September 2021 - 4

A COUPLE PENNIES
Challenge meets reward
By Tracie Binkerd, editor
Some of our biggest undertakings
in life have a way of giving long after
the hardest work is done. It's just like
a big hunt, when you enjoy the benefits
of filling the freezer long after the fall.
For Wyoming Wildlife magazine, we've
found our biggest special issue in years
- December's grizzly bear issue - is one
that continues to reward us.
When Wyoming Wildlife set forth
to create a special issue all about the
Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears, we
knew it would be a challenge. It's not
an exaggeration to say that magazine
was a bear to put together. We wanted
it to give a comprehensive look at the
history of grizzlies and their management
in Wyoming. It's not a simple topic to
cover - and trying to do it in 48 pages
upped the challenge. Still, the magazine
team embraced it. For several months we
went to bed thinking about grizzly bears.
The bruins crept into our dreams and
consumed our thoughts every day. We had
the daunting task of telling their story. We
worked closely with the Wyoming Game
and Fish Department large carnivore team
- the experts in the field - to make
sure we offered a comprehensive look at
how the state has managed the threatened
species throughout the years.
To say we let out a sigh of relief when
the magazine went to print would be an
understatement. But letting it go was
bittersweet. We had spent so long working
on one topic, seeing it go out the door was
rewarding but somehow left us wanting
more griz. It didn't end when the magazines
were delivered to mailboxes, though. The
response from readers was overwhelming.
Letters, emails, phone calls and personal
interactions poured through praising the
special issue. Coworkers commented on
the magazine as we passed them in the
hallways, teachers requested magazines
and posters for their classrooms, others
involved in conservation took notice
- people couldn't get enough of it.
4 | September 2021
We were thrilled that nine months
after the magazine was released, the issue
continued to give. The Association for
Conservation Information, a nonprofit
organization made up of natural resources
communicators throughout the U.S. and
Canada, recognized Wyoming Wildlife for
the special grizzly bear issue and other
work during 2020. Wyoming Wildlife
received national awards in six categories
during ACI's recent awards banquet.
The December magazine, along
with the July 2020 Inspire a Kid issue,
was honored with first place in ACI's
magazine category. It is truly an honor to
be nationally recognized for the magazine,
and in an especially difficult category to
break into. Not only did we get the best
magazine award, the poster that appeared
in the December issue also earned first
place in the poster category. December
was the first time Wyoming Wildlife has
inserted a poster in the magazine, and we're
glad the risk to include that additional
material was welcomed. The special issue
was also the first one we offered as an
e-edition, which is available for free at
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/
WyomingWildlife/December2020.
Wyoming Wildlife remains dedicated
to giving you even more amazing content
about Wyoming's wild animals and wild
places moving forward.
In all, ACI awarded the magazine with
six awards:
First place
* Magazine - July 2020
and December 2020
* Poster - Griz on the Go
* General interest - The bigger picture,
by Patrick Wine
* Destination - historical or cultural,
Opening the borders for justice, by
Christina Schmidt
Third place
* Wildlife - Worrying the fence, by
Tracie Binkerd
* Graphics: Layout - Dancers in the
Snow, layout by Patrick Owen
WYOMING
WILDLIFE
VOLUME 85, NUMBER 9 * SEPTEMBER 2021
State of Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission
Governor
President
Vice President
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Peter Dube, Buffalo
Gay Lynn Byrd, Douglas
Ralph Brokaw, Arlington
Richard Ladwig, Manville
Kenneth Roberts, Kemmerer
Mark Jolovich, Torrington
Ashlee Lundvall, Powell
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Director
Deputy Director
Deputy Director
Chief of Fiscal
Chief of Wildlife
Chief of Fisheries
Chief of Services
Brian Nesvik
John Kennedy
Angela Bruce
Greg Phipps
Richard King
Alan Osterland
Eric Wiltanger
Magazine Staff
Editor
Associate Editor
Creative Director
Administrative Assistant
Tracie Binkerd
Robert Gagliardi
Patrick Owen
Meg Frost
Wyoming Wildlife (ISSN 0043-9819) is published monthly (including the November
calendar issue) by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Periodicals postage
paid at Cheyenne, WY and additional mailing offices. Postmaster, please send all
changes of address to Wyoming Wildlife, P.O. Box 469001, Escondido, CA 92046.
Printed in the USA. COPYRIGHT 2015 BY THE WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CONSERVING WILDLIFE
SERVING PEOPLE
How to subscribe
Call 800-710-8345 (toll-free) to subscribe or to modify a subscription.
SUBSCRIBE / ADDRESS
CHANGES / GIVE A GIFT:
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
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$2.50 per issue on newsstands
ADDRESS LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR TO:
Wyoming Wildlife
5400 Bishop Blvd.
Cheyenne, WY 82006
wyomingwildlife@wyo.gov
BACK ISSUES:
Back issues from the past year are
available at
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How to connect
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Affiliations
Mark Gordon
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/About-Us/Game-and-Fish-Commission/Meet-the-Commissioners https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020/ http://wgfd.wyo.gov/store/ http://www.facebook.com/wyomingwildlifemagazine http://www.instagram.com/wygameandfish http://www.youtube.com/wygameandfish http://wgfd.wyo.gov/email-sign-up
September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021
