In Wyoming Wildlife Magazine: Short-lived history of Game and Fish’s ‘frogmen’
In the summer of 1961, these Game and Fish frogmen were training at a “Cheyenne lake.” Best guess it’s Lake Absarraca or Country Club Lake that straddles Interstate 25.
First impression would lead you to think this was “search and rescue training” or maybe the real thing. But a little digging discovered search and rescue was just a sidelight — the gist of the training was developing the underwater fish biologist team.
The December 1961 Wyoming Wildlife reported these scuba biologists had a busy summer and fall. Trout spawning areas and a species were surveyed at Trail Lake near Dubois. The frogmen logged the most hours at Willow Lake near Pinedale while gauging the best helicopter trout-stocking methods and behavior of recently stocked trout. That October, lake trout spawning was studied from an underwater perspective at Jackson Lake. The scuba crew was touted to accomplish future habitat improvements, too.
So, where did the team work in 1962? And future years? Don’t know. In fact, we can find no other references to the scuba crew. Bob Wiley, who started his department fish biologist and administrative career in 1962 and is my go-to-guy for aquatic counsel for this column, doesn’t recall even hearing about the scuba crew. Contacting a possible member of the crew proved unsuccessful. A veteran game warden believes the underwater crew was a “very short-lived adventure.” Fred Eiserman, one of the more famed Wyoming fish biologists, took the photos for the 1961 article. I suspect he took these photos, too.
Got any Game and Fish scuba crew info? We’d appreciate you sharing. Write to jeff.obrecht@wyo.gov or call (307) 777-4532.
Header Photo: The Game and Fish scuba crew was active in 1961, but it’s unsure if the frogmen continued operations in following years.
In-text Photo: In addition to a Cheyenne lake, the scuba team also trained in the swimming pool at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in 1961.
Photos courtesy of the Wyoming State Archives
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First impression would lead you to think this was “search and rescue training” or maybe the real thing. But a little digging discovered search and rescue was just a sidelight — the gist of the training was developing the underwater fish biologist team.
So, where did the team work in 1962? And future years? Don’t know. In fact, we can find no other references to the scuba crew. Bob Wiley, who started his department fish biologist and administrative career in 1962 and is my go-to-guy for aquatic counsel for this column, doesn’t recall even hearing about the scuba crew. Contacting a possible member of the crew proved unsuccessful. A veteran game warden believes the underwater crew was a “very short-lived adventure.” Fred Eiserman, one of the more famed Wyoming fish biologists, took the photos for the 1961 article. I suspect he took these photos, too.
Got any Game and Fish scuba crew info? We’d appreciate you sharing. Write to jeff.obrecht@wyo.gov or call (307) 777-4532.
Header Photo: The Game and Fish scuba crew was active in 1961, but it’s unsure if the frogmen continued operations in following years.
In-text Photo: In addition to a Cheyenne lake, the scuba team also trained in the swimming pool at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in 1961.
Photos courtesy of the Wyoming State Archives
Subscribe to Wyoming Wildlife Magazine to read other fishing stories>