Panel abandons griz depredation comp model, awards ranch $339K

An arbitration panel ruled Jan. 27 that Wyoming Game and Fish Department should pay a Hot Springs County rancher $339,927 for stock killed by grizzly bears and mountain lions, almost four times the offer that Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations allowed. The judgment for Josh Longwell of the HD Ranch outside Thermopolis came to 80% of the $422,971 damage claim he submitted to the state wildlife agency. The Game and Fish Department and commission had awarded Longwell $89,498 for the loss of dozens of cattle and sheep in 2018, a figure he appealed to the arbitration panel.  The verdict is the latest development in a 25-year clash between public wildlife values and private property rights in the Owl Creek area. The disputes involve grazing permits, claims of government overreach and the health of a prized herd of bighorn sheep, and the issue has been litigated all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court...MORE