Wildland firefighters typically log 16-hour days for weeks at a time, burning 4,000 to 6,000 calories a day while carrying heavy backpacks. Yet despite the hardships and the history, a mandated pay raise in June 2021, spurred by President Joe Biden, brought the minimum wage for federal wildland firefighters up to a mere $15 an hour. Enter a temporary order from President Biden raising that base pay rate by 50 percent. Put in place in August 2022 and retroactive to the previous October as part of a hotly contested package of infrastructure-funding policies, the pay raise was funded only until Sept 30, 2023, after which pay for wildland firefighters drops back to 2020 levels.

Guest column by State Rep. Tony Locke opposing the proposed rate hikes by Rocky Mountain Power.

Weekly guest columnist Trena Eiden on the "glories" of aging.

At its Aug. 8 meeting, the Joint Education Committee will discuss and debate a bill (24LSO-0052) on whether the State of Wyoming should create an Education Savings Account (ESA) program to provide families with funding for early childhood and private school.

Mental health challenges have become increasingly prevalent in our courts, schools and society in general. In 2021, Wyoming had the highest suicide rate in the nation, and has retained one of the worst suicide rates for several years. I advocated for the creation of this taskforce, and I am a member.

Imagine, if you will, a world where six megacorporations are the only authorized distributors of information and everything else is branded as fake news and banned from the public eye. This is not an old episode of the Twilight Zone. This is real and happening now.

If you are a supporter of big game migration in Sublette County, please contact Gov. Gordon or other wildlife-related officials and let them know. Time is of the essence.

The state of Wyoming, in a gas and oil lease auction in July, included a state parcel (#194) despite the requests to exclude it based on this crucial fact: it is the main New Fork River crossing for pronghorn traveling from Trappers Point across the Mesa. It is critical that development not take place on this lease. Given the tragic loss of up to 75 percent of the pronghorn that use this path (Wyofile, May 23, 2023) we should do everything possible to make this iconic herd survive and thrive.

The Etna, Wyo., community is fighting the decision of their elected officials in order to preserve the peace and quiet of their town. The Lincoln County Commissioners have approved the extension of a gravel pit extension into Etna. Residents say this decision is illegal, without merit, and would open Pandora’s box.

Recently I was driving along listening to the radio when Rod Stewart came on belting an oldie I was familiar with. Then immediately after, I heard The Band Perry entertaining me with one of their songs. As I listened, I cleverly put the two songs together in my mind and couldn’t wait to get home to croon my new ditty to Gar. Bursting through the door, I hurriedly strode straight to Gar’s office and cornered him at his desk. He started to stand, I presume to hug me, but I put my hands on his shoulders and settled him back in his chair. Then feeling very foxy, I chortled, “I have an eschewed version of a couple songs and you are gonna be so proud.” He never knows if he should relax and enjoy the show or bolt for the nearest exit. He’s dealt with me and my shenanigans for so long that if I was a good person, I’d almost feel sorry for him.

In character, we are not harmonious with everyone. We all have, even if just slightly, different beliefs and ideas. This is all we must understand. We are different. We don’t have to agree, and it’s certainly okay to disagree, but when disagreeing we must have respect for the other person’s belief.

That increase would mean over $140 million of new annual revenue for Rocky Mountain Power, but it also means the average customer will be paying $204 more per year. Rocky Mountain Power serves many Wyoming communities including Pinedale, Big Piney, Marbleton, Kemmerer, Green River, Rock Springs, Lander, Casper, Cody, Worland, Douglas and Laramie.

To reduce the elk population, these hunts could be outside of the normal season and focused on private land-dwelling herds. Last winter, wildlife managers authorized a few hunts on ranches south of Laramie. Thirty-two hunters killed 39 elk during the month of February. Wyoming hadn’t held a depredation hunt since 2004.

As we were basking in the joy of treason and celebrating our independence from English treachery on the Fourth of July, a judge issued an injunction to protect free speech on social media platforms.

All the Bible scholars will remember that in the Book of Judges, Samson had great strength; slaying a lion with his bare hands and decimating an entire Philistine army using only a donkey’s jawbone. In dedication to the Lord, Samson, a Nazarite, never cut his hair, and in that hair, God gave him his great power. The Philistines weren’t very happy that they couldn’t counteract Samson’s force so decided to utilize the services of a harlot named Delilah. She was paid a hefty sum to find out how to take down this mighty, though sinful, warrior. Samson told her his secret of strength, so as he slept, Delilah had his locks shorn. He woke and due to his breaking of vows to God (which had little to do with his haircut), he was left as weak as any man.

I am a retired science teacher and taught in Pinedale for 25 years. I’d like to share with you an incredible experience my students and I witnessed on an early May morning, several years ago. We hiked up to the Fremont Lake outlet and dam structure where we were actively engaged in the CCC Ponds restoration project. Excited and chattering, the seventh-graders were eager to start their assigned jobs as they hiked along. But as we approached the bridge we were suddenly stunned into silence. We quickly sat on the ground, completely mesmerized by the most intimate and wild encounter we had ever seen. Just above the bridge, in the narrow outlet, were about 30 mule deer quietly slipping into the frigid water. Their heads just above the surface; they swam. Nostrils flaring, mouths opened, gulping the crisp morning air. We could hear their little grunting sounds as they swam. This was their time. They knew the way, taught to them by their mothers and grandmothers before them.

I’ve watched the annual migration over several years, seeing mule deer attempt to avoid humans and pursuing canines, while navigating their two crossing areas, near the Fremont Lake outlet and irrigation/dam control structure/pedestrian bridge. Within the past two years, two additional residential structures have been constructed on the east side of Fremont Lake in the Lake Ridge subdivision, adjacent to a historical resting spot for migrating ungulates.

Wyoming’s deer and pronghorn populations will rebound if we prioritize the habitat and migration corridors these animals need to thrive. Research from the University of Wyoming’s Monteith Shop shows that mule deer with quality summer range pack on more fat reserves and are far more likely to survive harsh winters. For western Wyoming’s deer herds, much of that summer range lies in the BTNF. So how can we, as sportsmen and sportswomen, help?

This year’s Independence Day marks the 247th commemoration of the Declaration of Independence and freedom from British rule. Since those amazing signers’ time, we’ve grown from 2.5 million people to 330 million and with advances in health and sanitation, child mortality has been cut from more than 45 percent to under 1 percent. We live an average of 35 years longer and have built almost 4 million miles of paved roads. We have over 5,000 public airports and electricity powers our country, with 85 percent of households having access to broadband internet and nearly every home has a computer.

I always try to live with the concept of mindfulness. I prefer living in the moment. I will plan for the future, but I do not worry about it. Worrying about what will happen in the future only diminishes the now. As for the past? I will always remember what has been, but I do not live there.