Category: Cowboy Common Sense

A column in last week’s paper advocated killing Mountain Goats because they are expanding into the Teton Range and might spread disease which may infect our native bighorn sheep population. These goats may also compete for available habitat. According to the author, the threat appears to be serious enough that a whole specie which is not native to the region should be eradicated. Disease always endangers life forms on planet earth. Whole populations of wildlife, domestic animals, and humans have been targeted by various diseases since the dawn of time. Government agencies are constantly working to control such threats. A…

Continue reading

We are a nation of law. Obeying the rule of law is what gives stability to a society. It is the glue that holds civilization together. When I lived in Korea no one obeyed the traffic laws. The cab drivers drove with their horns and gas pedals. When pulled over the cabbie would apologize to the cop and hand him a matchbox. Inside was money. A bribe. If the cop started to write a ticket the cabbie would hand him another matchbox. Then the cop would wave him on his way. That corruption is the direction this nation is headed.…

Continue reading

Jackson resident Floyd Johnson and I often try to one-up each other with a fish story. The other day he said, “Jonesy, I was fishing Stump Lake and I caught a cutthroat trout 24 inches long.” My kids and I have fished Stump Lake for decades and I know trout can’t possibly grow that large in that one-acre pond near Greys River. But, rather than argue with him, I changed the subject and said, “You remember when we fished Jenny Lake at night last summer and we accidently knocked that Coleman lantern overboard?” “Yes.” “Well, I was fishing Jenny the…

Continue reading

When my daughter, Gina, was just a toddler and learning to talk, she had this thing about wanting to pet everything; chickens, horses, cows, even a coyote that ran across the road. “I wanna pet it,” she would say with a plaintive pleading voice. Her little tongue couldn’t say the “w” so it came out as “I ’anna pet it.” One night we were admiring the rising of a huge full moon. Gina said, “I ’nna pet it.” It’s been a family joke ever since. When we visited Yellowstone recently and saw tourists too close to a buffalo lying by…

Continue reading

My previous column gave examples of federal mismanagement fueling the sagebrush rebellion. Here is another egregious example. In August 2015 the EPA’s attempt to clean up an old abandoned mine in Colorado resulted in a devastating spill of millions of gallons of toxic orange waste into the Animas River contaminating it for many miles and years. Today I will examine objections to transferring public lands to Wyoming and the legalities of so doing. The proposed transfer will only apply to National Forests and BLM land, not to National Parks or Monuments. Objections, such as the following, should currently be leveled…

Continue reading

A few days ago I was driving from Jackson toward the Airport. I had to be very careful as I came up behind two people on bicycles. Oncoming traffic made it necessary for me to slow down and wait to pass. The highway shoulder was narrow in that spot. After going around them, I observed the Jackson to Teton National Park bicycle pathway, which cost millions. It was vacant with seasonal closure signs. The weather was beautiful, perfect for an afternoon bicycle ride. Without snow, no elk were in sight. So why close the pathway? Allegedly it is because of…

Continue reading

One morning I found that a bird had built its nest in the parted mane of Jumbo, our gentle draft horse. I called our veterinarian to tell him of the novelty. He claimed he had a sure-fire way of solving the problem. I said, “That’s easy; just destroy the nest and shoo the bird away.” He said that would rile the bird lovers. Too risky. He advised me to sprinkle brewer’s yeast over the nest and the mane. Screwy “solution” but I tried it. Sure enough, within hours the bird and its nest were gone and Jum was back to…

Continue reading

On May 23 Jackson Hole rancher Russ Lucas went to his pasture to investigate his bellowing cows. As he approached the herd he could see they were riled and agitated. They were gathered around the bloody carcass of one of their calves and were vocally upset. A pack of wolves had killed and eaten the week-old calf during the night. The ground around the carcass was all torn up where the cows had milled about, trying to get courage enough to drive the wolves away. All they could do was watch. The mama cow had been bitten on the hind…

Continue reading

The Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics has petitioned the Wyoming Supreme Court to remove Ruth Neely from her positions as Municipal Court Judge and Circuit Court Magistrate. She has served Sublette County Wyoming for 21 years with nary a complaint filed against her. Her crime? Expressing her religious belief. In 2014 a federal district court legalized same-sex marriage in Wyoming. Ned Donovan, reporting for the Sublette Examiner at the time, phoned Neely and “asked if she was excited to be able to start performing same-sex marriages.” Judge Neely, distracted at the time and therefore not giving this deliberate…

Continue reading

Over a lifetime of dealing with federal land agents, I’ve come to the conclusion that their bureaucratic system discourages common sense. At the White Creek trailhead, 20 miles up Greys River, there is a turnaround spot which is popular for camping in summer and fall. There is no outhouse there, and if nature calls you go into the bushes to do your duty. You bury yours, but others are not so considerate. The area is a health hazard and an eyesore. So I suggested to a Boy Scout that he approach the Forest Service (FS) about digging and constructing an…

Continue reading