How does the old saying go?  "Clues in the News."  When you want to know what's happening, keep your eyes and ears on the news, and you'll get a good idea of what is really going on.

Take the state of Wyoming.  A state on the verge of becoming economically irrelevant.  A state that still wants to keep believing that global warming is not a thing.  A state that still is all in on - the disappearing - oil, gas and cattle industries.
Keep in mind that only 3% of the U.S. beef cattle production comes out of Wyoming; some of which is raised thanks to taxpayer subsidized grazing on public lands, through the "Public Lands Grazing Program."  And further, raising private cattle on public lands where grizzlies and wolves roam, may not be the smartest idea.  Something will have to give: either the native wildlife will have to go, or the cattle.  At the moment, cattle is winning.

Taking a step back, the most prized asset Wyoming has, is its nature.   Scenic areas and its wildlife bring millions of visitors from all around the world to Wyoming annually to gaze at geysers, bison, wolves and grizzlies.  Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are the two most famous examples responsible for most of the incoming tourism dollars.   In a state like Wyoming where its historically dominating industries have been on the decline for decades, the growing tourism industry is now one of its main economic drivers.

The logical result?  Preserving nature and wildlife drives political decisions in Wyoming, right?

Think again.

When a local Wyoming man tortured a wolf in a bar in small-town Daniel, the world was outraged.  Wyoming politicians promised to take action.

In the political world of nature and wildlife, there are basically two sides.  To put it bluntly: you're either a rancher / hunter / outfitter, or, you're a tree-hugging conservationist.

You either stand for unbridled human expansion and human domination of nature; which includes protecting cattle at all costs at the expanse of the local wildlife, even if that means allowing cattle to graze in national forests and then blaming the occasional grizzly or wolf for killing said cow;

or, you are of the opinion that nature is capable of doing a good job managing itself and humanity is a part of nature, not its absolute ruler and manager, and wildlife deserves to have the opportunity to play its role: not every square foot of land needs to be developed for humanity's sake.

Wyoming politics is still firmly in the back pocket of lobbyists who believe in the first.

Clues in the News:

• 2014 - 2018 - 2022:
  
  Mark Gordon's campaign to (successfully) run for Wyoming governor was funded overwhelmingly by one industry donor: agriculture; which includes the cattle industry; followed far behind by the energy industry.
  
  Source: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=17946343&default=candidate
  
   
• Mark Gordon's main donor; agriculture and cattle, under the leadership of lobbyist Jim Magagna; successfully lobby for the creation of a "predator zone" in Wyoming. As soon as grey wolves were removed from the Federal Endangered Species List, Wyoming declared 85% of the state a "predator zone" in which predators could be killed without a hunting season or the need to buy a hunting license.  There are no rules as to how many predators anyone can kill, or how.
  
  Source: https://jhalliance.org/2024/05/01/wyoming-vs-wolf
   
• As governor, Mark Gordon appoints the members of the Game & Fish commission.  The Wyoming Game & Fish commission is responsible for policy-making to manage Wyoming wildlife.  As such, you expect the commissioners to carry biology degrees or similar, or have experience in successfully managing wildlife populations.
  
  The current commissioners, appointed by governor Gordon, are:
  - Richard Ladwig: hunter, Airforce veteran
  - Ralph Brokaw: rancher
  - Mark Jolovich: hunter, owner of a water distribution company
  - John Masterson: lawyer
  - Kenneth Roberts: hunter, judicial clerk
  - Rusty Bell: Taxidermy shop owner, hunter
  - Ashlee Lundvall: rancher
  
  Source: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/commission
  
   
• July 2023:
  "When Jim Magagna says Jump, the (wildlife) agencies say 'how high'."
  
  Source: https://wyofile.com/a-sheepman-lobbying-for-cows-jim-magagna-remains-a-political-force-at-80/
  
   
• February 2024:
  
  After Wyoming's Predator Zone creation is responsible for the killing of predators in 85% of the state, the elk population grows out of control.  Kept under control naturally mostly by wolves and grizzlies, no predators logically now mean too many elk.  The same lobbyist, Jim Magagna of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, who pushed for the creation of the Predator Zone is now pushing politicians to reimburse ranchers for the grass that the "too many" elk are eating while on private ranch land.
  
