Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame

Wayne Hubert of Laramie is a retired fisheries biologist who is responsible for having a tremendous influence on fisheries conservation in Wyoming. Wayne joined the University of Wyoming’s Department of Zoology and Physiology and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in 1982. Hubert has researched almost every fish species in the state and focused heavily on the ecology and habitat of freshwater fisheries. His research also included fish culture, aquatic macroinvertebrates, waterfowl and riparian bird communities. His research has contributed to the substantial management efforts by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to conserve and restore fish populations and habitats. In addition to his research and teaching, he has helped set national policies and protocols regarding fisheries through his involvement with the American Fisheries Society. He has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed papers and has advised 90 graduate students at the University of Wyoming. Today it is estimated about one-quarter of all fisheries management professionals in Wyoming were his students. Over his 30-plus-year career, Hubert has influenced almost every aspect of fisheries management within the state.

Thomas Ryder of Lander is a retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologist who served the State of Wyoming for 29 years. Ryder is an alumnus of the University of Wyoming, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Ryder began his career with Game and Fish in 1985 and climbed the ranks from volunteer game warden to deputy chief of wildlife. During his career, he made significant contributions to the way in which wildlife was managed in Wyoming. While in Dubois, Ryder conducted a study of elk movements — the data collected from his efforts is still being used today to drive elk management in the area. He also played a large role in the annual bighorn sheep trapping and transplanting program at the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area, and served as the chairman of the Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Technical Committee. Through his supervision existing sheep populations in the area were enhanced and lost populations were reestablished in other areas of the state. Before retiring from state service, he was chosen by former Gov. Matt Mead to serve as his wildlife policy advisor. After retiring, he went on to work for the Sweetwater River Conservancy to develop their sage- grouse conservation and mitigation banking agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During his career, Ryder served 6 years on the governing council of the Wildlife Society and ultimately served as The Society’s 65th president in 2011. He is also a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club. He formally retired from the State of Wyoming in 2017. Ryder has written approximately 190 technical reports, 20 peer-reviewed publications, five book chapters and two books.

Ron Dube of Wapiti is an accomplished outfitter, professional horseman and dedicated conservationist — a quintessential outdoorsman. His passion for the outdoors started as a child and led him to Wyoming. He has been featured in many outdoor magazines, books, television shows and videos where he always was a steward for wildlife and promoted ethical hunting and conservation of wild animals. Dube was a devoted Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation member and raised more than $70,000 from hunts he donated. In 1978, Dube conducted the first documented elk-calling contest and was responsible for developing the now widely accepted rules. He has guided hundreds of hunters over the years. He has played a critical role in the Wyoming Legislature where he brought forth various game laws to legislators, and in 1989 played a pivotal role in the development of the Wyoming Professional Board of Outfitters. His knowledge of Wyoming is based on his deep love of the state, time spent outdoors and studying books written by great outdoorsmen. His life’s purpose has been educating others about Wyoming’s flora and fauna. After retiring from outfitting, he continued to live out his life purpose by volunteering as an interpretive guide to hundreds of tourists in Yellowstone National Park.

Albert Nelson of Jackson served as the State of Wyoming’s first State Game Warden in 1899. Nelson was appointed by former Gov. Deforest Richards — the first appointment made under provisions of the act passed by the Wyoming Legislature that year to create the position of state game warden. Born and raised in Sweden, Nelson served in the army and studied at an agricultural college where he worked extensively with horses. As a boy, he was fascinated with James Fenimore Cooper’s, “The Leatherstocking Tales,” and longed to see the American wilderness. In 1883 he landed in New York and rode an empty freight car to Nebraska where he was discovered and kicked off. He worked in the hay fields briefly before heading to Rock Springs. His knowledge of horses served him well and he soon became a cowboy roaming from Brown’s Hole to South Pass. In the late 1880s, Nelson partnered with Billy Bierer and the two of them hunted, trapped and prospected along the Wind River Mountains. Nelson became an accomplished outdoorsman, taught himself taxidermy and began guiding. His reputation for quality hunting trips and trophy mounts brought him acclaimed clients such as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the Harrimans. Nelson patrolled the state and was an early pioneer in wildlife protection making many arrests for newly enacted wildlife crimes. Nelson worked until his mid-80s and during that time was the oldest practicing taxidermist in America.

Duaine Hagen of Meeteetse is an accomplished horseman who has been outfitting and running guest ranches for hunters and anglers in Wyoming for 40 years. Hagen has guided hundreds of hunters and anglers over the years, as well being active in the Outdoor Dream Foundation for kids dealing with illnesses, and the Wounded Warrior Project for veterans and active military duty members. He was appointed by the governor in 1993 to the Wyoming Board of Outfitters, and remained on it through 2003. In 1993, Hagen won the Game and Fish’s Wildlife Stewardship Award.
 

