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Please be on the lookout for this stolen dirt bike.
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Someone stole Taylor’s Dirt Bike! (posted 9/5/10)
Asking the public’s help to please be on the lookout for it! Clark Dyess
Hello Everyone- I hope this is the only time I ever have to come to you all with very sad and bad news. Last night (Saturday, September 4) between 10:30 and Midnight someone stolen Taylor's dirt bike out of the back of my wife's pickup. We were awake and watching TV. We never heard anything and the funny thing is, our dogs never barked. We had house lights on and Heidi's truck was parked right underneath our porch light and the crooks still stole it! The really strange thing is that these low lifes stole Taylor's dirt bike and race fuel can, but left behind the other dirt bike that was in the back of the truck that belongs to a riding buddy of Taylor's! We found the fuel can about a block down from our house in some bushes along side a yard fence. If I can ask everyone to put out the word to everyone they know and be on the look out for Taylor's bike, I would greatly appreciate it! The bike is a 2006 Yamaha YZ250 with custom graphics and blue anodized engine parts, footpegs and shifter. I am attaching a photo of the bike to this email and if anyone sees this bike, please call me!!! We are just sick about this! Taylor is training so hard for this upcoming snocross season and riding his dirt bike is such a VERY IMPORTANT part of his training! We just don't know what to do. Right now, we just can't afford to buy another dirt bike, we are just too close to race season and we are needing to save our money for the upcoming season. Things are coming into place for Taylor to have the biggest opportunity of his racing career that will be released in days to come and things are set for Taylor have the most unbelievable season yet and then something like this happens and feels like such a insurmountable set back! Thank you to all of you for your help and pray that we find the Taylor's motorcycle or figure out a way for Taylor to continue to practice and train on one! Clark Dyess
www.taylordyess.com snowfireracing@yahoo.com
Sublette County Sheriff’s Office: 307-367-4378
Turns out, it’s Grandma in the bag (posted 9/4/10) Wyoming Highway Patrol
FARSON – Troopers may get into some dangerous, hazardous, suspicious and/or even bizarre situations. On Wednesday, September 1st, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers got into one of the bizarre.
Two male individuals from Worland, the driver and his passenger, were arrested during a traffic stop just east of Farson on WYO 28 shortly after 7:00 a.m. The two subjects were found to be in possession of trace amounts of marijuana, syringes with residue, drug paraphernalia and multiple pieces of unknown prescription medications.
In addition to the known substances there was a small zip lock baggie that had been placed inside a Crown Royal bag that the Troopers located in the center console of the vehicle. Inside the baggie was a powdery substance that the Troopers were suspicious of, but not exactly sure what it was. It was thought that the powdery substance might be either poor quality cocaine or methamphetamine.
After scrutinizing the powdery substance, questioning the two vehicle occupants, and checking with the vehicle owner, it turned out that the small baggie contained the cremated ashes of the vehicle owner’s grandmother. The vehicle owner, who was not present at the time, confirmed that she was very close to her grandmother and that she always keeps her nearby in the console.
The driver and passenger have been charged with misdemeanor possession of a schedule II prescription drug of OxyContin. Troopers returned Grandma to the console in her Crown Royal bag.
Pole Creek prescribed burn
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Forest Service/BLM prescribed burn northwest of Kemmerer (posted 9/4/10)
In the Pole Creek area, west of LaBarge and Commissary Ridge Bridger-Teton National Forest
KEMMERER – The Kemmerer Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Kemmerer Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management plan to implement a prescribed burn in the Pole Creek area this fall. The project will burn across approximately 13,000 acres. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Fire Managers hope to begin ignitions around September 1, 2010.
The Pole Creek Prescribed Fire project is located in Lincoln County, 25 miles Northwest of Kemmerer, WY. The project area encompasses Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, State and private lands.
The objectives of the burn are to rejuvenate decadent aspen stands by targeting dead and dying eetle killed conifers, promote grasses and forbs to improve habitat for big game, reduce hazardous fuel accumulations and restore fire to the landscape representing a more historical and natural role in the environment.
