Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame

Mark Bruscino served the public and the state’s wildlife for 29 years with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Bruscino was a game warden, a trophy game conflict officer and the Large Carnivore Services supervisor until he retired in 2013.

A significant portion of Bruscino’s career was spent handling and mitigating large carnivore/human conflicts, which is very important, and at times, contentious work. He spent thousands of hours in Wyoming’s most remote and wild places investigating bear, mountain lion and wolf conflicts and depredations. He worked extensively with those who  made a living in bear and wolf country — livestock producers.

His ability to work with people coupled with his knowledge and understanding of wildlife was key in resolving conflicts. It didn’t take long before he became recognized as a leading national and international expert on investigating depredations and resolving conflict.

Delaine Roberts is the epitome of “home-grown” conservation in Wyoming.

He was born and raised in Star Valley and always invested his time and resources at the local level, including as a leader of youth, as a seasonal game warden, and as a county sheriff. He was also influential on the state level as a state senator and chair of the Travel, Recreation and Wildlife committee.

After leaving the senate, Roberts became the first chairman of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust. As chairman of the WWNRT, Roberts brought together diverse interests, established rules, and launched the program that has provided more than $69 million statewide for wildlife conservation. Under his leadership, the WWNRT invested in more than 700 projects, including river restoration, rangeland enhancements, conservation easements to wetlands, aspen restoration, fence modification, water development, research, and other projects.

Perhaps his greatest contribution though, comes in creating policy, where he led by example, to guide a diverse populace to put a conservation ethic into practice.

The often-used description of Wyoming as a small town with long streets rings true to the people here because there are so many personal connections and because of individuals like Jerry Galles. He is a hub for those who care about the future of this “small town” especially in the sphere of people who are passionate about wildlife, the outdoors, hunting and fishing. He binds together those who share these values and interests because those who encounter Galles have been impacted by his character and kindness.

Beyond the way he treats people is also an incredibly deep commitment to Wyoming’s outdoor way of life. In a world where time translates to money, the way someone spends their time shows their life’s priorities. Galles has invested thousands upon thousands of hours into conservation. He has poured himself into efforts supporting all manner of wildlife by giving substantially to groups including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, the Mule Deer Foundation, Muley Fanatics, the National Wild Turkey Foundation, the Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot, the Natrona County Land Use Committee, the Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and in fact the list goes on from there.

Listing all of the groups Galles is a part of is one way to illustrate the breadth of his passions and the depth of his knowledge. But, his involvement has been about more than attending meetings and giving, which he has done generously - it includes all aspects of conservation. As a young child he made the outdoors, hunting and fishing a big part of his life and he has been a lifelong learner, getting involved in wildlife stewardship from the ground up. Galles has developed experience and understanding about habitat, migration, herd dynamics, the importance of hunting and angling, regulations and land use. He also is a keen participant in making wildlife conservation work by seeking allies, fundraising and engaging with the general public. Galles was also a stalwart and enthusiastic volunteer at the annual Hunting and Fishing Heritage Expo in Casper.

Galles’ background and abilities contributed to him playing an instrumental role in several major wildlife management efforts. For instance he helped craft and get passed the policy that led to the gray wolf coming off of the endangered species list, similarly he was a part of Wyoming’s leadership on sage grouse management and grizzly bear recovery.

Throughout his life, and especially as a Game and Fish Commissioner, Galles put a special emphasis on ethical hunting practices. Above all he has made those practices and that philosophy part of his life and has taught it to many others, starting with his daughters who are also passionate about the outdoors.

Galles is a statesman for wildlife. His involvement in conservation has come at all levels and his enthusiasm and care for this heritage fosters action in others. That is imperative for the success, viability and relevance of wildlife management for the future. Volunteerism and philanthropy at Galles’ level has provided stewardship for what is one of the keys to Wyoming’s incredible quality of life: our wildlife and great outdoors. 

Dr. Oliver Scott was one of Wyoming’s foremost amateur ornithologists. He significantly contributed to many of the birding resources in our state and in the West. Dr. Scott’s passion for birds fostered Wyoming’s birdwatching community in many ways.

Born in Massachusetts in 1914, Scott developed a deep interest in ornithology as a young boy. He was fortunate to have as a mentor, Ludlow Griscom, a premier ornithologist and Harvard professor, known as the “Dean of the Bird Watchers.” While Scott pursued bachelor and medical degrees at Harvard he learned from Griscom, who pioneered identifying free-flying birds rather than hunting them for identification.

