Opinion ID: 2572750
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Billings was issued a special use permit by the U.S. Forest Service.... The special use permits mandated compliance with the Grizzly Bear Management and Protection Plan....

Text: B. Billings was also issued a Forest Service Order which specified the purpose of such an order was minimizing grizzly/human encounter[s]. ... The Order also set forth the requirements of 36 C.F.R. 261.58(s) and specifically prohibited Billings from possessing or leaving unattended any animal carcass unless the carcass was (a) at least ½ mile from any sleeping area, trail, or recreation site or (b) at least 100 yards from any sleeping area, trail or recreation site and acceptably stored, or (c) being eaten, being prepared for eating or being transported.... C. Billings' employee, Bill Crooks, testified in detail that healong with two other individuals and Billingsdrug a dead mule and left it somewhere between 250 and 275 yards from camp and 75 yards from the trail.... He further testified the carcass was bound to attract bears and that he witnessed several bears feeding on the carcass and at one point witnessed up to eight grizzly bears feeding on the mule's carcass at once.... D. Billings admitted he knew the scent of a carcass could attract bears and that close proximity of the carcass to humans could therefore, be dangerous.... He further admitted that while he attempted to move the carcass away from the camp, it was not moved far enough from the camp in accordance with his special use permit and the federal regulation.... E. 36 C.F.R. 261.58(s) is a significant federal law pertaining to wildlife, game and fish which is designed to protect an endangered species and to minimize grizzly/human encounters. The Board concluded that, as a matter of law, 7.... Billings violated a significant federal law pertaining to wildlife, game and fish on or about August 25, 1997. Specifically, Billings failed to properly dispose of a dead mule's carcass as required by 36 C.F.R. 261.58(s), Special Order properly issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. That particular federal regulation is a significant federal law in that its purpose is to minimize grizzly/human encounters and protect an endangered species. By violating 36 C.F.R. 261.58(s), Billings violated a significant federal law and such conduct therefore, is a basis for revocation of his license pursuant to WYO. STAT. 23-2-416(a)(iv), (x) and the Board's Rules and Regulations, Chapter 3, Section 1(t). [¶ 27] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 23-2-416(a) provides, in pertinent part: (a) The board may ... suspend or revoke a license issued under this act for any of the following causes: ... (iv) Violation of any significant federal or state law or related regulations pertaining to wildlife, game and fish; ... (x) Violation of this act or any rule or regulation of the board. [13] With the primary goal of minimizing grizzly/human encounters and thereby providing for user safety and grizzly bear protection, a Special Order was implemented pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a) and (b) (2003) [14] prohibiting the following: The following acts are prohibited while occupying or using the grizzly bear use areas shown in Exhibit A of this Order. [15]
(a) at least ½ mile from any sleeping area, trail, or recreation site or (b) at least 100 yards from any sleeping area, trail or recreation site and acceptably stored, or (c) being eaten, being prepared for eating or being transported. [17] [¶ 28] While Billings admitted during his hearing testimony that he did not dispose of the mule carcass according to the referenced Order's distance requirements, Billings contends that he took every common sense precaution available to comply with the regulation and to minimize the issues concerning human/bear interaction. Billings does not cite to any pertinent legal authority in advancing this argument. [¶ 29] Bill Crooks, a professional hunting guide, testified that in August 1997 (prior to any hunters arriving), he and three others (including Billings) were setting up the hunting camps when a thousand, 1100-pound mule died one evening in the lower camp. The next morning, with Billings directing, they attempted to move the mule carcass, which was quite a chore. They pulled the carcass away from camp through brush, sandbars, water, around trees, across a creek, and into timber using two saddle horses and at times we had one, two and up to three mules in line pulling, breaking the tree on a pack saddle in the process. According to Crooks, they ultimately left the carcass two-hundred-fifty to two-hundred-seventy-five yards from camp, closer to camp than the designated meat pole. Billings disputed this distance, claiming that they took the carcass approximately the same distance from camp as the meat pole (four hundred yards). Crooks also testified that Billings instructed them not to say anything to anybody about the carcass and told