Training

WYDOT’s employee development

By Jim Boyd, Training Services

As we start a new fiscal year, my sense is that it’s a good time to write about and review the development opportunities afforded to employees through WYDOT University. First however, I want to discuss the reasons why employees should care about employee development.

As the manager of the training program, I’ve heard many comments about employee development over the years. One of the most common perceptions I’ve run into has to do with the disconnect between engaging in a development opportunity and advancing into higher level positions. Essentially, why should one spend time on employee development when they see little to no advancement opportunities?

To be honest, it’s a fair question. Employee development, like attending a workshop or program, completing an online class, or even going back to school, takes time, may or may not be specifically related to one’s occupation, and may end up not being what was expected. Plus, this doesn’t even cover whether the effort ended in anything tangible.

My short answer is this; development is ultimately not about advancement. Instead, it’s about improvement. A by-product of development might be to advance in a career, either at WYDOT or elsewhere. However, even if it doesn’t go that route, it still matters.

For example, taking a course about productivity might not help increase your salary, but it might give you some techniques to better manage your workload so that you can handle those days when things seem unbearable. Attending a webinar on the latest design techniques might help you bring back some innovative ideas to your work team, and going through our new supervisor program, WY Supervise, may end up giving you the tools and techniques you need to have the most difficult conversations with employees turn into the most productive ones. My belief is that employee development matters.

At WYDOT, if you’re looking for employee development opportunities, you should start by accessing the WYDOT Employee Learning Library, or WELL. Employees are automatically assigned an account in the WELL upon hire and should receive a message with your username and password. Once in the WELL system, you can find all types of training. A good place to start is by clicking on the “Find Training” button. There, you have 3 catalogs, Internal, External, and Additional Training. The Internal Training catalog contains training you can register for and/or complete IN THE WELL. Here are a few to look for:

Workshops: filter by “Enrollments” to find workshops that have been scheduled throughout the year as well as find workshops that can be offered as soon as we have enough interest (these are called “Wish list” classes). eLearning: filter by “Course” to find training you can take at your computer. Start one and stop it at your own pace. When you come back, look in the “My Learning” section to find it and resume where you left off.

Programs: filter by “Learning Plan” to find a collection of learning based on a subject. For example, you can find learning themes, tracks, and pathways like WY Supervise here.

If you return to the “Find Training” button, you can select the External Course Catalog which contains training that’s hosted by our partners and that is EXTERNAL TO THE WELL. Once you find a course, you will be redirected to a different site where you will need to register and enroll. Think of this like a SMART TV. It’ll take you to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu, but you’ll need an account for each one to access the content. However, once you’ve signed up, you’ll have full access to everything our partners offer! Here again, are a few to look for:

Transportation Learning Network (TLN): filter by “TLN” to find current transportation related (and some soft skills) webinars you can watch on your computer.

Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3): filter where you see “TC3” to find eLearning transportation related curriculum you can take anytime.

Lastly, return to the “Find Training” button one more time, and you can select the Additional Training Resources section. This is where you can find other sources for safety, technical, and vocational training. Here finally, are a few to look for:

Google Apps: Click the Google link to find self paced training guides for everything Google.

LinkedIn Learning State Library: As a state employee, you have access to LinkedIn Learning’s suite of online classes. You’ll need your library card and password to enter.

Readitfor.me: WYDOT employees have access to hundreds of non-fiction employee and leadership development book summaries. This is a great way to learn a little bit about all sorts of topics in only a little bit of time.

Job aids are available on the WELL to help you set up accounts for any development opportunity that’s external to the WELL. As always, please contact any team member with Training Services, or through dot-training@wyo.gov if you have additional questions. We’re here to support you. n

A WYDOT U classroom filled with employees attending a new supervisor’s training.

Draft roadkill collection regulation, public comments taken

By Sara DiRienzo, Wyoming Game and Fish

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department took public comments on the recently released draft of Chapter 70 – the regulation that will govern the collection of road-killed wildlife. The draft rules outline the proposed requirements and permission system for picking up big game that have been killed on select roadways in Wyoming to be put toward beneficial use.