When Dr. Scott came to Wyoming in 1948, he became the first board-certified pediatrician in the state, he also brought to Wyoming his love of birds and support for their conservation. He conducted the first Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Casper and was co-founder of the Wyoming Audubon Society, which became the Murie Audubon Society.

Dr. Scott traveled widely across Wyoming and North America finding new and rare birds. He identified 727 unique bird species, known in the birding community as a watcher’s “life birds.” But, what really established his legacy was Dr. Scott readily sharing this knowledge of birds and of Wyoming.

Dr. Scott helped others develop their skills at birding. He taught a popular bird identification class at Casper College encouraging people from his community to learn more about birds and to spend time outside. But, he also devoted time and resources into building resources that others use now and will be used into the future. Dr. Scott was the Rocky Mountain Region editor of Audubon Field Notes for more than two decades putting his mark on that publication, he also provided field identification and range descriptions for Wyoming birds in two editions of A Field Guide to Western Birds, and then in 1993, three years before his death, he published what he considered his life’s work: A Birder’s Guide to Wyoming. This book provides detailed maps and descriptions making it easy for those interested to see Wyoming’s bird species on their own. It is a treasure for Wyoming birdwatchers.

Beyond his passion for birdwatching Dr. Scott has left other lasting impacts for Wyoming’s wildlife. Buying ranches in Natrona County, he was an early advocate for showcasing the positive impact ranching can have on wildlife. He then made a permanent commitment to wildlife and open space by placing 8,000 acres in a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy.

Dr. Oliver Scott’s passion for the outdoors, for birds and all wildlife left a mark on Wyoming, he passed on this ethic to the generations that have come behind.

Stephen Nelson Leek is known as the “Father of the Elk.” It is not hyperbole to say he played a significant role in the conservation work that made the current abundance of elk throughout Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains possible. The species’ future was once very much in doubt. Elk were nearly extirpated, in the continental United States the last remaining animals were found in and around the recently established Yellowstone National Park.  

Leek was the driving force behind Congress’ creation of the National Elk Refuge north of Jackson. The refuge served as a reservoir for the re-population of elk across the Rocky Mountain West.

Leek, who was born in 1858, in Ontario, Canada, had his conservation ethic ignited by early life experiences. In his youth he recalled flocks of passenger pigeons blocking out the sun. Then he was witness to their disappearance. Leek eventually moved to Nebraska and while there saw firsthand the decimation of the great bison herds.

In the 1880s, he struck out for Wyoming. He first settled in a cabin in the Bighorn Mountains, a cabin now on display in Cody at Old Trail Town. Then Leek made his way, via Yellowstone, to Jackson Hole. He reportedly fell in love with the area, its wildlife and a local woman. Leek married Etta Wilson, whose family is namesake for the town of Wilson.

The Leeks ran a dude ranch and guided hunters and anglers. One of whom was George Eastman, a founder of the emerging photography industry and inventor of Kodak film. Eastman gave Leek a camera, which became a tool in his future conservation efforts.

In the early 1900s, another species seemed to be headed towards extinction before Leek’s eyes. The local elk population suffered as migration corridors were blocked and some of the continent’s most crucial winter range was replaced by houses and businesses. Leek poured time and personal finances into saving the elk. He was elected to the Wyoming Legislature, secured funding to feed the elk, pushed changes to prevent groups from harvesting elk for their teeth and tusks. Leek championed abolishing market hunting and then went east with photos he had taken of starving elk to advocate for the animals in New York and Washington, DC. He again had success. This time getting Congress to create the National Elk Refuge. Elk from the Refuge were eventually shipped by rail to areas across Wyoming and the West.

Leek’s photos can now be found at the University of Wyoming and at the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum.

Dr. George Frison was Wyoming’s first state archeologist. The Wyoming Legislature created the position in 1967 and Frison, who had recently received his Ph.D from the University of Michigan, returned to his native state to take on the role. For nearly 50 years his deep curiosity in Wyoming’s natural world has guided his research, his writing, which includes 14 books and more than 100 academic articles, and his teaching.

Frison’s memoirs are titled Rancher Archaeologist and his life was a combination of those vocations. Frison was born in Worland in 1924 and grew up on the family ranch near Ten Sleep, which sat near notable excavation sites. As a boy on the ranch he discovered fossils of dinosaurs and mammoths and interacted with the paleontologists, anthropologists and other researchers working in the area.