Richard Guenzel of Laramie is a retired Game and Fish biologist who worked with the department for 27 years. He, in collaboration with Dr. Bruce Johnson of Game and Fish, Dr. Fred Lindzey of the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Mr. Fred Reed of Western Air Research helped develop and implement an aerial line transect technique to more accurately estimate pronghorn populations. Guenzel was the first biologist in Wyoming to capture a pronghorn using a net gun from a helicopter. He also helped develop systems to record data from aerial operations and advised researchers on adapting distance sampling to aerial surveys around the world, and with species ranging from African elephants, marsh deer, free-ranging horses and burrows, and near-shore pelagic fisheries. His work on pronghorn has been acknowledged with many awards, including induction into the Pronghorn Hall of Fame in 2010.
 

Helen Roylance of Cheyenne is a trailblazer for women and the outdoors in Wyoming. Roylance was the first woman to hold the position of hunter and outdoor skills coordinator for the Game and Fish in 1995. Roylance established the Game and Fish’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program in 1996 where more than 1,000 women have participated to date. She also set up the first online hunter education course in the state. Roylance is the first woman to be solely inducted into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame. 

Glen F. Cole was a research scientist in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National parks whose work profoundly impacted the management of bear, ungulate and trout populations. His career in Wyoming began in 1962, working as a supervisory wildlife research biologist with the National Park Service for five years in Grand Teton, and then in Yellowstone until 1976. During his tenure, Cole was a driving force behind the development of bear management programs in Yellowstone aimed at restoring wild, free-ranging grizzly and black bears and reducing bear injuries to park visitors. He closed garbage dumps in and near the park and improved other food storage regulations in the backcountry as well as removing problem bears. The program also led to the establishment of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. Cole also worked on ungulate management. In Grand Teton, he worked with Game and Fish and the National Park Service on elk management strategies, moose ecology and other studies on elk, bison and pronghorn populations within the park. Not limited to mammals, Cole also worked to stabilize fluctuating water levels on the Snake River to minimize impacts to native fish and aquatic environments. In Yellowstone, Cole worked in collaboration with then Superintendent Jack Anderson to reduce limits on native fish and promote “catch and release” for wild trout, while encouraging non-native fish harvest. In 1976, Cole worked as a supervisory research biologist in Voyageurs National Park Minnesota until his retirement in 1988. He died Aug. 19, 2004.

Orrin and Lorraine Bonney climbed Wyoming’s peaks and authored 19 climbing and hiking guidebooks of Wyoming’s wilderness. The couple met in the early 1950s and lived in Houston, but summered in Jackson Hole, where their love of Wyoming’s Teton and Wind River ranges inspired their outdoor publications. In 1960, they moved to Wyoming to a cabin on the edge of Grand Teton National Park and authored their seminal work, “Guide to the Wyoming Mountains and Wilderness Areas”, republished twice in 1965 and 1977. Portions of the guidebook were later published separately and became known as the hiking and climbing “bible” for Wyoming mountaineers. Following Orrin’s death in 1979, the book, The Grand Controversy, was published after Orrin’s death by Lorraine in 1992. The Bonney’s actively fought for the creation of the Wyoming Wilderness Act. To commemorate their impacts, the Federal Board of Geographic names announced in 1983 the Continental Divide pass in the Wind River Range connecting Titcomb Valley and Dinwoody Valley at the base of Gannett peak would be named Bonney Pass. The pass is the most commonly used access by climbers attempting to summit Gannett Peak — Wyoming’s highest mountain. Orrin died in 1979 and Lorraine in 2016.

Mark Haroldson has spent more than 40 years working on the conservation of bears and studying the ecology of the Yellowstone area grizzly bear population with 36 of those working for the United States Geological Survey. Haroldson is regarded as a pioneer and worldwide expert in grizzly bear research, credited with furthering the understanding of the ecology of the Yellowstone area bears. With a geneticist, Haroldson developed a genetic fingerprint unique to the Yellowstone grizzly population that allows law enforcement to determine a deceased bear’s population origin, a tool that often aides in poaching cases. Haroldson’s data and analysis of grizzly bear population demographics at the fine-scale level is unparalleled at more than 1 million radio collar locations, hundreds of records of grizzly bear mortalities, litter sizes, ages of first reproduction, reproductive intervals, reproductive senescence, morphological data and human-bear conflicts. Haroldson pioneered the development of safe and humane capture and immobilization techniques for the handling of grizzly bears and those are used by managers and researchers across the world. Haroldson contributed to the development of laws, regulations, wildlife and land use policies, and management programs in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, in addition to surrounding public and private lands. Haroldson received the highest honor awarded by the U.S. Department of Interior, the Distinguished Service Award in 2018. He resides in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife Cecily and has a son, Zane. He is currently the supervisory wildlife biologist for the USGS Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team.

