Join the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Trails Program and Wind River Outdoor Recreation Collaborative for National Public Lands Day

In celebration of 30 years of National Public Lands Day, the Wind River Outdoor Recreation Collaborative is hosting a cleanup of public lands on September 30th in the Government Draw recreation area east of Lander. This workday is in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management’s Lander Field Office, Tread Lightly!, Wyoming Outdoor Recreation and the Wyoming Trails Program. 

Wind River Outdoor Recreation Collaborative (WRORC) is a grassroots initiative that brings together local community members, stakeholders, federal and state agencies, and other non-governmental organizations to support sustainable outdoor recreation growth and enhancements in Fremont County.

The cleanup is part of the WRORC’s initiative to improve and bring awareness to the Government Draw recreation area which is enjoyed by many Fremont County residents looking for close-to-home recreation on public lands. 

“Misuse of public land is what causes it to be taken away. If we want it to continue to remain open for all types of recreation, we need to take care of it. Please come join us in cleaning up this very popular public recreation area,” states Forrest Kamminga, Manager of the Wyoming State Trails Program. 

Past volunteer cleanup efforts in Government Draw have removed cartridges, targets, household waste and appliances. While annual cleanups have resulted in less trash and public feedback is increasingly positive, litter and illegal dumping continue to impact the area. 

Volunteers are welcome to join the cleanup initiative at any time between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. To reach the cleanup site, turn east from Lyons Valley Road onto Coal Mine Road, cross the Little Popo Agie River and continue on Coal Mine Road to the staging area adjacent to the cattle guard. 

Volunteers should be dressed appropriately for outdoor work and are encouraged to bring work gloves and water. Lunch will be provided to volunteers who RSVP by Wednesday, September 27th.  

For more information about the cleanup and to RSVP, please visit bit.ly/NPLD2023GovDraw.

In celebration of Wyoming’s rich cultural heritage, Governor Mark Gordon will proclaim September as Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month (WAAM) on September 19.

Throughout the month of September, there will be events, activities, and lectures highlighting Wyoming’s history. To find an event near you, check out the WAAM 2023 Events Calendar.

The largest event, the Wyoming Archaeology Fair, has become a beloved annual celebration and will be held Saturday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site in Laramie. 

The fair will showcase Wyoming’s cultural traditions including Indigenous lifeways and historic activities, and provides a unique, hands-on learning experience for all ages. The event is free and open to the public. We are also delighted to announce the return of the Wind River Dancers, who will demonstrate a variety of Indigenous dance styles. The Wind River Dancers will perform at 1 pm

Attendees are invited to try their hand at flint knapping, atlatl throwing, and pottery making, as well as hide painting, cordage making, yucca leaf processing and more.  Additionally, attendees will have an opportunity to meet local archaeologists, ask questions, and find answers. New this year, the Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist welcomes you to bring items from your collections to learn how an expert examines and identifies artifacts. We hope to see you there!

The centerpiece of WAAM is an annually produced, award-winning poster. This year’s poster, “Archived in Aspen,” highlights historic arborglyphs, which are drawings and messages carved into trees that are scattered throughout Wyoming’s bountiful forests. These striking cultural features were created by generations of sheepherders who spent their summers in the mountains, watching after their flock, helping to grow the sheep industry. While many folks may know of the Basque sheepherding tradition in the West, the arborglyphs of the Sierra Madre Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest were predominantly the product of Hispanic Americans from northern New Mexico. This poster celebrates an archaeological feature that many Wyoming residents have likely seen while in the forest, and provides information on the perhaps less well-known cultural tradition and history of the people behind the images.

The poster is available free of charge, and may be picked up at the State Historic Preservation Office, Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne, or in Laramie in the Anthropology Building located at 12th and Lewis, Room 312. If you wish to have a poster mailed to you, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details.

Celebrate 30 Years of National Public Lands Day with Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites, Trails and Outdoor Recreation

Join us in celebration of the nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands this September! Help restore, improve, and enjoy Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails across the state by attending an upcoming National Public Lands Day event in your area.

Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, National Public Lands Day (NPLD)  is a nationwide initiative led by the National Environmental Education Foundation.  This annual celebration brings out hundreds of thousands of volunteers to help restore and improve public lands around the country. NPLD is also a “Fee-Free Day”—one of only five days a year when entrance fees are waived at national parks and other public lands.

