Green River Valley Cattlemen’s Association’s annual event offers education and celebration
The Green River Valley Cattlemen’s Association (GRVCA) hosted a wide range of topics at its public informational meetings on March 6-7 at Marbleton Town Hall, closing with the annual banquet on the last night.
On both afternoons, attendees discussed new virtual fencing systems, genetic brisket testing, GPS tags, market outlooks, livestock predator fees, public lands grazing and new legislation.
Water update
With uncertainties about the near future of water in the Colorado River Basin, one timely update came from Travis McInnis of the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office. He discussed the possibility of irrigation curtailment, which the Wyoming Constitution says can only be voluntary, not mandatory.
A settlement among seven western states is pending for the Colorado River Compact, according to McInnis and others. None of the states want to sue, but some are preparing to go to court.
“We could be in curtailment,” Mike Vickrey said. “It could happen at the end of this water year – in October. If it happens, the whole basin could go into curtailment.”
Voluntary water conservation of 25,000 to 30,000 acre-feet could include payments to ranchers for using less irrigation water than permitted, which the Wyoming Department of Agriculture supported several years ago in western Wyoming.
“It’s not a huge hit for Wyoming to do it,” he said. “Wyoming still doesn’t use all of its water.”
Sublette County Conservation District Manager Mike Henn, who has participated in water compact talks, said the environmental impact statement has numerous alternatives, and he expects a record of decision before Oct. 1.
The State Engineer’s Office has more information about and applications for the voluntary water conservation program, under the “Telemetry” section on its website.
Water rights will be filled from oldest to newest, and a landowner might need to relocate a ditch. New or improved headgates with accurate flow measuring devices will be required and enforced, McInnis said.
“If the headgate is on another person’s private land, do you need permission to put in a new ditch?” one man asked.
“You always have access to your ditch bank for maintenance,” McInnis said. “Get your water rights in order. Permit maps could be 100 years old.”
Albert Sommers said the Upper Green River Basin’s water rights have not been “trued up.”
“Yes, few are trued up,” McInnis said. “Compare satellite images to meadows. You have the ability to move water rights. You can move senior water rights to junior land so your water rights are going in order.”
Predator fees
Outgoing GRVCA President Kristy Wardell invited a panel representing different agencies to discuss whether the Sublette County Predator Board should raise their predator fees to one dollar in change-of-ownership brand inspections.
Sublette County Commissioners have given the board up to $50,000 credit each year.
For countless years, the fee has remained 60 cents a head for cattle and 20 cents for sheep – the only county to do so – making it ineligible to participate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal Damage Management Board (ADMB).
Sublette County’s biggest livestock predators are grizzly bears and gray wolves.
Gray wolves are managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and USDA’s Wildlife Services (WS) in the county’s northwest Trophy Game Management Area (TGMA) and in the state’s predator zone in the south portions of the county.
Wardell is also the predator board’s new secretary-treasurer and a rancher in the predator zone.
“If we don’t raise the predator fee we’re going to be out of business,” she said.
The fees coming back to the county predator board are about $20,000, which could rise to $60,000, Wardell said.
ADMB Director Jerry Johnson appeared via Zoom, with Sublette County Predator Board President Pete Arambel, WGFD’s Clint Atkinson, WS Manager Brady Smith and GRVCA Rancher France Clark.
Arambel said he favors raising predator fees to one dollar and joining the ADMB.
Conversation centered on how to join with the ADMB, how it funds projects and if a full-time trapper is needed.
Smith said a good employee needs stability and full-time pay.
“Why do you need a trapper for wolves in the predator area,” asked Longtime Predator Board Member and Bondurant Rancher Kevin Campbell. He referred to a retired pilot who, with an aerial gunner, killed hundreds of coyotes.
Smith said a trapper is still needed on the ground to work with a pilot.
Joel Bousman, whose family ranches against the Wind River Mountains, said their landscape and situation are “totally different.”
“The majority is wilderness,” he said, noting it’s nearly to impossible to find killed livestock.
“Our only option is to have a trapper full time. We don’t get paid for the wolf kills like the guys on the Upper Green River. I’m totally willing to pay one dollar a head. What we need to stay in business is to keep the wolves down,” Bousman added.
Clark reported talking to about 30 livestock owners and the need for a full-time trapper “was very area specific.” The farther north he went in the county, he said, the less a need was seen for a trapper.
Several people voiced favor for a GRVCA resolution to support one-dollar fees, but Vickrey cautioned against the association “taking a position” on a Sublette County Predator Board action which takes place every December at sparsely attended meetings.
“So if you want to go vote, be there,” Clark said.
Special guests
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), a long-time attendee at the annual event, provided a Congressional update.
Although he said he had a 10-page speech, Barrasso spoke about the “endurance, resilience and determination” of Wyomingites he met at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Wyoming Wednesdays in Congress and two weeks ago on a ship with soldiers who battled against Iran.
He switched to fellow U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’s (R-WY) handout which described the benefits of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Wyoming’s incredible resources of oil and natural gas.
“Gas was five dollars a gallon when Joe Biden was president,” he said. “We are number one in energy in the world. There will be a blip due to the Iran move, but I’ll never forget when Biden said climate was more important than energy.”
With U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik at the helm, Barrasso hopes for legislation to delist grizzlies.
“Nesvik is on it,” Barrasso said. “That’s why he’s there.”
Next, Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA), went over a list of state bills – both supported and opposed by WSGA – and explained their fates.
After another GRVCA business meeting, new President Walden Campbell of Bondurant welcomed several hundred diners to the annual banquet at the Sublette County Fairgrounds.
Riverbend Ranch donated New York strips, raffle tickets flew, The Sundowners played for dancers of all ages and the crowd stood for GRVCA’s and the Green River Valley Cowbelles/Cattlewomen’s achievement awards.
Joy Ufford is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
