Over the last few years, as the concern surrounding the impact of Chronic Wasting Disease has increased, we as outfitters and hunters are left searching for answers on how to deal with the impacts of CWD. There is no known cure for the disease which makes it a grave threat to infected herds of deer and elk.

So, what can be done, and what is being done? In 2019 I was asked to be a part of a CWD working group made up of public members. This group held a series of five public meetings in hopes of using input from the working group and the public to generate ideas and recommendations. Those recommendations would, in turn, be submitted to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department in an effort to aid with a CWD Management Plan moving forward. I gained a wealth of knowledge from these meetings and feel like the ideas that were generated will be beneficial for the Wyoming Game & Fish as they attempt to tackle one of the biggest challenges they face.

A few months ago, we featured a post about the Wyoming Hunter Defense Fund (WHDF), a new initiative to help protect sportsmen's to access hunting opportunities in Wyoming, educate the public about the benefits of hunting tourism, and to conserve wildlife habitat across the state. SNS Outfitter and Guides has been dedicated to this effort and our hunters have made generous donations to support WHDF.

We would like to let you know that WHDF has a new website at www.wyominghunterdefensefund.com. Please help spread the word about this effort to help make sure that we continue to have great hunting opportunities in Wyoming for many years to come.

Non-resident sportsmen contribute about $200 million each year to Wyoming’s economy, a number that dwarfs the ski industry and spreads to all parts of the state. And because less than 12% of Wyoming residents hunt big game, we rely heavily on non-residents for wildlife funding. Out of state hunters and fishermen represent a vital part of our state’s economy and recreation opportunities.

Despite these obvious benefits, a Wyoming House Bill was introduced earlier this year that would cut non-resident hunting license numbers in half. This would dry up Wildlife funding and damage hunting opportunities in Wyoming. It would suck $100 million from our local economy each year.

SNS is committed to making sure that HB 112 does not become law. It starts with educating others about the benefits of hunting tourism in Wyoming. We can also make sure that sportsmen have a clear voice representing them. That’s exactly why the Wyoming Hunter Defense Fund (WHDF) was started. WHDF is currently working hard to educate Wyoming’s residents and business community of the financial contributions made by sportsmen to state’s economy, while working to conserve and protect wildlife habitats.

To help support the Wyoming Hunter Defense Fund, every hunter who books with SNS makes a small donation. The funds raised by WHDF will help influence legislative issues, conduct research, communicate, and work to make sure that hunting opportunities continue to be available in Wyoming.

Again, be sure to visit the new website at www.wyominghunterdefensefund.com or keep up with these efforts on Facebook.

We’ve received a great deal of questions recently about a giant crack in the earth that recently appeared on a ranch where we operate in the southern foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. Thinking it was interesting, but not knowing that it would get so much attention, we posted a photo on our Facebook page. After being shared more than 7,000 times, we started receiving a flood of questions and comments.

Here’s what we know so far: we have two outfitted camps on this ranch. We hunt here every year and have been doing so for decades. Our guides first noticed the giant fissure in early October. We couldn’t tell what had caused so much earth to suddenly move, but it certainly had not been there long.

A couple of weeks later, an engineer from Riverton, WY joined us to take a closer look. We walked the perimeter and took estimates on size using a rangefinder. We estimated the crevasse to be about 750 yards long and about 50 yards wide.

According to the engineer, there was a cap rock being lubricated by a spring. Additionally there was a spring running across east to west, which then caused the entire thing to slide north. The engineer estimated about 15 to 20 million yards of movement. According to the USGS, there has been no seismic activity, so we have no other possible explanations at this time.

Since posting the photo on Facebook, we’ve received countless offers from geologists, scientists and reporters from all over the world to come and take a look at this fascinating event. It truly is incredible to look at, a canyon that formed almost overnight – a mountainside that seems to have suddenly collapsed.

As we speak with experts and learn more about it, we will share updates here and on our Facebook page.

SNS Outfitter and Guides is Wyoming’s top outfitter and the largest pronghorn antelope outfitter in North America. With more than 700,000 acres of private land and prime wildlife habitat, we offer more hunting opportunities that anyone else in the state. If you’d like to find out more about our hunts, please visit our website at HuntWyo.com. For availability and specifics, please contact us online to request a free brochure.