After high school, Frison went to the University of Wyoming but left to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he went back to the ranch, but maintained his interest in archaeology. At the age of 40 he finished his bachelor’s degree at UW before heading to Michigan.

In his archaeological work, Frison brought his knowledge of animals to the academic world. In fact he has been adamant that you cannot talk about the prehistoric world and hunting of that era without understanding the behavior of the prey species. His background in hunting and ranching gave him knowledge of the behavior of animals.

Not only did Frison have an impact on archaeology in Wyoming by cultivating students’ interest in the field and by providing large amounts of research about the history of this land, he also contributed to a major shift in how all archaeological research is conducted on hunting societies.

This came about due to Frison’s excavation of the Glenrock Bison Jump and the Wardell Bison Trap near Big Piney. He focused his analysis on more than just the human cultural artifacts at those sites. Frison also examined the animal’s bones, an overlooked and often times discarded artifact by others in the field. His approach was controversial and highly debated but has led to additional learning about prehistoric human hunting.

Frison has had a highly decorated career as an archaeologist, as a researcher and as a teacher at the University of Wyoming, where he spent his entire career. To honor that legacy UW created the George C. Frison Institute, a facility dedicated to studying the archaeology and culture of the High Plains and the Rocky Mountains. He continues to serve as a professor emeritus at the university.

For wildlife enthusiasts, Frison has created an impressive resource in all his writings, but particularly Survival by Hunting. Most of us can be enlightened by reading this work on Wyoming’s prehistoric animals and the people that hunted them.

Frison currently resides in Laramie.

David Sweet was born March 24, 1948 to Bob and Sally Sweet in Polo, Illinois.  He graduated from Bradley University and then obtained a PhD in Analytical Chemistry in 1974. Following college he lived and worked in Colorado for thirteen years, and in Phoenix for five years holding various position in the pharmaceutical industry from which he retired in 1987.
 
After retirement, he and his wife Cathy, moved to Cody, Wyoming where they owned and managed Absaroka Mountain Lodge 10 years.  He is a lifetime active member of Trout Unlimited for nearly 40 years, has served in virtually every leadership position in the TU East Yellowstone Chapter, and has served as chairman of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited and currently serves as treasurer of that organization.  He is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Ducks Unlimited. 
 
Dave’s extraordinary collaborative effort with the Save the Yellowstone Cutthroat Project, an initiative he conceived in 2007, implemented, championed and now serves as the Yellowstone Lake Special Project Manager.  This on-going project has earned national attention and is now listed as a number two priority national project by Trout Unlimited.  His mission in leading fundraising and public relation endeavors is to preserve the largest genetically pure population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout, not only for anglers but for the preservation of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
 
Save the Yellowstone Cutthroat Project, working in tandem with Yellowstone park officials, has enlisted the support of Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Committee, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, National Parks Conservation Association, Yellowstone Lake Working Group, Trout Unlimited chapters and countless volunteers.  In 2011, Trout Unlimited honored Dave with the TU Distinguished Service Award.  This prestigious national award recognizes outstanding achievement embodying the spirit of Trout Unlimited in the mission to conserve, protect and restore North America’s cold water fisheries and their watersheds.
 
Dave is tireless and passionate in his efforts to keep the momentum going to help reduce the impact of invasive lake trout on the national Yellowstone cutthroat population.  All data available to date point to lake trout numbers significantly decreasing and Yellowstone cutthroat numbers beginning to rebound.
 
Dr. Sweet and his wife Cathy have two daughters and reside in Cody, WY.

Dave Lockman was born September 9, 1947 to  Dave and Darlene Lockman in Brighton, CO.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and Range Management from Colorado State University in 1969.  He received a Master of Science degree in Avion Biology from CSU in 1971.  Dave worked as a field biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for nineteen years and retired from the Department as Education Supervisor after thirty-two years of service.  
 
During his tenure as a Game and Fish wildlife biologist, Dave made significant contributions to Wyoming’s wildlife whether it was testing new data collection techniques for big game or improved management techniques for managing waterfowl.  Dave was single handedly responsible for restoring and expanding trumpeter swan populations in Wyoming.  He conducted inventories and population surveys, designed management plans, initiated the wetland mapping and classification system used by USFWS for Wyoming wetlands, organized the first Rocky Mountain Trumpeter Swan Population Management subcommittee for the U.S. and Canada, organized the Whooping Crane Management and Recovery Effort for Wyoming, authored or co-authored numerous technical articles during his career.
 
