Reward for Information on Kane Cemetery Vandalism

The National Park Service is offering $1,000 for information on vandalism of the Kane Cemetery, about 10 miles northwest of Lovell, in Bighorn Canyon NRA. The vandalism occurred sometime between Halloween and Nov. 13. Thirty-one headstones were toppled, broken, or spray-painted. Kane was abandoned after the Yellowtail Dam was built and the old townsite was flooded by the new reservoir. If you have any information, contact Pete Sawtell or Jessica Korhut at 307-548-5421

More on the Recluse Community Hall

The following appeared in the Casper Star-Tribune this morning (Nov. 30):

Trust steps up plan to build new Recluse community hall
By KIM PHAGAN-HANSEL - Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 12:00 am

GILLETTE -- Members of the Recluse Community Trust will meet again at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Recluse School to move forward with the plan to construct a new community building to replace the Recluse Community Hall built in 1934.

For the past five years, the Recluse Community Trust has worked to raise the money to restore the old building through grants and donations. But after several setbacks and rising construction costs, the group recently decided to move away from the restoration project and focus on constructing a new community building. That decision has caused debate among area residents, as some would like to maintain the community hall.

During a meeting Nov. 21, several committees reported to the Recluse Community Trust board regarding potential design plans for the new building, which will be adjacent to the community arena. In addition, another committee presented ideas for incorporating elements from the old building into the new structure. "We looked at a couple of different designs," Recluse Community Trust President Marilyn Mackey said.

When the group meets again in December, Mackey said it will focus on finalizing a design for the building so the group can move forward with the project. Included in that will be determining ways the old building can be incorporated into the new one -- from using the old flooring as a dance floor to incorporating the bar into the kitchen design. "We're looking at salvaging as much of the old building into the new to keep that history," Mackey said.

But one of the biggest projects at the most recent meeting was creating a new mission statement for the Recluse Community Trust and discussing ways to update the community on the new direction. Mackey said the group was successful in creating its mission statement: "The mission for the Recluse Community Trust shall be to utilize the assets of the trust for the public benefit and use of the Recluse community and the encouragement of historical, educational, charitable and literary activities."

While the Powder River Breaks Foundation has not yet formally contacted the Recluse Community Trust board with its desire to obtain the building and move forward with the original restoration plan, Mackey did say the Recluse Community Trust composed a letter asking members of the Powder River Breaks Foundation to continue working with the community. "We did approve a letter we sent to the Powder River Breaks Foundation and asked them to join us," Mackey said.

The Recluse Community Trust also received notification from the Wyoming Business Council that a grant originally obtained by the Recluse Community Trust for the restoration of the old hall would not be transferable to the Powder River Breaks Foundation, Mackey said.

Because the $300,000 grant will have to be forfeited, the Recluse Community Trust is going to have to return funds that have already been spent, as well as raise enough funding for the new building project. Mackey said a new fundraising committee will be created at the next meeting. Overall, Mackey said she is pleased with the direction things are going and hopes that the community will once again come together to create a new facility that will meet its needs. "I hope that we can come together and move past that," Mackey said.

Foundation moves forward

Even though the Powder River Breaks Foundation learned that the grant is not transferable, it is not giving up on its mission to save the Recluse Community Hall. "We knew it was a long shot ... but it was nonetheless a disappointment," said Sue Wallis, a member of the Recluse Community Trust who is helping establish the Powder River Breaks Foundation.

Wallis is pulling together paperwork to establish the foundation and move forward in the attempt to save the Recluse Community Hall. Now an affiliate of the Wyoming Community Foundation, the Powder River Breaks Foundation is applying for grants and loans that will enable the organization to purchase the hall and move it to another location, where it will be restored. "We're going to do our darnedest to keep this building intact and open to the public," Wallis said. "If we can do it, we're going to save this old hall."

However, the fate of the building rests with the Recluse Community Trust, which currently owns the building. In the near future the members of the Powder River Breaks Foundation will present its proposal to the trust in the hope that it will allow the foundation to continue with the original plan to restore the hall.

Also, AHW has teamed up with Public News Service to get this story out through radio outlets. Listen to it on AHW's website.

Buffalo BLM to host open houses

The Buffalo BLM is hosting two open houses to discuss their Resource Management Plan revisions along with issues surrounding Fortification Creek and greater sage grouse management. The meetings, which will be informal open houses, will be held as follows:

Monday, Dec. 14, 3-7PM, Buffalo Field Office, 1425 Fort Street, Buffalo
Tuesday, Dec. 15, 3-7PM, University of WY Extension Office, 1000 S. Douglas Highway, Gillette

For more info, you can check our website under Government Watch/BLM.

Kane Cemetery Vandalized

The following article appeared in the Billings Gazette:

Wyoming ghost town vandalized

The National Park Service is trying to find the culprits behind a Wyoming ghost town cemetery vandalism spree that damaged several historic tombstones.

Kane , about two miles from where Shoshone and Bighorn rivers meet in Big Horn County, was abandoned around 1965 when the Yellowtail Dam in Montana flooded the area surrounding the small town.

The cemetery, located on higher ground a few miles north of where the town stood, wasn’t inundated.

Park officials from the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, which straddles the Wyoming-Montana border, first noticed the vandalism on Nov. 4, then saw additional vandalism the evening of Nov. 13.

They said several headstones have been knocked down or broken and others have been painted with spray paint.

Inhabitants of the cemetery include Mormon settlers who came to the region a century ago.