This project is expected to be carried out anytime between September 1 and October 31. Actual ignition dates will be dependent on meeting strict parameters for weather and fire behavior conditions. Flames may be visible during the active burning operation and smoke will be evident in the vicinity, especially in mountain valleys during the early morning hours of the burn period. This project has the potential to impact both archery and rifle seasons.
For public safety, a temporary closure will be in effect throughout the duration of the project. Roads 10145, 10136, 10282, 10155, and a portion of 10154 and Carl Creek road will be closed.
The Hams Fork Road will remain open. Visitors are reminded to always use caution when recreating in burned areas. Smoke, falling snags and active fire may be present after a closure has been lifted. Interagency fire managers will attempt to minimize any adverse impacts to the public as the burns proceed.
A No-Camping closure will be in effect from Sept 1 – Oct 31, or until lifted, to provide for public safety during ignition operations. The public is encouraged not to set up camps in the area until the closure is lifted. If camps are found within the area, the occupants will be asked to move for their safety and the safety of fire personnel.
This vegetation treatment is an interagency cooperative effort with Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative, US Forest Service and Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust Fund.
For more information about this project, contact USFS Kirk Strom at 307-828-5116, or BLM Richard Putnam at 307-352-0236.
Map (PDF): http://gacc.nifc.gov/egbc/dispatch/wy-tdc/documents/information/prescribed-fires/nocampingltr.pdf
Louis Cleveland tests his Harley during the "burnout" portion of the poker run Saturday evening, when riders revved their engines to see how much smoke their back tires could create. Photo by Kaitlyn McAvoy, Pinedale Roundup.
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Pinedale Roundup – September 3, 2010 (posted 9/3/10)
Run, rabbit, run Commissioners met in executive session with QEP reps following sale Sheriff race includes Independents, Republicans, write-ins Freudenthal changes sage grouse area
Some Organizations at risk of automatic revocation of their Tax-Exempt Status (posted 9/2/10) IRS.gov Pinedale Online!
Please see the note at the end of this article for an update on this story.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website has a list of tax-exempt organizations that are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they have not satisfied the annual filing requirements for three consecutive years. The website has a list of organizations by state. The Wyoming list PDF is 27 pages long with as many as 50 organizations listed on each page.
The list includes a number of Sublette County organizations: Big Piney Pinners Business & Professional Women’s Club of Pinedale Community Christian Church of Big Piney Friends of Education Inc, Big Piney Friends of Hoback Ranches, Inc. Green River Irrigation District, Pinedale Home Town Hospice, Inc, Pinedale JOY Inc, Pinedale Paradise Canal Corporation, Boulder Research Community Project, Marbleton Snow Explorers Club Inc, Pinedale Sublette County Board of Realtors, Pinedale Sublette County Bowlers Association, Pinedale Sublette County Outfitters & Guides Association, Pinedale The Community Food Closet Inc, Big Piney Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, Pinedale ______________________________________________
Other selected organizations on the Wyoming list: Association of Professional Artists, Inc, Gillette Bowhunters of Wyoming Inc, Green River Cheyenne Genealogical and Historical Society Cheyenne Public Employees Association Christian Broadcasting Inc, Douglas Cokeville Chamber of Commerce Deaf Association of Wyoming, Cheyenne Disabled American Veterans (Lander, Gillette, Sheridan) Dubois Outfitters Association Fraternal Order of Eagles (7 towns) Independent Order of Odd Fellows (15 towns) International Association of Lions Clubs (12 towns) Jackson Hole Outfitters & Guides Association, Jackson Jackson Hole Shooting Sports Foundation, Jackson Knights of Columbus (9 towns) League of Women Voters of Wyoming (Casper, Cheyenne, Gillette) Midwives Alliance of Wyoming, Cheyenne National Association of Letter Carriers (10 towns) Nibrara Chamber of Commerce, Lusk Professional Land Surveyors Association of Wyoming Inc, Cheyenne Rawlins Volunteer Fire Department, Rawlins Riverton Valley EMT Association, Riverton Star Valley Historic Preservation Inc, Thayne Sweetwater County Volunteer Fire Association Inc, Rock Springs The Dubois Museum Association The Johnson County Search and Rescue Unit, Buffalo Trout Unlimited, Lander United Mine Workers of America (Rock Springs, Sheridan) Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Department of Wyoming (10 towns) Wind River Rescue, Crowheart Wyoming Archaeological Society Inc, Casper Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists, Laramie Wyoming Game Wardens Association, Laramie Wyoming Pharmaceutical Association, Casper Wyoming Quarter Horse Association, Casper Wyoming State Historical Society (12 towns) Yellowstone National Art Trust, Jackson _______________________________________
According to the IRS, most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches, must file a yearly return or notice with the IRS. If an organization does not file as required for three consecutive years, the law provides that it automatically loses its tax-exempt status. Loss of exempt status means an organization must file income tax returns and pay income tax, and its contributors will not be able to deduct their donations.