Dr. John W. Scott was an educator, researcher and administrator of wildlife conservation. Dr. Scott moved to Laramie, Wyoming, in the fall of 1913 to work as a professor of zoology and a research parasitologist at the University of Wyoming. He would eventually lead the zoology department as chair and department head, the director of the pre-medical course, and oversaw the creation of a bachelor of science degree in conservation and game management in 1939. During his tenure, Dr. Scott was called upon in 1935 by Gov. Leslie A. Miller to chair a committee to revamp Wyoming’s wildlife laws. This came as a result of measures to move away from political interests controlling wildlife conservation efforts and to separate conservation departments from direct interference from governors and state legislators. In 1925, state legislation created a non-partisan, six-member wildlife commission — the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission that exists today. Dr. Scott was one of eight delegates including Gov. Miller, from the state of Wyoming who attended the North American wildlife conference in Washington D.C. in 1936. This conference was called by President Franklin Roosevelt. The meeting was the genesis for the formation of the General Wildlife Federation; now the National Wildlife Federation. Soon after in 1937, Dr. Scott was appointed as the first secretary of the Game and Fish Commission under the new code in February 1937. He had not applied for the position but was selected to lead the department’s transition. Dr. Scott took a two-year leave of absence from the University of Wyoming to initiate this transition. He removed political appointees, formed an investigation division to conduct wildlife research, and provided a fair method of reimbursement for warden vehicle expenses. Returning to the university, he continued his teaching and mentorship, and was widely regarded as an influential mentor to some of the Wyoming’s leading conservationists including James R. Simon, a former Hall of Fame inductee. Dr. Scott died in 1956.

Dr. George T. Baxter led the way in fisheries conservation in Wyoming for over 40 years, three decades of that as a professor at the University of Wyoming with the fishery biology program. Described as an “old-school naturalist” he was highly versed in everything from ichthyology, to herpetology, to forestry, and agriculture.

Dr. Baxter was born on March 19, 1919, in Grover, Colorado. He was raised in Burns, Wyoming where he lived through high school. He served as an Army officer during World War II. After, he earned his Bachelor of Science then his master’s degree from the University of Wyoming in in zoology. He served as an instructor at UW while conducting his PhD research on amphibians and reptiles of Wyoming. Upon receiving his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1952, Dr. Baxter became an assistant professor and professor of Zoology at the University of Wyoming until his retirement in 1984.

During his career, Dr. Baxter taught, supervised and mentored hundred of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as junior faculty that have played major roles in the natural resource conservation agencies in Wyoming for over 50 years. He led a systematic survey of Wyoming’s fish fauna completed in 1964 that serves as the major baseline of fish distributions in Wyoming.  Dr. Baxter identified the Wyoming Toad and led both monitoring and conservation efforts for this species, one of America’s most endangered amphibians.

His monograph, co-written with retired Wyoming Game and Fish Fisheries Director Mike Stone, on “Wyoming Fishes” and “Amphibians and Reptiles of Wyoming” are landmark works and the standard references in the field.  He was acknowledged by the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the American Fisheries Society as “The Father of Fisheries in Wyoming.”

Dr. Baxter’s other honors include the UW College of Arts and Science’s Exemplary Alumni and Outstanding Former Faculty Member awards.  He was also honored by the UW Alumni Association with their "Medallion Service Award. Former UW Professor Robert Jenkins once   wrote, “The current health of the Wyoming Fishery is due in major part to the dozens of research projects that George Baxter and his graduate students completed for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department."  Dr. Baxter passed away in 2006. He and his wife Phyllis were married for 62 years and had three children, Judy, Richard and Linda. The Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame is pleased to welcome Dr. George T. Baxter as part of the 2018 class.

 

William G. Hepworth contributed to the conservation of Wyoming’s wildlife for 38 years with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and served for a time as an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming. He worked on numerous research projects while with Game and Fish; primarily with pronghorn, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep and trout species.

Hepworth grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming on a dairy farm and cattle ranch. After high school, Bill served in the Army National Guard on active duty and was a master sergeant at the time of his discharge in 1952. He began his career with Game and Fish in 1956 as a fish biologist, all the while studying for his two college degrees at the University of Wyoming; a bachelor’s in wildlife conservation and management in 1958, and a master’s in zoology in 1959, researching the ecology of two distinct brook trout populations in the Snowy Range.