While Education Supervisor with the Game and Fish Department, Dave prepared and supervised the implementation and management of over 20 cooperative agreements with Wyoming communities, supervised the development of the Outdoor Recreation Education Opportunities program for Wyoming schools, Coordinated the planning and development of over 50 interpretive education projects, including the National Bighorn Sheep Center in Dubois, Wyoming and wildlife viewing sites across the state as part of the “Wyoming’s Wildlife-Worth the Watching program.  He developed and coordinated all facets toward the planning and execution of the first Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Heritage Exposition hosted by the Department.  This became an annual event in Wyoming for 15 years, for over 13,000 families and youth annually.  He co-authored the “Outdoor Expo Planning Guide” a collaborative effort between the Weatherby Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Wyoming Game and Fish.  This guide was a practical handbook for states desiring to produce an outdoor Expo.  In 2003 he became the project leader for the Weatherby Foundation’s North American Outdoor Expo Campaign.  This included providing planning assistance to states and managing a national grant’s program for funding support to states.  Twenty-two states implemented an Outdoor Expo Education event reaching 350,000 participants annually.
 
Since his retirement from the Department, he worked as a private consultant on numerous intensive wildlife and habitat surveys, habitat  evaluations, and designed and implemented wildlife habitat improvement projects for private landowners and the oil and gas industry.
 
Dave and his wife Janet live in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A.A. Anderson was born August 11, 1846, in Hackensack, New Jersey to William Anderson and Sarah Louise Ryerson.  He spent his early childhood in Peapack, New Jersey and Fairview, Illinois but later the family returned to Newtown, Long Island.  He was schooled at the Fairchild Institute in Flushing and later the Grammar School at Columbia College (now the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School).  After a successful turn in the dry goods and manufacturing business with the canning company  Libby, and a short period studying medicine, Anderson found modest success in his painting efforts and decided to pursue painting full time.  He moved to Paris in the 1880’s and continued his studies with a community of high profile French painters.  In 1890 he founded the American Art Association of Paris which lasted until 1932.  He spent over 10 years painting in Paris and his works are held by the Smithsonian and the Cleveland Museum of Art and various private collections. 
 
On a tour of the American West while still living in Paris, Anderson established a homestead on the Grey Bull River in Wyoming, south of Cody.  He named this 160 acre plot Palette Ranch and built a log and gypsum-mortar ranch house there.  Within a few years he became frustrated by wildfires in the area which he believed were deliberately caused by out of state sheep men who grazed their sheep across cleared forest land.  He made it his personal campaign to double the size of the Yellowstone Forest Reserve bordering the Yellowstone National Park.  This became a reality by executive order of Theodore Roosevelt in May, 1902.  Roosevelt then appointed Anderson as Special Superintendent to administer both the Yellowstone and Teton Forest Reserves.   He served in this capacity until 1905.  He established ranks for his men similar to the military and accepted an appointment as a Game Warden of Wyoming.  He named his entire staff Assistant Game Wardens, without pay to give them authority to eject poachers.  At the end of his tenure, President Roosevelt reorganized the forest reserve lands surrounding the Park and established the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture.
 
Anderson was among the very first to begin managing public rangelands and timberlands.  He also established game refuges throughout the reserves to assist the state with the management of big game herds.  He left behind a legacy toward the necessity of adequate laws protecting the public land natural resources and the ability to effectively enforce those laws.
 
In 1876 Anderson married Elizabeth Milbank.  The Andersons had one daughter, Dr. Eleanor Anderson Campbell. In 1905, he moved his main residence to his studio in New York, but continued to spend time at his ranch.  He also continued to paint until his death on April 27th, 1940 in New York.

Stephen Mealey was born in Waldport, Oregon on March 17, 1942.  He received his BA in Political Science at the University of Oregon in 1964, a BS degree in Forestry at the University of Idaho in 1973 and a MS in Wildlife Management from Montana State University in 1975.
 
Steve spent the majority of his career, 1977 – 1997, with the US Forest Service as a wildlife biologist and then Forest Supervisor on the Shoshone National Forest and Boise National Forest.  He was the Director of Idaho Fish and Game from 1997 – 1999.  Steve was the Executive Director of the Boone and Crockett Club from 1999 – 2001 and Manager of Wildlife, Watersheds, and Aquatic Ecology with the Boise Cascade Corporation from 2001 – 2005.
 
