Briefs

Cattle clean

As of Tuesday morning, all cattle undergoing the second round of brucellosis testing in five quarantined herds in Sublette County had once again tested free of the disease, according to Dr. Bret Combs of the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. With testing expected to be completed by noon today, Thursday, things were looking good for declaring the herds healthy and releasing them from quarantine.

In addition to bleeding the cattle for brucellosis, federal and state animal health officials, along with herd owners, worked to adult booster vaccinate all but one herd.

Grizz killed on Sweeney Creek

Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden Dennis Almquist confirmed that a black bear hunter hunting over a legal bait shot and killed a young male grizzly bear on Sweeney Creek north of Pinedale on Monday.

Sweeney Creek lies northeast toward the Continental Divide from Fremont Lake, an area of high summer recreational use. The area is about 15 miles from the town of Pinedale and was not known to by the Wyoming game and Fish Department to harbor grizzlies until Monday's incident.

Almquist said while the matter is under investigation by both the state wildlife agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he does suspect there will be some type of charges filed in the incident. Almquist said the hunter, whose name he declined to release at this time, apparently was hunting over a bait when a cinnamon-colored bear arrived on the scene. The hunter shot the bear, only to learn that it was a grizzly bear, which is protected as a threatened species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act.

Election filing deadline

Candidates seeking to have their names appear on the Aug. 17 primary election ballot should be aware that the filing period is from May 13 through May 28. Seats that appear on the ballot are U.S. representative, state senate seats from districts 14 and 16, state representative seats for districts 20 and 22, and one county commission seat.

To be elected during the primary are two rural health care district trustee positions as well.

For more information, contact the county clerk's office.

Johnston re-election

Sublette County Commission Chairman Gordon Johnston notified members of the press Friday that although he'll be unable to file within the first few days of the opening of the filing period, he will soon file for re-election to the commission.

Questar's proposal

Questar Exploration and Production Company and Wexpro Company, collectively referred to as Questar, have officially submitted a year-round drilling program proposal to the Bureau of Land Management. Questar's proposal, already well-publicized and commented on, and the subject of numerous meetings and discussions, involves the development of three winter drilling pads on the Mesa, with two drilling rigs operating on each pad. Up to 16 wells could be drilled from each well pad, under Questar's proposal.

Questar's April 28 letter to BLM Pinedale Field Manager Prill Mecham asks for a decision on the winter drilling program, which would take place on crucial big game winter range. Part of Questar's proposal involves continuance of a study of the impact of drilling operations on wintering mule deer.