Wyoming News Briefs

PacifiCorp moving forward with study on bird safety near turbines

CHEYENNE (WNE) — PacifiCorp and its research partners are moving forward with a study to evaluate the effects of painting a single wind turbine blade black on 36 different turbines to reduce collision risks to birds flying near the wind turbines.

“This is an extraordinary partnership of scientists, federal regulators, wildlife managers, a nongovernmental organization, academia, developers and utility companies working together to find solutions to reduce the impacts of critical electric infrastructure on birds,” said Travis Brown, director of compliance and permitting for PacifiCorp, in a news release.

The Glenrock study is being supported through a public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Geological Survey, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Invenergy, U.S. Department of Energy, NextEra Energy Resources and Oregon State University. Thus far, the team has painted 28 blades and will complete the remaining eight in 2024.

The study will focus on how the painted blades affect fatality rates for eagles, diurnal (active in daytime) non-eagle birds and bats. 

Experts hypothesize that both eagles and diurnal non-eagle birds can perceive painted blades, resulting in higher turbine avoidance. Recent research in Norway documented a nearly 72% decline in turbine blade-related bird collisions as a result of painting one turbine blade black. Painting blades is thought to visually disrupt what otherwise may appear to the bird as a uniform airspace, making the turbine more visible and helping trigger avoidance behavior.

Campbell County receives $45K from state to treat problematic gambling

GILLETTE (WNE) — Campbell County is accepting proposals from local groups as it looks to distribute $45,553 passed down through the state for the prevention and treatment of problematic gambling behavior.

Proposals can be filled out and submitted on the county’s website, and they’re due back on Jan. 15.

During a public hearing Tuesday, Kay Guire, executive director of Personal Frontiers, said her agency has seen a rise in people struggling with gambling addiction in the past few years because there are so many more opportunities to gamble.

Off-track betting, the Wyoming Lottery and sports betting are just a few of the ways people can legally gamble in Campbell County.

Guire said Personal Frontiers has an addiction therapist on staff, and when it screens people as they come in, gambling is one of the things it screens for.

Gambling addiction and drug or alcohol addiction often go “hand in hand,” she said, adding that when people don’t have money to gamble with, they often turn to drugs to get that high.

Guire estimated that over the last few years, Personal Frontiers has seen “a rise of at least 50% in our clientele” who struggle with gambling.

Commissioner Jim Ford said it’s “a little vexing” that the state has legalized gambling, which has in turn led to people struggling with gambling addiction, and now the state is giving money to communities to solve a problem that otherwise wouldn’t be there if not for the state’s actions.

2023 wing counts indicate an increase in sage grouse reproduction

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Early estimates from Wyoming’s 2023 sage grouse wings indicate increased sage grouse reproduction. Wings from harvested chick and hen sage grouse are collected from hunters — primarily in central and southwest Wyoming — who voluntarily contribute wings by dropping them off at designated collection points during the hunting season. 

Hunters deposited wings from 1,551 chicks and 852 hens in collection barrels. In a preliminary analysis, Wyoming’s 2023 chick-to-hen ratio was 1.82 chicks/hen. 

It’s an increase from previous years when the reproduction ratio was at 0.8 chicks/hen. Based on these numbers, male lek attendance is expected to be slightly higher this spring.

“Good moisture in the spring and summer and quality habitat are the top two contributing factors of chick survival,” said Nyssa Whitford, Wyoming Game and Fish Department sage grouse/sagebrush biologist.

During the first month of life, chicks rely on a diet of high-protein insects with adequate habitat cover. As the bird grows, grass and forbs — like wildflowers — become another important food source. Older birds rely almost exclusively on sagebrush in their diet. 

“Sage grouse are a sagebrush obligate species and could not survive without it,” Whitford said.

Thirty-eight percent of the world’s sage grouse is in Wyoming, and the state supports more than 1,700 known, occupied leks. Wyoming is a sage grouse stronghold, Whitford said, and hunters who harvest birds provide valuable information for management. 

“We appreciate hunters dropping off wings in our collection barrels. This enhances our annual data collection efforts,” Whitford said.

A full analysis for 2023 bird populations will be available in the sage grouse job completion report, posted on the Game and Fish website in the spring.