This year, NPLD is celebrating 30 Years of Care and Community. In the past decade alone, over 1 million volunteers have donated almost 5 million hours of their time for public lands, worth an estimated $133 million. These efforts are crucial to preserving our natural resources for future generations to enjoy.

“Not only does National Public Lands Day give us the opportunity to give back and to take care of the public spaces we enjoy recreating on throughout the year, but it also gives us the chance to connect with our communities and to create kinship amongst those volunteering,” states Laurel Stephens, Outreach Coordinator for Wyoming’s Office of Outdoor Recreation.

In honor of this annual celebration, day use and entrance fees will be waived at all Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites on September 23rd.

This year, ten Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites will also host National Public Lands Day events from trail improvement projects, nature walks, park clean-ups and more. Event details for participating sites are as follows:

• Bear River State Park - Sept. 23rd 10 a.m.-1 p.m. River Trail Clean-up & Improvement Project, meet at Rendezvous Group Area. Volunteers will meet at 10:00AM and trek to the west side of the river trail system to remove slash piles as well as reset small culverts near the trail system. Friends of Bear River State Park will provide a light lunch and beverages. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves and dress accordingly. For more information, please contact 307-789-6547.
• Boysen State Park - Sept. 1st-30th Month-long Park Clean-up & Virtual Stewardship Challenge. Pick up litter anywhere in the park and take a photo of you in action. Tag Boysen State Park on Facebook or comment your photo on Boysen’s NPLD Facebook posts and be entered to win a special prize. For more information, please contact 307-876-2796.
• Buffalo Bill State Park - Sept. 23rd 8 a.m. Park Clean-up, meet at Park Office. Help pick up litter and debris in the park's no fee areas. Maps & supplies will be provided. For more information, please contact 307-587-9227.
• Curt Gowdy State Park - Sept. 23rd 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Pollinator Garden Clean-up, meet at Visitor Center. Volunteers will meet at the Visitor Center and help pull weeds from in and around the garden, making it cleaner and helping to prevent invasive species from taking over. Time permitting, the group will take a brief hike around Kate's Trail to discuss conservation and ecology at the park. For more information, please contact 307-359-4014.
• Edness K. Wilkins State Park - Sept. 23rd 10 a.m. -11:30 a.m. Park Clean-up & Nature Walk, meet at Centennial Group Shelter. Start the day with a hike around Centennial discovering the plants and animals that make it their home. Afterwards, help clean-up brush to create a healthy habitat and ensure visitors can continue to enjoy the area. For more information, please contact 307-577-5150.
• Glendo State Park - Sept. 23rd 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Metal Detector Competition to Clean-up Sandy Beach, meet at Sandy Beach Day Use Area. Participants will be given two hours to use their metal detectors to comb the beach and collect any item that the detector picks up. At the end of the two hours, the participant who collects the most items (by weight) will win a prize. This event is sponsored by Modern Metal Detectors based out of Casper, WY. For more information, please contact 307-735-4433.
• Keyhole State Park - Sept. 23rd 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Park Clean-up, meet at Cliffs Shelter in Coulter Bay. Team up with Keyhole State Park staff and camp hosts in picking up litter and cleaning out fire pits in the campgrounds and along the cliffs. For more information, please contact 307-756-3596.
• Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site - Sept. 23rd 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Pollinator Garden Clean-up, meet at the Red Barn. Volunteers and park staff will head to the new Pollinator Garden to pull weeds and clean-up the area for visitors to enjoy. The Friends of Medicine Lodge will provide beverages and snacks. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves. For more information, please contact 307-469-2234.
• Sinks Canyon State Park - Sept. 30th 9 a.m. Park Improvement Projects, meet at Visitor Center. Volunteers will join staff for a morning of park improvement projects such as pruning, trail maintenance, campsite maintenance and more. Projects will vary in required skill and knowledge; volunteers will be assigned tasks based on interest and ability. Sinks Canyon State Park will also host a weekend long campout with Women Who Hike; pre-registration is required and space is limited. For more information and registration, please contact 307-677-2461 or register at wyoparks.info/NPLDWWH.
• Wyoming Territorial Prison - Sept. 23rd 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Interpretive Program Projects, meet at University of Wyoming’s Union Ballroom. In partnership with the University of Wyoming, help build and decorate items for Wyoming State Park’s Laramie District’s interpretive programming such as bird boxes, bat houses, and bee bungalows! For more information, please contact 307-745-6161 and register at bit.ly/NPLD23. 