From the IRS website: (http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html)
"Tax-exempt organizations that do not satisfy annual filing requirements for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status. The IRS is providing one-time relief for such organizations that have filing due dates on or after May 17 and before October 15, 2010. The list includes organizations for which the IRS does not have a record of a required annual filing for 2007 and 2008, and whose 2009 return, due on or after May 17 and before October 15, 2010, has not yet been received.
The list, which was generated on June 30, 2010, includes only organizations with an annual filing requirement. Certain exempt organizations are exempt from this requirement. These organizations should check their records and determine whether they are at risk of automatic revocation because they have not satisfied annual filing requirements. In addition, the list may include organizations that were required to file Form 990 or Form 990-PF. These organizations are not eligible to take advantage of this one-time IRS filing relief to bring them into compliance."
Every organization exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code section 501(a) must file an annual information return except organizations on this list: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=152729,00.html
Frequently Asked Questions: ttp://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=221600,00.html _______________________________________
Editor’s Update 9/3/10: According to the Wyoming State Historical Society (WSHS) newsletter (September 2010), their CPA contacted the IRS by phone and in writing, and the IRS agreed that this list included chapters and organizations which it shouldn’t have. All WSHS chapters included in the group filing are current with the IRS in their filings and their tax exempt status is current as well. "This list showed many chapters of the WSHS that had indeed filed each year with the group filing and exemption."
Yellowstone set for final big weekend of summer (posted 9/1/10) Summer season closures begin Sept. 5th Yellowstone National Park
Good weather is forecast for Yellowstone National Park for the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend. This typically results in a pulse of weekend visitors, as many people from the area surrounding the park use the occasion to mark the unofficial end of summer.
All campgrounds, lodging, stores, shops, service stations, restaurants, and other services and activities in the park remain open for the start of the Labor Day weekend.
Campgrounds and lodging in and around the park can fill very early in the day. Advance reservations are highly recommended. Visitor should plan to arrive early at campgrounds that do not take reservations. The current status of available camping and lodging in the park is available by calling (307) 344-2114.
Some visitor services begin to close for the season starting Sunday, September 5. Details are available in the park newspaper handed out at entrance stations, from the staff at visitor centers and information stations in and near the park, or online at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/index.htm.
All roads to and inside the park remain open.
Visitors should expect travel delays of up to 30 minutes between Norris and Madison through Gibbon Canyon due to road construction, even during the holiday weekend. There are no longer any night closures on this road project.
There will be no holiday travel delays through Sylvan Pass (East Entrance road). Construction on that project will be halted from 6:30 p.m., Thursday, September 2, until 7:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 7.
The National Weather Service forecast is for sunny skies Friday with a slight chance of showers Saturday into Labor Day. Daytime highs are forecast to be in the upper 50s to upper 60s with overnight lows in the upper 30s.
However, Yellowstone's weather is very unpredictable. Both the park’s South and East Entrance roads were temporarily closed Tuesday morning, August 31 due to snow; the first time this has occurred since late spring. Fall visitors should be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions, including plows clearing snow from the roads, and temporary road closures.
