Mauled man killed griz

HELENA, Mont. - State wildlife officials said Monday they have confirmed a mountain man's story that he killed a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone National Park after it attacked and mauled him.

Bob Johnson was mauled by a grizzly two weeks ago, but just last week divulged that he had killed the bear with a .44-caliber Magnum pistol.

State game warden Sgt. Mark Anderson said officials found the dead bear, and evidence at the scene confirmed Johnson's story. Anderson estimated that the bear was a 200- to 250-pound sow, possibly with a cub.

Johnson said last week that he did not report killing the bear because he had a federal poaching violation in the 1980s and feared he could be in trouble for carrying the handgun.

Killing a grizzly bear is illegal unless it is done in self-defense.

Cheyenne buys $5.9 million ranch

CHEYENNE - The city finalized a deal paying $5.9 million for a 17,000-acre ranch that could provide residents with another source of water, a new landfill and recreational and development opportunities.

The Belvoir Ranch extends mostly east to west, beginning about three miles west of Interstate 25 and reaching about 20 miles to the west.

The deal was between the city, Board of Public Utilities and Colorado Rockies Chairman and CEO Jerry McMorris.

Opponents said the city and the board moved too quickly and didn't know for sure if the touted water supply and associated water rights would be available. They pointed out that the area is contaminated with varying levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, a cleaning solvent left over at abandoned Atlas missile sites.

Rawlins precipitation tops average

RAWLINS - Precipitation so far this year is nearly 2/3-inch above average.

Usually Rawlins get 5.2 inches of moisture through June. Over the first six months of the year, 5.8 inches of rain and snow moisture fell on the city, according to Ray Gomez, a National Weather Service hydrologist.

Gomez remains cautious, however, whether the moisture signals the end of three years of drought. "It's hard to tell if we're coming out of the drought with just a couple of months of data," he said.

At the end of last July, only about half of the usual amount of precipitation had fallen on Rawlins. And by the end of last year, the area was about 9.5 inches behind in precipitation over the course of three years of drought.

Homestake land transfer mulled

SUNDANCE - The future ownership of 30,643 acres of land previously owned by the Homestake Mine will be the topic of an informational meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Crook County Courthouse in Sundance.

The Moskee Forest Tract is up for sale in a single unit and the possibility that it may be acquired by the federal government is controversial.

The Crook County Board of Commissioners has an established process regarding the potential transfer of private land to public ownership. The commissioners are now in the information-gathering phase of the process.