one individual to cover the carcass with cut tree limbs. [¶ 30] Crooks, who could see the carcass' location from the lower camp area, was concerned that the carcass would attract bears and testified there had been other human/bear confrontations in the area that year. The carcass did attract bears to the camp's vicinity, as nine or ten days later Crooks saw bear scat around camp, and, between 3:00 p.m. and dark one day, observed a sow grizzly bear and two cubs at the carcass, another single bear at the carcass, and at some point eight grizzly bears simultaneously at the carcass. Nothing but bones remained of the carcass after that day. [¶ 31] The Board's findings and the referenced testimony sufficiently establish that Billings violated the regulation at issue. Billings admitted as much during his testimony, and the mule carcass was well short of the distance required by the regulation even according to Billings' testimony. Billings' emphasis on what he did accomplish under the circumstances, although potentially relevant to the Board in imposing a sanction vis a vis Billings' outfitter's license for violating the regulation, does not meaningfully undermine such a conclusion and does not implicate any listed exception to the regulation's requirements. [¶ 32] Billings also argues that the regulation/order at issue is not significant because the penalty specified for a violation of the Order is the equivalent of a misdemeanor, [18] and no evidence in the record indicates the Forest Service, which was apparently aware of the circumstances, attempted to enforce the regulation against Billings. With one exception, [19] Billings does not cite to any pertinent legal authority in advancing these arguments. Further, we essentially resolved issues concerning the regulation/order's significance in our prior opinion: Despite Billings' complaints that the Board has provided no definition of which regulations will be considered significant, that is not a concern in this case. The federal regulation/order in question relates to the disposal of carcasses and was enacted to prevent those carcasses from attracting grizzly bears. Indeed, the regulation/order was implemented with a primary goal of minimizing grizzly/human encounters. Common sense and human experience tell us that human interaction with grizzly bears is a dangerous and potentially deadly proposition. Peterson v. Game and Fish Com'n, 989 P.2d 113, 116 (Wyo.1999). We have no trouble concluding that a regulation/order developed to minimize such interactions is significant. Billings I, 2001 WY 81, ¶ 27, 30 P.3d at 569. Willfully Endangering the Health and Safety of Sandra Ditzler [¶ 33] The Board found that Billings willfully endangered Sandra Ditzler's (Ditzler) health and safety while Ditzler was returning from the lower hunting camp to the trailhead in October 1997. Ditzler, a registered nurse, booked a trip with Billings through her fiancé, Peter D'Amico (D'Amico). D'Amico hunted on the trip, but Ditzler did not and was along for the experience and to relax in the mountains. Eric Ryan (Ryan), Roderick Ryan, Hillary Ryan, and Brian McCabe were also on the trip as hunters. Ryan knew of D'Amico prior to the trip, but D'Amico and Ditzler were, at most, Ryan's casual acquaintances.... [¶ 34] Billings acknowledged that he is responsible for his clients' well being, even his clients who are non-hunters. Billings knew Ditzler was new to mountain travel. Ryan also noted that D'Amico and Ditzler were not terribly experienced when it came to saddle stock. Ditzler had informed Sherrie Quinn, one of Billings' employees who initially accompanied the hunters from the trailhead to the hunting camps, that Ditzler hadn't done much riding or it had been a long time since [she] had done riding and [Sherrie] told me not to worry, that the stock was very used to the trail.... [¶ 35] Ryan had an extensive background in wilderness travel and had taken two courses from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which school teaches the skills to be comfortable in the wilderness. Some of these skills included foraging for food, fire starting in adverse conditions, [and] low-impact camping.... For his courses, Ryan spent two weeks backcountry skiing in Yellowstone Park during January, and three months backpacking in Kenya, where he ascended Mount Kenya (a 19,000-foot peak) and traveled the wilderness and areas frequented by dangerous game. Ryan stated that based on his discussions with Billings, Billings had some idea of Ryan's background as an outdoorsman, including that Ryan had participated in the NOLS. Billings testified that he knew of Ryan's NOLS participation and that Ryan was an ice climber or he said he was, ... [had a] history of outdoor travel and interest in wilderness issues, et cetera. So I thought that [Ryan] was a pretty good guy that was qualified with survival and those types of issues. [¶ 36] On October 8th, Billings fired two trail hands just prior to taking a new group of hunters from the trailhead to