During his tenure as Forest Supervisor on the Shoshone National Forest, Steve demonstrated an ability to build cooperative liaisons to achieve desired results for federal, state and private landowners.  He was instrumental in working with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to set wildlife population objectives to allow equilibrium between wildlife and livestock, as well as oil wells in the wilderness. This template is still in use today and as important as it was 30 years ago.  Steve had direct influence on the non-migratory elk here in the limited quota Area 121 in Wyoming.  His vision brought this herd to its current healthy and vibrant state and is sustainable in a key predator area.
 
Steve is an Honorary Life Member of the Boone and Crockett Club and was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service in the US Air Force in Viet Nam.  He and his wife, Marty, live in Springfield, Oregon.

Joe Back was born April 12, 1899, in Montpelier, Ohio.  His father was a country doctor who visited his patients by horse and buggy.  A lover of horses, he maintained a breeding stable when not practicing medicine.  Through him, Joe developed knowledge of horses at the earliest age, handling the buggy as his father made his rounds.
 
When Joe was only 9 years old his father died of a sudden heart attack.  His mother relocated to California where she soon remarried.  Joe could not get along with his stepfather who was quite a drinker; so when he got in trouble at school for drawing sketches of his 8^th grade teacher, he decided that was enough of that whole situation and took off on his own.
 
Joe’s mother had a cousin who managed the Fiddleback Ranch north of Douglas, so Joe headed there and was put to work as a chore-boy for board and room.  Having learned to handle horses from his father, he was soon promoted to full ranch hand status with wages of $45 a month.
 
With the onset of World War I, Joe entered the Navy.  Proficient with firearms, he was assigned to be a machine gun instructor and the closest thing to an ocean he ever saw was Lake Michigan.  Discharged in 1919, Joe returned to Douglas and began cowboying on the 55 Ranch for ranch foreman Wheeler Eskew.  Wheeler was a top hand and Joe considered him “one of the finest men I ever got to know.”
 
Joe had filed on a homestead 42 miles north of Douglas and had begun the improvements necessary to obtain full ownership when he heard about a big horse roundup.  Hiring on with 6 or 8 other cowboys, they eventually caught several hundred stray horses, which were to be purchased by the Diamond G Guest ranch above Dubois.  They then obtained a chuck wagon and rope corral and herded the horses from Douglas to Brooks Lake and the Diamond G, a distance of approximately 270 miles.  The trip took 2 weeks and was filled with adventure.
 
The Diamond G wanted Joe to stay on as a wrangler and guide, so he leased the grass on his homestead and remained in the mountains.  He began guiding summer pack trips in the Teton Wilderness, including trips as far as Lewis Lake in Yellowstone National Park.  In the fall, he would guide elk, deer, and bighorn sheep hunters.
 
Joe Back had always liked to draw and sketch and the Brooks Lake country was full of subject material.  He began making sketches of horses, mountains, and cowboys and gave them away to ranch guests.  One summer-long guest was Louis Agassiz Fuertes, a staff artist with National Geographic.  When he saw Joe’s sketches, he encouraged him to attend the Art Institute of Chicago.
 
Initially rejected because he had only completed the 8^th grade, Joe figured that was the end of that idea.  But when Fuertes found out about it, he gathered up Joe’s sketches and sent them to the Institute with a strongly worded letter; Joe was accepted.  He quickly sold his homestead and headed east.  It was at the Art Institute of Chicago that Joe would meet his future wife and lifelong partner. 
 
Mary Waters Cooper was born on Dec. 3, 1906 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  While still an infant, her father moved the family to Vermont.  Even as a young child, Mary’s interests in nature and art were evident.  Her notebooks would be festooned with drawings, often of plants or animals.  Her father was a member of the Green Mountain Club, which established hiking trails reaching to Canada, so Mary spent weekends hiking the hills and clearing trails.  Early pictures show Mary with various animals, including several pet snakes.
 
Graduating from high school at the age of 16, Mary was admitted to Berea College in Kentucky.  A small, prestigious school, Berea charged no tuition but required students to hold jobs at the college.  When Mary arrived, she brought one of her pet snakes which caused quite a commotion and was eventually placed in the biology lab.
 