As an author and co-author of several of the early publications on pronghorn in Wyoming, he assisted many of the early researchers in the design and planning of their studies, and mentored them through their research early in their careers. Game and Fish’s Fish Culture Health program was expanded under his direction. Today, Wyoming is recognized for its outstanding cultured fish disease control efforts.

Hepworth earned the moniker “Dean of Pronghorn,” participating in early efforts to trap, handle, and rear pronghorn and other big game species. He served as director of the Game and Fish Research Laboratory and director of technical research for most of his career. This included work at the Sybille Wildlife Research Unit and fish health and disease control work. He also served as Wildlife Management Coordinator for the Laramie region, and for a time in a dual role as regional supervisor.

An accomplished horseman, Hepworth trained and rode racehorses. He has been an official Boone and Crockett Club records scorer since 1962. For many years he was a 4-H club leader in the Laramie area, mentoring youth in horse projects and outdoor activities and teaching concepts related to conservation. Hepworth and his wife Marilyn were married 58 years, raising three children, Mark, Ellen and Kelly. Today, Hepworth resides in Laramie and spends much of his spare time helping others in the community through involvement with his church, volunteers in construction and remodeling, as well as in parks and recreation-related programs for the City of Laramie. The Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame is honored to induct William G. Hepworth as a member of the 2018 class.

 

Gary B. Butler served the State of Wyoming for 40 years with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, beginning as a check station attendant and fish warden, then biologist, and as the statewide supervisor for the Terrestrial Habitat Division.

Born and raised in Gillette, Butler spent much of his childhood learning hunting skills with his father, uncles and their friends, while also training horses, fixing fences, and doing other ranch work.  After high school, Butler enrolled at Casper College. In 1967, Butler was drafted into the Army and was trained as a military policeman. Serving two tours of duty in Vietnam, he then returned home, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from the University of Wyoming, then returned to earn a master’s degree in range management. He married his wife, Jo, in 1971.  

Much of Butler’s career was spent in the field conducting studies on alternatives of feeding hay to elk on the National Elk Refuge, and two elk feedgrounds near Jackson, then managing the world-famous Whiskey Mountain bighorn sheep herd. There, he pioneered new range survey and winter habitat improvement techniques for bighorns and elk; and was instrumental in the trapping and translocation of bighorn sheep to re-occupy historical ranges in Wyoming and other western states. He initiated the Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Technical Committee, which remains active today. In 1986, Butler served as statewide supervisor for the Terrestrial Habitat Division until his retirement in 2012. Butler worked in Laramie, Jackson, Dayton, Lovell and Dubois, before transferring to the Game and Fish Headquarters in Cheyenne.  

For over 45 years, Gary’s life-long passion has been visiting the vast Wyoming back country with his horses. In 2005, he rode across the state of Wyoming, from Richards Gap, Utah, to Cooke City, Montana—a 736 mile journey—with a number of friends joining him for the trip.   Gary is a lifetime member of the National Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and both the National and Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundations. The Bulters have two children, Scott and Toni, along with two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Today, Butler keeps his retirement years filled with outdoor pursuits, including gardening, training and caring for his small herd of Morgan horses and serving his church in eastern Laramie County. We congratulate Gary B. Butler for his induction to the 2018 Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame.

 

Dr. Anderson moved to Wyoming full time in 1980 and helped launch a new endeavor — the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

The Co-op Unit established a formal partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the University of Wyoming to do important, applied wildlife research. Anderson and the students he mentored have made lasting contributions with research on conserving the endangered Wyoming toad, reintroducing the black-footed ferret, on big game migration, on how changing landscapes affect non-game birds and on energy development’s effects on pronghorn and mule deer. His contributions also have also led to changes benefiting wildlife, such as the use of markers on transmission lines to decrease bird collisions, population estimation techniques for raptors in the state, and habitat delineation. He led the Co-op until his death in 2005.

During his career, Anderson advised or co-advised 100 graduate students, authored 200 scientific articles and authored several books.

Dr. David Love was born on his family’s ranch in Wyoming in 1913. During his 89 years, he explored and came to know the intersection of Wyoming’s geology, people, industries, wildlife and open spaces in a profound way.

He is noted for his skill as a field geologist in an era of maps, office work, and satellite imagery. Love learned the intimate details of geology by walking the ground. Through his work, he educated and informed people around the globe about Wyoming’s unique geology, natural resources and history.

He authored more than over 250 geological publications, which includes two geological maps of Wyoming, the first in 1955, and the second in 1985.