the lower camp because he suspected the employees were hung over (or had been indulging in alcohol) and they were late to work for the second time. Billings did not want to burden a remaining trail hand with running the layover camp and getting these hunters up the trail and all the way into camp by himself, so Billings, the trail hand, a pack string of mules, and the group of hunters traveled together from the trailhead to the lower hunting camp in one day. [¶ 37] Two days later, on October 10th, Eric Ryan, Roderick Ryan, Hillary Ryan, Brian McCabe, D'Amico, and Ditzler were scheduled to leave the lower hunting camp. Ryan noted that as the staff shrank, the impact of [Billings'] schedule in fatigue and morale was obvious. Though in the previous forty-eight hours, Billings had traveled approximately seventy-four miles on the trails with four to four-and-one-half hours of sleep (total), he decided to take this group, their respective riding animals, and a twelve-mule pack string (hauling four elk and the party's gear, etc.) from the lower hunting camp to the trailhead by himself via the Deer Creek trail in one day. [¶ 38] The trailhead is thirty to thirty-two miles from the lower hunting camp via the Deer Creek trail. Owen Tucker, a professional guide for Billings, stated the Deer Creek trail is not what you call a safe, easy ridden trail, any of it, it is all steep side hills, narrow trail with no place to stop and once you get started on it, you just need to stay going because there's not a rest spot hardly on it. There's justit's just narrow and in a short canyon and many areas of switchbacks and many areas of just kind of ledgy, straight, dropoff canyon. [¶ 39] Tucker added that there was only one person in the world that pulls 13 mules out of ... Deer Creek and that's John Billings.... There's no place you can stop a string like that even hardly on the face. Billings knew that when utilizing a mule train or a lot of stock, you kind of walk the tightrope to keep control of them. You've got to keep moving and if you do stop and they're hungry, their mind is on the trailhead and the corral and you've got everything kind of hanging by a thread. According to Billings, a normal pack string of mules is comprised of four to eight mules. The largest pack string Billings had utilized was sixteen, and Billings would never give that responsibility to anybody but [himself]. When asked if it's unsafe for others to lead in a pack string that size, why isn't it unsafe for you?, Billings replied I don't know the answer to that question. I don't know why. [¶ 40] The group left the lower camp the morning of October 10th. After firing the two trail hands, Billings' staff was comprised of himself, two guides, one trail hand/guide, and two cooks. Billings wanted two guides and a cook to remain in the lower camp with the new group of three hunters. [20] Instead of having one of the remaining two staff members travel with the group, Billings sent a cook and one guide to the upper hunting camp to finish packing the upper camp because they were at that time facing weather which was promising to be quite difficult. Billings knew that by doing so, he would not have enough help to adequately bring out the Ryan party with more than one person and that he may have some difficulty with 12 mules staying with these clients by [himself]... coming down Deer Creek Trail.... Ryan testified that he informed Billings that it was pretty thin coverage and a dangerous situation for Billings to take the group out by himself. According to Ryan, Billings was evasive and sort of shrugged his shoulders. Ryan also stated that he discussed the situation with one of the guides in the lower camp and they both agreed that the plan posed a high potential for serious problems. [¶ 41] Billings took the lead with the pack string of mules. According to Ryan, Ditzler's inexperience with saddle stock was apparent. She and D'Amico experienced difficulty controlling their mules, some difficulty in mounting and remounting, extreme difficulty on Sandy's part in remounting due to fear and a lack of conditioning and flexibility. Ditzler testified that she began having a really hard time with her mule. It was not cooperating and when Ditzler would get off of [the mule, it] would try and get around me on this narrow trail. [¶ 42] The group eventually reached an area near the top of Deer Creek Pass. The trail was still treacherous, there was a lot of snow and the snow was melting and there was a lot of mud and so it was a little hard going. Ryan noted a heavy cloud cover was developing and became concerned over the possibility of the weather deteriorating.... Parts of the trail involved switchbacks and sheer drops at the trail edge, a lot of sheer on one side and sheer drop on the other, at times the trail falls away hundreds of feet to streambed and the valley floor. As Billings described the area, it is full of cliffs and precipices and balks, little coulees and cuts and timber down, really dangerous in some places. [¶ 