While Mary was at college, her family relocated to Chicago.  Joining them there following graduation, she began taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Classes in animal anatomy were held at the Field Museum of Natural History, and one day while Mary was sketching animals, someone walked up behind her and remarked, “That’s a helluva good bear!”  It was Joe Back.
 
Joe courted Mary during 1931 and 1932, and they finally married in February of 1933, during the great depression.  Jobs were scarce, but Joe was hired as a foreman by the National Park Service for $175 a month, and Mary was appointed to run a trailside wildlife museum for $100 per month.  They lived on Joe’s salary and saved Mary’s earnings with a plan to move to Wyoming.
           
In the spring of 1935, Joe and Mary bought a 1927 Buick to make the trip west.  They sewed a canvas tent which could be affixed to the side of the car and camped their way through the country, arriving at Dubois, Wyoming, Joe’s old stomping ground.
 
Moving to the high country, Mary and Joe purchased the abandoned and dilapidated Lava Creek Ranch.  Working nearly round the clock, they rendered the ranch cabins ready for winter.  And that first winter was a tough one with deep snow and cold temperatures.  Joe would take 2 days to snowshoe the 22 miles to Dubois for the mail and a few groceries.  But they both decided to stick it out.
 
Given her somewhat genteel and urban background, it is amazing how much Mary took to Wyoming’s wildlands.  Her sentiments are perfectly reflected in a short essay to the Berea College alumni newsletter, where she spoke of her first winter in the wilderness.
“Sheer beauty.  It is a privilege to just be in a world so lovely, so bright with changing color; so rich in the detail of bird and animal form and action, and the patterning of the lodgepoles and the willows; so tremendous in the massing of the great mountains; so aloof and remote from the smoke and fussiness of human crowding.”
 
Then later, “There is a relief to all one’s senses at the lessened feeling of being just a cog in a great, impersonal, and intricate Society, the relief and responsibility of being “on your own” for better or for worse.”
 
And in closing, “I have actually heard this vivid, beautiful, ever-changing country called “God-forsaken.”  We both find it in our hearts to thank God that it is so comparatively human-forsaken.”
 
Mary and Joe ran the Lava Creek Ranch as a dude outfit for nearly 4 years.  These were lean times, calling for improvisation and doing it yourself.  Mary learned to do carpentry, dig ditches, butcher elk, and skin beaver. During the fall, Joe would be gone for weeks on end guiding hunters, and in her journals Mary speaks of how lonely she became without him; truly an inseparable pair.
 
They later sold Lava Creek Ranch and bought the Rocker Y, another dude ranch, but a bigger operation.  While they loved the lifestyle, it did not allow them the time they needed to pursue their art careers.  After a long day in the saddle or a day spent cooking and cleaning, their creative energies for painting and drawing were diminished.
 
During World War II, Joe and Mary worked for the war effort in California; Joe as a shipyard welder, and Mary as an airplane mechanic.  Returning to Dubois at the war’s end, they dude ranched for one more year.
 
By the spring of 1946, Joe and Mary came to realize that they would never become full-time artists running a hectic dude outfit.  They sold the Rocker Y, moved east of Dubois and built a cabin that would also serve as an art studio.
 
Drawing and sculpting did not pay all the bills, so Joe took odd jobs, including stints with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as a seasonal game warden and packing fish into the wilderness for stocking.  He also continued guiding hunters and always got his own elk for the winter’s meat - a staple since the Lava Creek days.
           
Joe published a small pamphlet on horse packing, “How to Tie a Diamond Hitch” illustrated with his colorful sketches.  It was in big demand, so he launched a book project to produce a “horse packer’s bible.”  The end product was “Horses, Hitches and Rocky Trails,” still in print and considered one of the best guides to horse packing in existence.  His last chapters advocate respecting the wilderness and keeping care of the mountain country.  He would later publish several other books, and Mary would publish “Seven Half-Miles From Home,” a reminiscence of her walks in the upper Wind River country.
 
The University of Wyoming asked Mary to teach extension art classes, and she was soon teaching in Dubois, Lander, Crowheart and Riverton.  Her classes were immensely popular, and the annual art show she arranged for her students and regional artists gave rise to the Wind River Valley Artists’ Guild.  Her efforts were later recognized when she received the Governor’s Award for Service to the Arts.  In addition, both she and Joe were awarded the Medallion of Honor by Central Wyoming College in 1982.
 
The Backs celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1983, and over 200 people arrived at their small studio home.  This turnout portrayed the public’s appreciation for all of Joe and Mary’s community service. 
 
Joe Back passed away on September 7, 1986.  This was a terrific blow to Mary - she had lost her husband, best friend, and lifelong partner in all affairs.  Despite the loss, Mary continued her work with the Wind River Valley Artists’ Guild and maintained her habit of walking and bird watching along the Wind River; but she had lost much of her desire to paint with Joe’s passing.
 
Mary Back died on May 28, 1991, but the legacy of Joe and Mary Back lives on through their artwork, writings and in the fond memories of countless friends.
 
The Wind River Valley Artists’ Guild is now housed in the beautiful Headwaters Arts and Conference Center in Dubois.  Visitors can enjoy the artwork of Joe and Mary Back as well as many other fine artists.

John Baughman was born August 26, 1950, in Pittsburgh, PA.  He lived in West Virginia, Montana and Colorado where he received his BS degree in Fisheries Science in 1972 from Colorado State University and a Masters degree in Zoology from the University of Wyoming in 1974.  Upon graduation, he went to work for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as the Wildlife Planner.  From 1976 to 1995, John worked as Reservoir Research Supervisor, Fisheries Management Coordinator and then Assistant Chief of the Fisheries Division.  In 1995 John became Deputy Director of the Department and then served as Director from 1996 to 2002.
 
Under John’s leadership the Department developed and implemented the Hunting and Fishing Expo, the Private Lands/Public Wildlife program, the “Access Yes” program, the first alternative funding programs e.g. the Wildlife Heritage Foundation and Game and Fish credit cards and the Lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.
 
Following his game and fish career, John served as Executive Vice President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.   In that capacity, he and his staff worked nationally on the Farm Bill, Wallop-Breaux Reauthorization, a new transportation bill with major funding to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions, continued and enhanced funding for state wildlife grants, and worked with Boone and Crockett to develop and implement concept of National Conservation Leadership Institute.
 
John saw affiliation with professional and other like-minded conservation groups as important to one's character building and career development. In that regard, he during his career, he has been a member of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), past president of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of AFS,  a lifetime member of Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation and a member of the Boone and Crocket Club. He has authored one book (now in its second edition) and has over 100 popular, semi-technical and professional articles and presentations to his credit.  He served as the president of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), chaired WAFWA's Awards and Recognition Committee, and served on the Executive Committee.
 
On the national scene, he served as vice-chair of the Legislative and Federal Budget Committee, chaired the Threatened and Endangered Species Committee, and the Wildlife Damage Management Committee.  He is past-chair of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Iafwa) Committee on National Grants and served on IAFWA's Executive Committee.
 
John and his wife, Demity, retired in 2006 and live in Cody, Wyoming.  

Aven Nelson was born on March 24, 1859 to Norwegian emigrants, on a small farm in southeast Iowa.  He was the youngest of four children.  
 
In 1883, Aven earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Normal College and began his career as an assistant professor of natural sciences at Drury College in Springfield, Missouri.  In 1887, he and his wife, Celia moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where he joined four others as the first professors on the University of Wyoming campus.  He served as the University’s first librarian and professor of economic biology, zoology, animal, physiology, hygiene, physical geography and calisthenics. 
 
In 1891, he took a leave of absence and went to Harvard to complete a master’s degree. He returned to Wyoming in 1894 and in the next two years he collected over 2,300 botanical specimens.  In 1899, he convinced the University to establish the Rocky Mountain Herbarium.   In 1901, he became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  In 1904, he earned a Ph.D from the University of Denver. 
 
Dr. Nelson published “New Manual of the Botany of the Central Rocky Mountains (Vascular Plants)” with John Coulter as senior author but complete rewritten by Nelson.  The work contained 2788 species, 1788 synonyms, 55 new species, and 133 new combinations.  A few years later he published “Spring Flora of the Intermountain States” .
 
He became the Vice President of the University in 1914 and then in 1917 was named acting President and then served as President from 1918 to 1922.
 
Aven married Ruth Ashton from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a graduate student at UW in 1931.  That same year, he retired from teaching.
 
The Aven Nelson Memorial Building on the University campus was named in his honor.  He received an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Colorado  and received  an honorary doctor of law degree from the University of Wyoming, during its 50^th anniversary.
 