  Source: https://wyofile.com/elk-and-cattle-both-eat-grass-lawmakers-mull-compensating-ranchers-for-more-than-the-grass-is-worth/
  
  Update July 2024: https://wyofile.com/rancher-compensation-bill-for-hungry-elk-rises-from-ashes-as-proposed-rule-change/
   
• April 2024:
  To address "too many elk" on public lands in the vast Predator Zone, Wyoming's Game & Fish hires a professional elk killer.
  
  Source: https://wyofile.com/hired-guns-unlimited-tags-wyoming-levels-up-elk-killing-efforts/
  
   
• April 2024:
  
  It is reported that Cody Roberts worked with the very people who are in charge of prosecuting him: Wyoming Game & Fish.
  
  Source: https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/accused-wyoming-wolf-tormentor-worked-with-state-before-daniel-incident/article_05b75968-0757-11ef-bde4-7f01616f4df1.html
  
   
• June 2024:
  
  After the Cody Roberts wolf torture outrage and all the promises made by local politicians that indiscriminately running down predators like wolves and coyotes with snowmobiles has no place in Wyoming (or anywhere for that matter), we find ourselves only a few months later and, under the influence of rock star lobbyist Jim Magagna of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, who (surprise, surprise) finds himself on the legislative working group appointed to discuss the recent torture of the wolf, the group leans towards further allowing the practice. 
  The discussion has shifted away from the public request of reviewing Wyoming's "predator zone" (in which predators can be killed at any time without a license; including protected Colorado wolves who take one step across the Wyoming border) to keeping everything in place with the only "change" that predators should be killed "quickly."
  
  Source: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/06/25/running-predators-down-with-snowmobiles-could-stay-legal-in-wyoming/
  
   
• June 2024:
  
  For every dollar a Wyoming resident pays in taxes (Wyoming has no state income tax), they receive two dollars worth of public services in return.  This is thanks to the state's minerals, similar to Alaska residents.  As a Republican state, they are ok accepting "entitlement programs" as long as they don't have to pay for them in taxes.  But the music is about to stop: Wyoming's minerals are finite and its revenues are on the decline.  For example, since 2008, coal production has fallen by half.
  Will Wyoming politicians start realizing that nature tourism is the new gold rush, and when will they start prioritizing its protection over simply choosing to please their political donors from the dying mineral and agricultural industries?
  
  Source: https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_102b6e25-03d2-594b-8b99-e8903e2b7874.html
   
• September 2024:
  
  The legislative working group, assigned to make legislative suggestions to "prevent" the wolf torture that happened in Daniel, WY, and which upset most of the world, has made its recommendation.
  No, Wyoming's predator zone isn't on the chopping block.
  No, running down (and running over) predators with a snowmobile isn't going to be disallowed.  That's just too much fun!
  Jim Magagna's group has suggested actually allowing things like running over a predator with a snowmobile by explicitly writing them into the law.  Stopping someone from running over a coyote or wolf would be a crime.
  
  Source: https://wyofile.com/the-right-to-snowmobile-over-wildlife-could-soon-be-explicitly-protected-in-wyoming/
  
   
• September 2024: the cattle lobbyists win once again.  The proposal dating back to February 2024 to reimburse ranchers for grass that wildlife eats on 'their' land, will go into effect.
  
  So, to summarize: the ranching industry successfully lobbied the government ...
  • to pay below-market grazing rights on public lands and get the tax payer to pay for the killing of millions of wild animals annually which could form a threat to the private cattle grazing on public lands, and if a cow should get eaten by a wolf or bear, the tax payer still reimburses the rancher.
     
  • to create a predator zone in most of the state of Wyoming that allows ranchers to kill all predators, without the need for a hunting season or hunting license paid to the state.  This leads to more prey animals in said predator zone, like elk.  Ranchers had already successfully lobbied the government to have the tax payer pay for "elk killers," to shoot the abundance of elk.  Additionally, now ranchers will get reimbursed by the tax payer for the grass this "abundance of elk" will eat on the rancher's land.
    
    You can't make this stuff up if you tried.  And, our wildlife pays the price.
    
    Source: https://wyofile.com/wyoming-wildlife-officials-ok-rancher-payment-plan-for-elk-eaten-grass/