43] Ditzler had a great deal of anxiety about that, was tired, hungry, and afraid of heights, and could feel herself hyperventilating. Ryan noted Ditzler was intimidated by the heights involved and began to exhibit signs of exhaustion. Billings recalled that at one point on the trail Ditzler was having a little dizzy spell, was afraid of the height, and said she was afraid she was going to faint.... Thereafter, according to Ryan, Ditzler's ability to walk without frequent rest stops was steadily deteriorating. [¶ 44] Ryan and Ditzler became delayed when Ditzler dismounted her mule and was unable to remount near a creek crossing. Billings went back to the location. Based on the following testimony, Billings clearly recognized that at this point, Ditzler's condition required his continued, personal attention and that he remain in close proximity to her. Ryan testified that Billings asked what the difficulties were, and assured Ditzler that Billings would check on her, keep an eye on her, warn her in advance of any dangerous parts of the descent and help her mount and dismount. Ditzler testified that Billings asked what was going on, she told him that she needed to eat, sit and rest for a few minutes, was having trouble with the switchbacks, it was becoming a bit too much, and she asked Billings how the trail was ahead. According to Ditzler, Billings replied that the trail was rough in places but not to worry because he would come back and help me get over those or at least come back and tell me where those areas were and not to worry, all Ditzler had to do was holler and Billings would be right there. Billings testified that he addressed, or attempted to address, Ditzler's food and water needs. He told Ditzler to go at the speed you can, Ryan and D'Amico were with her, but that Billings would come back and check on her. He further stated that he needed to get this show on the road because the mules could not be tied up forever and he could not hardly stop. According to Ryan, Billings never asked Ryan to stay with Ditzler or assist her on the trail. [¶ 45] At this point, Ryan estimated that he was eight miles from the trailhead; Billings estimated it was between four-and-one-half to five miles from the trailhead. Ditzler thought it was about 1:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m., Ryan stated that he last saw Billings about 2:30, 3:00 in the afternoon, and Billings estimated the time to be between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. .... Billings stated that when he ultimately separated from Ryan and Ditzler, it was a little over two hours from the trailhead. Billings returned to the mule pack string and resumed down the trail with Roderick Ryan, Hillary Ryan, and Brian McCabe, leaving Ditzler with Eric Ryan and D'Amico. [21] Ryan and Ditzler testified that they never saw Billings again until they reached the trailhead. [¶ 46] According to Billings, he got to the top of some switchbacks on the trail ten minutes after his conversation with Ditzler and couldn't see Ryan and Ditzler. Billings stated that Brian McCabe told him that he didn't see Ryan, Ditzler, and D'Amico back there and McCabe didn't like that. Billings also did not like that. However, the mules in Billings' pack string began to dance around and were pushing on each other and jamming a little bit, consistent with Billings' own testimony as to what he would expect from a pack string of mules as they proceeded closer to the trailhead, and Billings decided he had to do something about this and proceeded down the trail. Billings had to keep moving to prevent a problem and could not stop easily or for any length of time between that point and the trailhead due to the terrain. He would be heading for disaster if [he] tied them up at that point and then spent anything more than two or three minutes away from them. While Billings was not totally happy about this, he decided it made sense that maybe we could preclude 12 other problems from beginning to surface in addition to [Ditzler's] problem. Billings felt somewhat good that Ryan and D'Amico remained with Ditzler in case something went and got worse. [¶ 47] Ditzler could not remount her mule and walked the remaining distance to the trailhead. At about 5:30 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., Ditzler crossed a stream, soaking her boots and jeans to the knees. Ditzler, who was overweight or heavy, was tired, cold, it had started to snow a little bit, and Ryan knew that the temperature would drop after dark. Ditzler remained increasingly tearful, fearful and fatigued, and Ryan was very concerned that she was a candidate for hypothermia. Ditzler would require frequent rest stops, would need to be coaxed a hundred yards at a time, sobbed, and exhibited signs of mental confusion. [¶ 48] Billings arrived at the trailhead twenty minutes before dark. He figured that Ditzler was maybe 45 minutes, an hour behind him, although he had not seen her since shortly after their prior conversation on the