Highway re-opens after annual cattle drive Saturday morning
Published at
MOOSE, Wyoming — Head ’em in and move ’em out. Wranglers on the Pinto Ranch near Moran, Wyoming herded cattle through Grand Teton National Park Saturday morning.
Around 7 a.m., ranchers began herding about 300 head of cattle from their pastures east of Moran to summer pasture at Elk Ranch Flats.
Traffic in the area was delayed and U.S. Highway 89 was shut down for about an hour.
Several years ago, the Pinto Ranch ran its cattle free-range in the Pacific Creek grazing allotment north of Moran during the summer. To minimize potential conflicts with predators, park officials asked Pinto Ranch to graze its cattle in the fenced Elk Ranch Flats pastures.
“The Pinto Ranch is grazing spayed heifers only, rather than running a cow/calf operation allowing for reduced potential predator conflicts,” a news release from park officials says.
Park rangers provided traffic control on the highway during the cattle drive. It’s been an annual event since 1950 when park legislation enabled certain historic grazing privileges to be retained to ranchers.
The fenced and irrigated Elk Ranch Flats pastures have been used for grazing each summer season since then.
Park officials are grateful to drivers for their cooperation during the cattle drive, and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused.