Reporter's Notes

Idaho wolves

Just days after signing a deal to take over many of the day-to-day wolf management responsibilities, Idaho officials announced a plan to kill as much as 75 percent of north-central Idaho's wolf population in order to help an ailing elk population. According to an Associated Press account by John Miller, up to 51 wolves would be killed, if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service okays the proposal, which state officials plan to formally propose in March.

Park policies

As part of the continuing effort to involve the public inthe development of an update of the management policies for national parks, the Intermountain Region Office of the National Park Service will host an informational open house about the draft policies. The open house will be held at the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 3 to 7 p.m.

NPS management policies guide management decisions at national parks and were last updated five years ago. A draft of the updated management policies was developed during 2005 by NPS career professionals in response to interest by Congress and the Department of the Interior to ensure NPS policies promote management excellence and reflect the recent changes in law and regulations. The draft management policies are available for review and comment online through Feb. 18 at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/waso.

Water planning

Randy Bolgiano and Ben Bracken are the representatives from the Green River Basin to work on the state-wide water plan that will combine the recently completed basin-by-basin water plans. Bolgiano is a Boulder-area rancher and irrigator with a keen interest in water issues.

Thomson Lakes

The United States Board on Geographic Names has recorded one new name and one name change for landmarks in Sublette County. Sublette County Surveyor Paul Scherbel was notified that the Upper Green River region's Thompson Lakes has officially been renamed to Thomson Lakes to honor William Leiper (Lee) Thomson, local rancher, outfitter and hunting guide.

Bailey Cone, in the Chimney Butte area, has been named for Ira and Emma Bailey who homesteaded in the area in 1921.