The draft regulations were written in close coordination with the Wyoming Department of Transportation for collecting roadkilled deer, elk, antelope, moose, bison or wild turkey.

“Safety is a main concern,” said Mike Choma, law enforcement supervisor. “It can be dangerous to stop on a busy highway, so the drafted regulation includes a series of safety requirements that Game and Fish and WYDOT feel are essential.”

As drafted, safety considerations bar people from picking up carcasses from extremely busy roadways, such as interstates 25, 80 and 90. It also disallows collection in active construction areas and within national parks in Wyoming. Other rules outline where to park for collection and the use of emergency flashers, as well as banning field dressing on the roadway.

Limiting the spread of disease is another concern. For wildlife managers, preventing the spread of chronic wasting disease is the foundation for requirements such as taking the whole animal – both edible and inedible portions – and following all carcass transport and disposal procedures – same as a hunter.

In the draft rules, Game and Fish also addressed the concern that people may attempt to cover-up illegal taking of wildlife by passing it off as roadkill. Choma said the rules help deter that.

“The proposed regulation addresses illegal taking of wildlife right up front. The permission to collect roadkill is only valid for unintentional motor vehicle collisions and no one is authorized to euthanize an injured animal under these regulations,” Choma said. “People who submit false information will be in violation.”

Game and Fish is working closely with WYDOT to develop a mobile application to authorize people to collect roadkill. An electronic authorization will be required for anyone who wants to collect a carcass.

The full draft of Chap. 70 is available online and was open for comments on the Game and Fish website until Sept. 24. A public meeting was held in Casper at the Game and Fish office Aug. 26. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission was asked to approve the regulation at their November meeting in Riverton. Until approved and effective, no one is permitted to collect road-killed big game.

Hunters an important component in helping understand CWD and achieve monitoring goals

By Sara DiRienzo, Wyoming Game and Fish

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect lymph node samples from deer and elk for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in focused monitoring hunt areas across Wyoming. Hunters are an important component in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals.

Game and Fish is targeting Deer Hunt Areas 1-6, 19, 24, 25, 27-33, 41, 46, 47, 50-53, 61, 66, 74-77, 124, 130, 131, 134, 135, 138-146, 150-157, 163, 165, 169 and 171.

New this year; Deer Hunt Areas 96 and 97 require mandatory lymph nodes submissions for testing.

Elk focus hunt areas include 13, 15, 21, 41, 45, 67-71, 75, 7785, 88-91, 97, 98, 102-105, 108, 127 and 130.

“We are asking hunters in these hunt areas to please submit a lymph node sample from their harvested deer or elk for testing,” said Hank Edwards, Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor. “The samples hunters submit are critical to monitoring CWD within Wyoming’s deer and elk populations.”

Hunters A collected lymph node for testing. outside of this year’s focused surveillance areas can still submit a sample for testing. Hunters can learn how to take a sample by watching a how-to video on the Game and Fish website and submit it alongside the CWD data sheet. Hunters can also have animals sampled at any game check station this season or by stopping at the Game and Fish Headquarters or regional offices from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Results from CWD testing are available online within three weeks. Hunters can expedite results within 10 working days for a $30 fee; contact the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab in Laramie at (307) 766-9925 for more information.

Continued monitoring of CWD over time is important to help Game and Fish understand the potential impacts of the disease as

well as evaluate future management actions for deer and elk.

Game and Fish has a rotational sampling program designed to monitor CWD throughout the state by targeting specific hunt areas. The method provides the long-term data collection needed for CWD while not overwhelming the Wildlife Health Laboratory with testing.

