relocation was from the Pinedale area to the Mormon Creek drainage some 5 miles outside the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 1.
This was the third relocation authorized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that put G&F to work capturing and sending a grizzly to fresh territory.
The goal of the move over such a long distance is to make it more difficult for the bear to become a repeat offender resulting in being euthanized.
The sub-adult female bear became the target of officials after killing cattle. The grizzly invaded a Forest Service grazing allotment north of Pinedale. One of the other two recently relocated grizzlies from Pinedale committed similar offenses.
“We try to move them to the North Fork,” said Dusty Lasseter, the G&F Bearwise program coordinator in Cody.
The point is to remove a bear to a spot where there is no cattle allotment area and it is more difficult to resume its bad habits.
“That is the idea,” Lasseter said.
The clustered group of troublesome bears needing removal from their home range collected in such a short time at the end of July and beginning of August, however, is not unusual, Lasseter said.
Nor is it uncommon for grizzlies to prey on cattle near Pinedale and face repercussions.
“There’s a lot of livestock depredation over there,” he said.
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Wyoming this Weekend, Aug. 9-11
By the Wyoming News Exchange
A celebration of Wyoming’s outdoor recreation tops this weekend’s list of events around Wyoming.
The first annual Wind River Days, an event to celebrate Wyoming’s outdoor lifestyle, will be held in Lander through Sunday and will feature a trade fair showcasing cutting edge outdoor tools, gear and gadgets.
A variety of live music, beer, games and food trucks will also be available at the event.
Other events scheduled for the weekend include:
Sinks Canyon Kids Extreme Caving in Boulder Choke Cave near Lander on Friday;
Sweetwater Blues ’n Brews in Rock Springs on Saturday;
The Fireman’s Buffalo Barbecue in Dubois on Saturday;
The “Color Me River Run” in Lander on Saturday;
The Dubois Speed Goats Motocross Race on Saturday
The Riverfest Art and Music Festival in Lander on Saturday;
A panel discussion on “An Interesting Question: The Legacy of Suffrage” in South Pass City on Saturday;
An attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most sparklers lit at one time in Gillette on Saturday, and
The annual Kirwin Ghost Town tour in Meeteetse on Sunday.
For more information on these and other events, please visit the Wyoming Tourism Division’s website at TravelWyoming.com.