Updated road information is available 24 hours a day at (307) 344-2117. Visitors can get the latest weather forecast by calling (307) 344-2113, or by listening to the NOAA Weather Radio station broadcasts from transmitters located at Mammoth Hot Springs and Grant Village.
Related Links: Yellowstone National Park
Annual Grizzly Bear research set to resume in September (posted 9/1/10) Researchers plan to trap bears through October in Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park
As they have for 36 years, members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST), are set to resume research work in Yellowstone National Park.
This long-term monitoring and research effort provides critical information used to monitor the status of the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This and other data helps wildlife managers devise and implement programs to support the ongoing recovery of the grizzly bear population.
Over the coming weeks, team members will attempt to trap bears at several remote sites in Yellowstone National Park. Once trapped, the bears are sedated in to allow wildlife biologists to conduct scientific studies of the grizzlies in accordance with long established protocols. The trapping work is set to begin in early September and will continue through the end of October.
None of the trap sites in the park are near any established hiking trails or backcountry campsites. All trap sites will have a posted perimeter. Potential access points will also be posted with warning signs. In the very unlikely event that backcountry users were to come upon one of these posted areas, they need to heed the warning and stay out of the posted area.
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team was formed in 1973 in response to population impacts of the National Park Service’s decision to close open pit garbage dumps and transition to natural ecosystem management of wildlife.
The IGBST is composed of representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department, and the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Related Links: Yellowstone National Park
Sage Grouse hunting amid concerns for the species (posted 9/1/10) ‘Conservative hunting seasons do not have a detrimental impact on most populations in Wyoming’ Wyoming Game & Fish
One of the most common questions Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel have been hearing is: "If the sage grouse is a candidate to be listed as a threatened species, then how can you have a hunting season for the bird?"
"The Wyoming Game and Fish Department understands the question and appreciates the concern for this trademark game bird of the West," said Tom Christiansen, the Game and Fish’s Sage Grouse Program coordinator. "The most significant threats to sage grouse have been shown to be changes to sagebrush habitats and effects of human disturbance."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal agency that makes the decision whether or not to list a species as threatened or endangered. The Service must consider "overutilization" (hunting and other activities that may result in the death of individual animals) in this process. In its March 2010 listing decision the Service said the greater sage grouse is not threatened by "overutilization," but states should continue to carefully manage hunting. With that responsibility, the Game and Fish has analyzed in depth the impact of hunting on the species.
"The conclusion is conservative hunting seasons do not have a detrimental impact on most populations in Wyoming," Christiansen said.
This conclusion is consistent with Wyoming’s citizen-based state and local sage grouse working groups’ conservation plans completed between 2003 and 2007 that also addressed hunting issues and provided management recommendations. It is also consistent with a July 2010 decision of the directors of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies that calls for the states to continue to adjust hunting seasons using the best available science and guidelines, current sage grouse population data, and local circumstances that can change each year - such as West Nile virus.
The department recognizes the relationship of hunting and sage grouse is not as simple as pheasant or partridge seasons, where hunting basically siphons some of the population destined to perish in the winter anyway. Pheasants and partridge are relatively short-lived birds - seldom living past two - but have lots of young to replace the adults. Sage grouse are a much longer-lived bird (often living over six years) with smaller broods and high overwinter survival. Therefore there are fewer adult sage grouse to be replaced and the number of harvestable sage grouse is lower than for an equal population of pheasants.
Well before there was much public concern about the future of sage grouse and before environmental organizations were filing petitions to list the species, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department was addressing the question: "How should hunting seasons be structured for the benefit of the species?"
The result was a restructure of the sage grouse hunting season in 1995. The opening date was moved back to late September to reduce the harvest of successful breeding hens. A study near Farson showed more hens are harvested when the hunting season opens on Sept. 1 than during years with a mid-September opening date. When the season begins after Sept. 15, hens with chicks are mixed with other groups of grouse scattered across upland sites and away from wet sites where they concentrated in the summer. This mixing and dispersal makes adult hens less vulnerable to hunter harvest. The later date also reduces pressure, likely because more hunters are off in pursuit of big game.