trail. Instead of immediately returning to the trail to check on, and assist, Ditzler, Billings merely left his horse saddled in case Ryan and Ditzler did not arrive within his arbitrary time estimate, and started getting packs undone and things put away. I wanted to be ready when the other group got out so that they could just get to town. Ryan indicated in a written statement that he and Ditzler reached the trailhead at about 7:45 p.m. He testified that they reached the trailhead at about 7:00 p.m. or 7:15 p.m. and that his brothers told him Billings had been there for at least two hours. Ditzler was not real sure, but testified that they reached the trailhead around eight o'clock. Billings estimated that they reached the trailhead forty-five minutes to an hour after Billings had arrived at the trailhead, or about the time I expected them. Billings stated that he could see the party coming down the trail for some distance before they actually reached the trailhead. Billings and Ryan then became involved in a verbal, and to some degree, a physical, confrontation. According to Billings, he did not believe Ditzler was hypothermic when she arrived at the trailhead. [¶ 49] The Board found as follows: 4. On or about October 10, 1997, as his client, Sandra Ditzler, was making her way out of the wilderness, Billings abandoned Ditzler when she was experiencing difficulty with the return to the wilderness trailhead. A. Ditzler became exhausted and had difficulty mounting her mule as she made her way back to the trailhead.... B. Billings knew Ditzler was experiencing problems and assured her he would return for her or would at least be within yelling distance.... Billings told Ditzler he would be checking on her throughout the descent, would warn her of any dangerous parts and would keep and eye on her. ... Billings admitted he left Ditzler to move his pack down the trailhead and never returned for them.... He also acknowledged he knew Ditzler was experiencing some problems in that she was having a little dizzy spell and was possibly suffering from vertigo.... Billings told Ditzler, go at the speed you can and assured her [Eric] Ryan and her husband would be there to help her.... C. Billings left Ditzler and the rest of his hunting party around 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.... Ditzler did not see Billings again until reaching the trailhead at approximately 7:00 or 7:45 p.m. that evening.... D. After Billings left Ditzler, her mule became increasingly difficult to handle, and Ditzler became tearful and fearful.... Ditzler was wearing low-cut hiking boots and blue jeans and was soaked from her knees down in low temperatures and falling snow.... She was suffering from fatigue and that (a)t ... several points, she asked to be left on the trail and had the idea that if (Ryan) rode on out (he'd) be able to get a truck and come up and get her with a truck which was (a)n absurd notion to anyone who has seen that trail. ... Ditzler had to be coaxed out of the wilderness by another hunter, Mr. Ryan.... E. Ditzler did not see Billings again until she returned to the trailhead with the assistance of two other hunters; several hours after Billings left her in the mountains.... F. Billings prioritized his mules over the wellbeing and safety of his client, Sandra Ditzler.... G. Billings contemplated the seriousness of leaving his client, and chose to leave Ditzler behind with Mr. Ryan and Mr. [D'Amico].... Despite the fact he acknowledged that Ditzler was dizzy and assured her he would come back and check on her, he decided to leave Ditzler's wellbeing to the survival skills of his other clients.... H. Billings' rationale for leaving his hunters was not a justification for abandoning Ditzler in a wilderness area. The fact that Billings contemplated Mr. Ryan's survival skills and felt somewhat good about Ditzler's husband and Eric Ryan being with Ditzler if something went and got worse indicates Billings knew and contemplated potential dangers to his client, and chose to abandon her in spite of those potential risks.... Consequently, Billings willfully endangered Ditzler's health and safety by abandoning her in the wilderness on or about October 10, 1997. The Board concluded, as a matter of law, that Billings willfully endangered Ditzler's health and safety by leaving or abandoning Ditzler in the wilderness in order to get his livestock back to the trailhead and never returning to check on her well-being or progress, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 23-2-416(a)(ix) and (x) and Chapter 3, Sections 1( o ) and (t) of the Board's rules. [22] We have previously set forth the language contained in these provisions, as well as relevant definitions of its terms. [¶ 50] Billings first argues that the Board could not properly conclude that Billings willfully endangered Ditzler absent expert testimony establishing a standard of care and Billings' breach of that standard of care. Billings asserts that he exercised his professional judgment on