Hunters also need to be aware of Wyoming carcass transport and disposal rules to prevent the spread of CWD within Wyoming and other states. Wyoming’s regulations require deer, elk and moose hunters transport only the following items within Wyoming: • Deer, elk and moose can be transported to a camp, private residence for processing, a taxidermist, a processor or a CWD sample collection site in Wyoming provided the head and all portions of the spinal column remain at the site of kill or such parts are disposed in any approved landfill or approved incinerator in Wyoming. A listing of landfills that will accept waste from processed game animals and whole carcasses is available on the Game and Fish website. • Cut and wrapped meat • Edible portions with no portion of the spinal column or head attached • Cleaned hide without the head attached • Skull, skull plate or antlers that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue • Teeth • Finished taxidermy mounts • Whole deer, elk and moose carcasses cannot be transported out of Wyoming. The only parts approved to leave the state are edible portions with no part of the spinal column or head; cleaned hide without the head; skull, skull plate or antlers that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; teeth; or finished taxidermy mounts. All hunters need to check with their home states for the rules about importing deer, elk or moose from Wyoming.

Hunters are reminded they must abide by the evidence of sex, species and horn or antler development retention requirements as per regulations.

Since 1997, the Wyoming Game and Fish has been monitoring the distribution and prevalence of CWD to better understand how this disease may affect the health of Wyoming’s deer and elk populations. Initial surveillance goals focused on the detection of CWD in new areas of the state along with monitoring the disease. This disease has now been identified in most deer hunt areas across Wyoming and necessitates a shift in focus of the program from detection to monitoring.

More information and resources for hunters on CWD is available on the Game and Fish CWD webpage.

Super Tag raises $1.46 million for wildlife conservation in 2021

The Wyoming Super Tag raffle raised $1.46 million dollars for conservation in 2021. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s program saw another record-breaking year of ticket sales, bolstered by hunters vying for 11 chances to get a license for the state’s premier big and trophy game.

Created by Gov. Matt Mead and the Wyoming Legislature in 2013, the Super Tag raffle provides hunters opportunity and raises money for wildlife management in Wyoming. This year, 111,606 tickets were sold, nearly a 9% increase from last year. The program has raised more than $7.6 million for top conservation issues since its inception.

“Thank you hunters for the ongoing and enthusiastic support for Wyoming’s wildlife,” said Glenn Pauley, who coordinates the Super Tag raffle for Game and Fish. “Super Tag revenue goes to support Game and Fish programs that address Wyoming’s most pressing topics— like the Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative, chronic wasting disease, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and inspiring the next generation of conservationists.”

This fall, hunters will pursue bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat, elk, bison, deer, pronghorn, black bear, gray wolf and mountain lion or a combination of three species of their choice with the Trifecta. A 12th winner was awarded a gear package with top-of-the-line hunting equipment and apparel.

The 2021 winners, determined through a random draw, are: • Super Tag Trifecta: Wyatt Phillips, California • Pronghorn: Billy Luke, Texas • Deer: Michael Hansen, Utah • Elk: Augustine Gallo, California • Bighorn sheep: David Marko, Kansas • Black bear: Tyrel Faber, Colorado • Gray wolf: Caleb Masters, Texas • Moose: Adam Flod, Pennsylvania • Mountain goat: Mark Maki, North Dakota • Mountain lion: Kevin Ciavarra, California • Wild bison: Hayes Mire, Louisiana • Ultimate Gear Package: Cody Arbuckle, California

The Super Tag Trifecta, pronghorn, elk and black bear hunters only purchased one ticket each to win.

Winning the Super Tag allows hunters to choose any open hunt area in the state, with some limitations depending on license availability for moose, sheep and bison. Furthermore, lifetime limits do not apply and hunters keep their preference points

Thirteen outdoor companies donated $32,301 worth of gear to support the Super Tag. These companies include: Gunwerks, First Lite, goHUNT, Weatherby, Swarovski Optik, Worldwide Trophy Adventures, Maven, HuntWise, Mathews Archery, Prime Archery, Stone Glacier, Meindl USA and Sig Sauer. Donated gear provided incentives for hunters to purchase tickets in monthly raffles and the Ultimate Gear Package raffle.

Tickets for the 2022 Super Tag raffle are on sale now; the tentative deadline to purchase is Jan. 31, 2022. n