Although the department has been addressing the impacts of sage grouse hunting for decades, it continues to monitor and evaluate the issue. Each year the department analyzes the seasons and recommendations from field employees and the public. That has resulted in additional season and regulation adjustments including: closing the season in the Jackson area and eastern Wyoming, closing three counties in 2003 due to West Nile virus outbreak and reducing bag limits in other areas.
Hunting also indirectly benefits the bird. "Hunters have been and continue to be the greatest advocates for wildlife," Bill Rudd, assistant Wildlife Division chief said. "We want hunters in the field to maintain this advocacy."
In addition to fueling a knowledgeable sage grouse constituency, hunting also produces sage grouse information and statistics that would be very difficult to obtain except through very costly radio-telemetry studies. "Wings from hunter-harvested birds are used to determine the ratio of hens to chicks, which provides an index to annual chick production," Christiansen said. "In conjunction with population trend counts, these data contribute to understanding the dynamics of sage grouse populations."
The department continuously collects data on sage grouse and monitors populations closely. "Wyoming continues to be blessed with large numbers of sage grouse as shown by the over 44,500 males counted on breeding grounds in 2006," Rudd said.
"If populations drop significantly in the future the department will act quickly to further restrict hunting," Christiansen said, "but until such a time, regulated hunting, as recommended by existing state and local conservation plans, is a sustainable multiple-use activity similar to well-managed grazing and energy development."
Wyoming’s sage grouse season for the majority of the state is Sept. 18-30. For northeast Wyoming, excluding the Black Hills, the season is Sept. 18-20. The bag limit in both areas is two daily and four in possession. The season is closed in southeast Wyoming, extreme northeast Wyoming and the Jackson area. Consult the upland game bird regulations for specific details.
A detailed technical review of hunting and sage grouse is available on the department’s website at http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/wildlife_management/sagegrouse .
County seeks multiple use unity (posted 8/31/10) Sublette County Commission
Natural resource users of public lands should unite to ensure that all multiple use activities on public lands are maintained, according to a resolution enacted by Sublette County Commissioners this week. The resolution is part of the continued fall-out from El Paso Corporation’s Ruby Pipleline LLC’s $15 million agreement with Western Watersheds Project, the group intent on ridding the West’s public lands of domestic livestock grazing.
"The deal pits one public land use against another, to the detriment of all public lands users," said Sublette County Commissioner John Linn.
Sublette County is one of the local governments active and vocal in its opposition to the agreement, in which El Paso agreed to establish a "conservation fund" in exchange for WWP’s consent to the 680-mile pipeline from Opal, Wyoming to Oregon without engaging in litigation. Money from the deal could be used to buy out grazing permits on public land. Although the Ruby Pipeline will not traverse Sublette County, much of the natural gas it will transport will originate in Sublette County, entering at the Opal Hub, in nearby Lincoln County.
Sublette County’s federal land use policy notes that the prioritizing of any one multiple use should only occur after impacts to other multiple uses are fully quantified and mitigated. In addition, Sublette County’s policy opposes the "relinquishment, transfer or retirement of livestock grazing animal unit months in favor of conservation, wildlife or other uses besides livestock grazing."
"This agreement, if carried out, has tremendous impacts," Sublette County Commission Chairman Bill Cramer said. "The public needs to know what’s in the agreement, and the impacts of implementing the agreement need to be fully disclosed beforehand."
Sublette County is one of the local governments in the Coalition of Local Governments that has requested a full disclosure of the terms of the agreement, noting that the impacts from implementing such an agreement should have been examined in the federal planning process prior to the Bureau of Land Management’s issuance of a record of decision favoring the pipeline.
Sublette County Commissioner Joel Bousman said, "This whole agreement is based on the false premise that removing livestock grazing is good for the environment."
The removal of public lands livestock grazing would cause tremendous negative impacts on the custom and culture of the affected region, the commission notes, and would result in the loss of open space due to development of private lands, loss of winter wildlife habitat and wildlife migration corridors, and the loss of return flows to fisheries if agricultural lands were no longer irrigated.
Western Wyoming’s Coalition of Local Governments has filed a Petition for Review with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking the court’s review of the authorization of the pipeline, noting that three days after the pipeline was approved, El Paso announced the deal to buy and retire grazing permits – an action not analyzed in the environmental impact statement process. In fact, the EIS assumed that existing livestock grazing would continue and even considered continued livestock grazing as part of the ecological regime and baseline condition. The elimination of grazing would have both ecological and economic impacts, as well as impacts to the custom and culture of local communities in the region, yet this was not disclosed in the EIS process. If the agreement is to stand, then a supplemental EIS must be prepared to examine its impact, according to the petition for review.
The Sublette County Commission’s resolution notes that while the commission is generally supportive of the Ruby Pipeline, the commission requests that El Paso not conclude its deal with WWP, and instead join with Sublette County, other western counties, livestock grazing interests, energy developers and other multiple users of natural resources to promote and maintain all multiple use activities on public lands based on facts and sound science.
Bousman said, "El Paso’s agreement with WWP drives a dagger in the heart of the level of trust we have developed between the public, energy operators, and other multiple users of public lands."
Related Links: www.SubletteWyo.com - Sublette County website
Sublette Examiner – August 31, 2010 (posted 8/31/10)
Back to school Cimarex clears final hurdle Pinedale pit bull ban recommended EPA postpones new ozone standard Obituary - Mary Jean Roth
Hunter & Outdoor Recreationist alert: Be Bear Aware (posted 8/25/10) Fewer Whitebark Pine cones could mean increased bear conflicts this Fall Wyoming Game & Fish
Recent information provided by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) reports whitebark pine tree cone production to be poor this year which could mean an increase in bear conflicts this fall—especially for hunters.
The IGBST reported that of the 20 established whitebark pine tree transects examined, mean cone production was 5.25 cones per tree; all of the trees on one transect were dead from mountain pine beetle infestation. When available, the seeds of whitebark pine are high in fat content, and are an important fall food as bears prepare for winter hibernation. Near exclusive fall use of whitebark pine seed as food by grizzly bears occurs during years in which mean cone production exceeds 20 cones per tree.
However, with poor cone production, bears will be ranging farther this fall in search of alternative food sources. And, according to the study team, the alternative is generally meat. "What this means is that bears will shift their distribution from higher to lower elevation," said Mark Bruscino, bear management officer for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. "A fact that berry pickers and hunters should take note of."
Bruscino noted that although whitebark pine cones may not be readily available, bears are adaptable to other food sources and that in his experience, the bears nutritional status based on percent body fat does not change significantly during poor whitebark pine cone production years. "Bears will not starve to death. They will merely switch to alternative foods, primarily meat and hunters should be extra cautious this fall," added Bruscino.
Both the study team and Bruscino state that bear conflicts do increase as bears move from more isolated habitats to areas with higher human use in response to a lack of pine nuts. Often, bear mortality increases as well as a result of management removals related to conflicts and human encounters. "Even so, the grizzly bear population continues to grow at a rate of 4-7 percent annually, regardless of these poor cone years," said Bruscino.
When asked about bear behavior, Bruscino stated that bears seem to get bolder around people while searching for food during low whitebark pine cone years, which increases the chance of human-bear conflicts. "Although I believe this to be true, I do not think bears behave more aggressively in encounters when whitebark pine cones are scarce," said Bruscino.
Both the interagency study team and the game and fish recommend that all recreationists mentally prepare themselves for a bear encounter and carry a bear deterrent. "As a matter of personal safety, we recommend that everyone, including hunters, carry bear spray as a deterrent against aggressive bears. Studies and anecdotal evidence has shown that bear spray is effective," said Bruscino.
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