At the age of 80, he and Ruth botanized Mount McKinley National Park.  Ruth authored three books, “Plants of Rocky Mountain National Park”, “Plants of Zion National Park: Wildflowers, Trees, Shrubs, and Ferns”, and a “Handbook of Rocky Mountain Plants”.
 
Dr. Nelson died on March 31, 1952 at the age of 93 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

John F. Turner was born in Moose, Wyoming on March 3, 1942.  He was raised in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where his father owned a ranch.  He was educated at the University of Notre Dame, receiving a B.A. in biology in 1964.  He was assistant director for the University of Notre Dame foreign studies program in Innsbruck for 1964-65.  He then attended the University of Michigan and received an M.S. in wildlife ecology in 1970.
 
John then returned to Jackson Hole as a partner at the Triangle X Ranch, a dude ranch in Grand Teton National Park.  In 1983, he was elected to the Wyoming Senate.  He served as the Wyoming Senate’s vice president from 1983 to 1985; senate majority floor leader from 1985 to 1987; and president of the Wyoming Senate from 1987 to 1989.  He was also vice chairman of the board for the National Wetlands System Advisory Board from 1983 to 1987 and was a member of the National Wetlands Policy Forum 1987-88.
 
In 1989, President George H.W. Bush named Turner Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service where he created over 50 wildlife refuges.  He served there until 1983, when he became president and chief executive officer of The Conservation Fund.  He worked there until 2001, when President George W. Bush nominated Turner to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; he subsequently held that office until July 2005.
 
John became the first ever Beverly and Eldon Spicer Visiting Professor in Environmental and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming in 2006.  Since leaving public service, Turner has served on the Board of Directors of International Paper, Northeast Utilities, Peabody Energy, and Ashland Inc.

David Bragonier was born in Iowa in 1937 and moved to Wyoming after graduating high school.  In 1956 Dave began working for the US Forest Service before being appointed as a Special Deputy Game Warden in 1958.  He served in that capacity for 34 years, and was stationed in Jackson,  Baggs, Kaycee, Dayton, Riverton and Cody.  After his retirement from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Dave also served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation.
 
Dave has dedicated his entire life to conserving Wyoming’s wildlife and wild places and the name Dave Bragonier is synonymous with wildlife law enforcement in Wyoming.  He was in a position to see great changes in Wyoming during the energy booms and witnessed  impacts to Wyoming habitats through mineral extraction industries, grazing, recreation, and urban development and expansion.  Dave worked with the various industries, agencies and non-government organizations on behalf of Wyoming’s wildlife and habitat.  During his tenure he had direct influence on Game and Fish Commission regulations, Wyoming State Statutes and Federal Land Management Agency decisions relating to our natural resources.
 
Today Dave lives near Powell, Wyoming and continues to collect, organize and disseminate historical information relevant to wildlife, wildlife management and conservation.  He continues to lecture on conservation issues at museums, libraries and other public forums.  

Rex Corsi was born September 30, 1927 on a farm in Etna, Wyoming.  He served in the US Navy prior to receiving a BS degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Wyoming in 1951.  Rex was employed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department from 1951 to his retirement in 1989.  His first position with the Department was in statewide fish distribution and he then spent four and a half years as Fish Biologist for western Wyoming.  Rex then served as Game Warden for 10 years with duty locations in Jackson, Jeffrey City, Cody, Ten Sleep and Worland.  In 1965 he was appointed the Cody District Game Division Supervisor. From 1966 to 1972 he served as Assistant State Game Warden in Cheyenne and from 1972 until his retirement he served as State Game Warden and Chief of the Wildlife Division.
 
Rex received the Professional Wildlife of the Year Award from the Wyoming chapter of the Wildlife Society.  His leadership and judgment was crucial to the policies that have formed a solid foundation for the development of science-based management of wildlife in Wyoming.  Some of the many policies and legislation actions of long-term significance for which he exhibited a major leadership role include: 1)prevention of the continued expansion of elk feedgrounds in Wyoming, 2)the prevention of legislation and policies leading to the loss of wildlife being able to range freely between public and private lands, 3) the prevention of legislation enabling the introduction of big game ranching into Wyoming, and 4) the initiation of a science-based team to conduct the most thorough analysis ever conducted on big game and exotic game ranching and its effects on native wildlife and habitat.
 
In 1990, after his retirement, Rex received the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Guy Bradley Award for his contributions to wildlife law enforcement.  Rex and his wife, Nancy, reside in Cheyenne, WY.