the trail due to difficulties with his pack string of mules, and the Board essentially concluded that Billings' professional judgment fell below some industry standard. He contends that the Board therefore subjectively evaluated Billings' judgment without the guidance of expert opinion, or any regulations in place which set a standard related to the `abandonment' of Ditzler. [¶ 51] Billings advanced a similar argument in Billings I regarding the Board's finding that Billings willfully endangered the health and safety of Dan Nutsch by permitting him to be injured while caring for livestock `which should have been properly cared for by' Billings' employees. Billings I, 2001 WY 81, ¶ 17, 30 P.3d at 566. We commented on that issue, in pertinent part, as follows: Obviously, clients on an outfitted hunting trip must participate in the adventure. The extent of such participation, however, is not something this court has within its knowledge. Perhaps the Board, which consists of a number of persons who would undoubtedly qualify as experts in the field of outfitting, used its expertise to determine that Billings' actions failed to meet his duty of care as an outfitter. However, our decision in Devous v. State Board of Medical Examiners, 845 P.2d 408, 418 (Wyo.1993), does not permit the Board to do that: Turning then to the appeal of the Board with respect to the decision of the district court to set aside certain statutory grounds for failure of substantial evidence, we affirm the district court in that regard. The crux of the issue is whether the record must include expert testimony with respect to those statutory grounds, or whether we must acknowledge and accept the expertise of the Board members in establishing standards that demonstrate infringement of the statute. There was no expert testimony offered at the hearing to establish standards with respect to these statutory grounds. If judicial review has any purpose, it must be exercised by objectively evaluating evidence in the record. There is no way that a judicial review could reach the subjective determination of standards by individual members of the Board.... In this case, if the Board intends to rely on a finding that Billings' conduct regarding the mule kick incident fell below the standard of care for those in his industry, the Board should rely on expert testimony in making such a finding.... [A]bsent any indication in its findings that the Board is relying on expert testimony, we conclude that the finding is insufficient to permit review. Id., 2001 WY 81, ¶¶ 17-18, 30 P.3d at 566-67 (footnote omitted). [¶ 52] We find that the record is sufficient in the instant case, without additional expert testimony, to allow us objectively to evaluate the evidence, the Board's findings, and the applicable statutory language. While expert testimony might have assisted the Board, the concerns we referenced in Billings I do not exist with respect to the Ditzler violation, which violation arises in a different context. Neither the nature of the violation, nor the facts underlying it, involves subject matter not within our knowledge or requiring additional expert testimony. The state of the record is such that in reviewing the issue, we are not required merely to accept the Board's subjective expertise for a standard that demonstrates infringement of the statute. Contrary to Billings' argument, it does not appear that the Board's use of the term abandonment was for purposes of establishing a formal standard of care, but was the Board's factual characterization of Billings' actions. [¶ 53] Billings also argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he willfully endangered Ditzler's health and safety. Billings contends that he did not abandon Ditzler, and his decision to proceed down the trail did not increase the danger or peril to Ditzler. We conclude that the Board could properly have found that Billings willfully endangered Ditzler's health and safety from the totality of the evidence, especially considering the evidence as to: (1) Billings' knowledge prior to, and throughout, the incident, including his knowledge in deciding to take the entire group and the mule pack string to the trailhead by himself, his knowledge of Ditzler prior to departing on the trail, his knowledge as to the nature of the trail and the nature of the livestock, etc.; (2) Ditzler's difficulties and condition as the group navigated the trail; (3) Billings' resulting response as to what he felt was required under the circumstances; (4) Billings' actions in leaving Ditzler on the trail; (5) the terrain, the time of day, and the weather; (6) the subsequent deterioration in Ditzler's condition; and (7) Billings' actions upon arriving at the trail head vis a vis the surrounding circumstances. We do not substitute our judgment on the facts for that of the agency if [sufficient] evidence exists, even though different conclusions might be drawn from that evidence. Gray v. Wyoming State Bd. of Equalization, 896 P.2d 1347, 1348 (Wyo.1995).