Historic Recluse Hall

Community Group Organizes to Save the Historic Recluse Hall

Last night, November 11, 2009, the existing Recluse Community Trust voted to abandon the historic preservation and renovation of the Recluse Community Hall in favor of building a metal pole building in a different location. Some members of the community, however, are still committed to the original purpose of the project, and are organizing as quickly as possible in an effort to keep the Hall from disappearing forever. Several multi-generational families in the community have come together, along with supporters from across the nation to see that this irreplaceable building remains a beautiful and functional gathering place for northern Campbell County for generations to come.

The Powder River Breaks Foundation has filed paperwork with the Wyoming Secretary of State today to become a Wyoming nonprofit corporation, and the Wyoming Community Foundation has agreed to serve as the fiscal sponsor and administer funds until the new nonprofit receives its own IRS 501(c)(3) status. The first initiative of the new Foundation will be preserving and maintaining the historic Recluse Hall.

The Powder River Breaks Foundation will offer all of the donors who contributed to the original project the opportunity to leave their generous donations with its original purpose. “We hope that it might be possible,” says Billee Hackett, lifelong member of the community, “to find a way to keep our old Hall.”

As the existing Recluse Community Trust finalizes their plans to move forward on the pole barn building, they will be contacting each donor to see if they would like to support a different purpose.

One of the consequences of the existing Trust voting to abandon the Hall, is that they forfeit a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) which was granted to Campbell County by the Wyoming Business Council for the specific purpose of renovating the historic Hall and adding an addition that would include restrooms, a kitchen, and a library. One of the major advantages for the existing Recluse Community Trust, if they will agree to transfer the title to the building, and the responsibility for completing the CDBG supported project to the new Powder River Breaks Foundation, is that they would not be required to return the more than $34,000 of CDBG grant funds that have already been spent, nor be saddled with the responsibility of what to do with the old Hall. This should be a considerable financial advantage towards their new project.

For more information,
contact: Frank Wallis

Listen for AHW on your local radio stations!

You may hear the Alliance for Historic Wyoming mentioned today on your local radio station. Tom Rea, a member of our board, did an interview earlier this week about the potential impact of wind power on the national historic trails:

LANDER, Wyo. - Wind power may be the star of Wyoming's new energy boom, though it also raises a potentially-touchy historic preservation issue. The American Wind Energy Association says the state is in the top five for new development - and power company Duke Energy recently announced plans for more wind towers.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Lander is looking at wind-power potential in its latest management outline, and it could prove to be a tricky balancing act, according to Tom Rea with the Alliance for Historic Wyoming. His group has been working to preserve historic westward trails at South Pass and he thinks wind towers would clash with the snapshot of history the trails provide now.

"It's not like history is the only thing they're having to deal with; they're also having to deal with wildlife habitat, especially the sage grouse, and water, and all kinds of other things, too."

The Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, and even-older Native American trails, all become one at South Pass. Most of the trail is on BLM land, though trail branches and sections are also on nearby private land.

A large ranch near South Pass was recently purchased by an out-of-stater who has big plans for wind energy development. Rea says they've met with the new landowner and discovered a shared appreciation for preserving the area's history.

"We have the best and most pristine stretch of the Oregon-California Trail. It looks very much like it did 150 years ago when the covered wagons were going across it."

Rea says they would like to see written guidelines from the BLM about preserving the trail viewshed.

Deb Courson, Public News Service - WY

You can listen to the audio clip here. Let us know if you hear this broadcast on your local radio station. And, remember, it's not too late for you to help out with our efforts to protect the Greater South Pass Historic Landscape.

HAAF Funding Needs Your Support!

Historic Preservation Projects in Wyoming need your help! A critical Wyoming SHPO program needs your support to ensure that it receives continued funding for the next biennium. In 2009, the Wyoming State Legislature established the Historic Architecture Assistance Fund (HAAF) as a partnership between the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and the Wyoming Main Street Program. The fund was established as a onetime grant program and will end July 1, 2010 unless additional funding is appropriated. Refunding the HAAF program is currently under consideration, as the Governor and the Joint Appropriations Committee prepare the budget for the next biennium.

In the short time the grant program has been available, 48 technical assistance grants totaling $187,500 have been awarded to the owners of historic buildings in 24 Wyoming communities (see attached table). HAAF funds have gone to support a range of projects as diverse as churches, historic schoolhouses, ranch properties, grain silos, historic hotel buildings, and a wide variety of downtown commercial buildings. These grants provide the critical first step in a project, by providing a building owner with the services of an experienced preservation architect to analyze a building and make recommendations for its preservation. The positive response to this program has nearly exhausted the funds allocated for it.

The 48 projects funded through this program is impressive, and points out the pent up demand for preservation architectural assistance in Wyoming. We urge you to write to Governor Freudenthal and the members of the Joint Appropriations Committee in support of continued funding for HAAF. If a project in your community has been funded, be sure to thank the legislators for their help. If not, let them know of projects in your community that could benefit from this fund in the future. You should also consider copying your letter to the Governor and the JAC to your own state representative and state senator.

Please send a copy of any correspondence to:

Milward Simpson, Director
State Parks and Cultural Resources
2301 Central Ave.
Cheyenne, Wy. 82002

AHW on Facebook, too!

Don't forget to check in on our Facebook page!

Innagural Post

Dear fellow board members,

This is the first of many informative, useful, and thought-provoking posts that will appear on this page. We can link to our website http://historicwyoming.org/ and include pictures. Everyone can have a sign-in user name.

I hope we can use this blog as a useful tool for preservation in Wyoming.

All the best,

k