Participants are encouraged to “know before you go” and to prepare for weather conditions.  Supplies will be provided at most locations; however, participants are also encouraged to bring their own gloves where applicable in addition water and snacks. 

Learn more about each National Public Lands Day event by finding individual parks and sites on Facebook; additional details will be posted in the coming weeks.

Information from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality:

New Harmful Cyanobacterial Bloom (HCB) Recreational Use Advisories

A harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) recreational use Toxin Advisory has been issued for Boysen Reservoir and Ocean Lake. The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) works cooperatively with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to issue recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar water contact activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals. The WDH is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure signs are posted at the reservoir. Additional details regarding advisories and other HCB resources can be found at WyoHCBs.org. 

Bloom advisories are issued when a HCB is present and cyanotoxins may be present. Toxin advisories are issued when cyanotoxins exceed recreational thresholds. Waterbodies under an advisory are not closed since HCBs may only be present in certain areas and conditions can change frequently. Advisories will remain in place until blooms have fully dissipated and cyanotoxin concentrations are below recreational use thresholds identified in Wyoming's HCB Action Plan. 

If you encounter a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and the Wyoming Livestock Board recommend the following:

• Avoid contact with water in the vicinity of the bloom, especially in areas where cyanobacteria are dense and form scums.
• Do not ingest water from the bloom. Boiling, filtration and/or other treatments will not remove toxins.
• Rinse fish with clean water and eat only the fillet portion.
• Avoid water spray from the bloom.
• Do not allow pets or livestock to drink water near the bloom, eat bloom material, or lick fur after contact.
• If people, pets, or livestock come into contact with a bloom, rinse off with clean water as soon as possible and contact a doctor or veterinarian.

Questions about health effects and recreational use advisories can be directed to Courtney Tillman, Surveillance Epidemiologist, Wyoming Department of Health, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (307) 777-5522. Questions regarding cyanobacteria sampling can be directed to Kelsee Hurshman, Natural Resource Analyst, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (307) 777-2073.

Current HCB Recreational Use Advisories*

*There may be additional waterbodies with HCBs that WDH and WDEQ are not aware of. Please report potential blooms to WDEQ and HCB-related illnesses to WDH.

One of Wyoming State Park’s longest-running celebrations continues this weekend with the 36^th Annual Bear River Mountain Man Rendezvous August 24-27.

This fun and educational event celebrates the life of the fur trader and mountain man featuring a variety of demonstrations and competitions including Mountain Man skills, Hawk and Knife Throw, black powder shoot, flint knapping, a blacksmith, a fry pan toss, dutch oven cookout and more.

The fun begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

On Saturday, the public is invited to enjoy the Buck-Skinner Ball beginning at 8 p.m. and featuring the Mountain Man music of Tom and Carol Messerly.

Tents, tipis, and camps offer visitors a chance to explore the charms and surprises of an early 1800s setting at their own pace.

All events are free and open to the public.

Come and enjoy Great Dam Day at Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center this weekend, August 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center along with Buffalo Bill State Park host this year’s event at the Visitor Center located six miles west of Cody on HWY 14/16/20.

In addition to the events planned, there will be different interpretive learning stations located below the visitor center on the old road to Yellowstone below the dam. Through cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, the old dam road is open next to the visitor center one time during the year, allowing the public to walk or ride bicycle to take in the views from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Rides back to the center will be available. 

Fat Racks BBQ will have food available for purchase at the visitor center lot. Also, the Bureau of Land Management will have activities for kids to participate in.

Buffalo Bill Dam was completed in 1910 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Buffalo Bill Dam was the tallest dam in the world upon completion. Construction began in 1904 and work was dangerous, difficult and tedious.

The completed water storage supplies four irrigation districts encompassing over 93,000 acres of farmland.

Youth and adults alike will find the views and history fascinating. Staff and volunteers will be on-site to answer questions and provide assistance.

The event is open and free to the public. For any questions, please contact the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center General Manager Leslie Slater Wilson, at (307) 527-6076.

Curt Gowdy State Park joined by Adaptive Adventures and the Cheyenne Veterans Administration presents a multi-sport day showcasing adaptive equipment for individuals with accessibility needs in the outdoors.

This exciting event, scheduled for August 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will help guests with accessibility needs discover a community that can help them recreate outside.

“Adaptive Adventures is excited to partner with Curt Gowdy State Park and the Cheyenne VA Medical Center to bring this inclusive and accessible multi-sport experience to individuals with physical disabilities and their families,” Adaptive Adventures Executive Director Chelsea Elder said. “Adaptive recreation provides individuals the opportunity to gain greater independence, to improve their overall physical and mental health and to experience camaraderie in an inclusive community. Adaptive Adventures provides cutting edge equipment, highly skilled staff and innovative adaptations to make the perceived impossible... possible regardless of an individual's disability or perceived physical limitations." 

If you or a family member have accessibility needs, feel free to join us and discover the possibilities created by adaptive recreation.

Events will be hosted at the Curt Gowdy Visitor Center and the Granite Springs Boat Ramp. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Adaptive Adventures will have adaptive bikes, a mobile climbing wall, and kayaks available for visitors to try.

An introduction to dragon boat racing will occur at 1 p.m., and then again at 3 p.m. - please register to reserve a space!

Informational tables will feature more outdoor opportunities and ways to engage with a community of people focused on making the outdoors more accessible. 

Park fees are waived for participants and Adaptive Adventures will be providing food through Gypsy Jacks concession. 

To register and for more information on this event, please visit the Adaptive Adventures webpage at adaptiveadventures.org or Wyoming State Parks at wyoparks.wyo.gov

Antique Car Show
Saturday, August 26, 2023
1:00-4:00 pm
Trail End State Historic Site
400 Clarendon Avenue, Sheridan, Wyoming
FREE

Trail End State Historic Site and the Trail End Guilds, Inc. would like to announce a FREE antique car show being held at the Kendrick Mansion on Saturday, August 26,  from 1-4 pm. 

Spend the afternoon viewing antique autos as period music plays in the background. The cars will be parked in the driveways and visitors will be able to vote for their favorite one!

If you’re the owner of a car made in or before 1969 and would like to enter the show, please email the Trail End Guilds at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let them know.

The mansion will also be open for self-guided tours during this time, and regular museum admission will apply: $8 per adult, $4 for Wyoming residents, and children 17 and under are always free but must be with a paid adult. 

The Kendrick Mansion is a 1913 historic house museum located at 400 Clarendon Avenue, Sheridan, on the grounds of Trail End State Historic Site. Trail End is a division of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources.  For more information or directions, visit the website at www.trailend.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/trailend, or call 307-674-4589.

Photo Attached: 2022 Car show, photo courtesy of Trail End State Historic Site

Apsáalooke History with the U.S. Army and Crow Hand Games
Thursday, August 10, 2023 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm 
Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site 528 Wagon Box Road, Banner, WY 82832
Site fees apply

Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site invites the public to our final program on Crow history and culture, given by Jacob Brien, Crow tribal member and American Indian Student Interpretive Ranger.

Brien will blend traditions that are alive and well with area history in this two-part program. With help from his friends, the evening starts with an exciting demonstration of Crow Hand Games that are actively played today, before moving into the historical part of the presentation.

The Apsáalooke, or Crow people, have a history with the U.S. Army in the West that differs from that of other area tribes, and decisions made about this relationship in the mid-1800s are still impacting lives today.

The American Indian Student Interpretive Ranger program is a new partnership in conjunction with the Fort Phil Kearny/Bozeman Trail Association, U.S. Forest Service, and the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. Two American Indian students spend one week becoming Certified Interpretive Guides, and then four weeks each educating the public at Fort Phil Kearny and the Medicine Wheel.

Please bring your lawn chairs and bug spray. Site fees apply: $4 per adult, and children 17 and under are free.

Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site is located at 528 Wagon Box Road, in Banner, Wyoming, and is a division of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources. For more information or directions, visit the website at www.fortphilkearny.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fortphilkearny, or call 307-684-7629.

Photo: Jacob Brien presenting at Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site, August 2023. Photo Credit: Fort Phil Kearny Staff.