Powell game bird farm changes hands

Future of sage grouse-rearing efforts unclear

Posted 10/25/18

Powell’s Diamond Wings Upland Game Birds, LLC — which recently launched and then dropped a controversial attempt to raise sage grouse — has changed hands.

Dennis Brabec, a …

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Powell game bird farm changes hands

Future of sage grouse-rearing efforts unclear

Posted

Powell’s Diamond Wings Upland Game Birds, LLC — which recently launched and then dropped a controversial attempt to raise sage grouse — has changed hands.

Dennis Brabec, a petroleum engineer and co-owner and general manager of Fiddleback Farms, LLC, recently bought the property from former owner Diemer True of Casper.

Brabec already owns a private hunting area in Greybull and said he’d previously worked with Diamond Wings manager Karl Bear on game bird hunting projects for more than 15 years. Bear, the founder of the company, will stay on as manager.

Brabec said he loves working with and hunting game birds and is looking forward to heading up Diamond Wings.

“I’m a lousy shot, but I enjoy working with the birds,” Brabec said.

Originally from Deaver, he attended Northwest College before heading to the University of Wyoming for his degree.

The sale closed earlier this month.

Diamond Wings, located west of Powell, drew headlines last year for trying to attempt captive breeding of the imperiled sage grouse. It was the only private enterprise to be certified by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for the effort, but the company pulled out of the program in March after the regulations were announced. One of the rules would have required Diamond Wings to build a brand new rearing facility. In dropping the plans, True had also cited concerns with the short period of time that the company would have had to collect sage grouse eggs once the facility was certified.

Bear and True approached the Game and Fish Commission in hopes of extending the time between deadlines, but were unable to persuade commissioners to make changes.

“It would be disastrous to the whole state if sage grouse are declared endangered. Everything would be impacted,” said Brabec, the company’s new owner. “But some people want to make it so it’s impossible to try [a captive breeding program].”

Farm-raised grouse have many opponents. Fear of diseased sage grouse being released and infecting wild populations is the main concern.

Time is also running out on rearing efforts: The 2017 law that allows companies to collect wild sage grouse eggs and attempt captive-breeding came with a three-year sunset clause.

“Sage grouse is an issue that needs to be attended to, but there’s no way we can do anything this year,” said Brabec.

As for True, he said he sold the company due to being personally overcommitted.

“This is not retirement — I’m just taking a step back,” True said in a Tuesday interview, adding, “Time marches on.”

True is the founder of the Sage Grouse Foundation and, if he receives IRS approval, hopes to raise funds through the organization to help pay the high cost of attempting to raise the birds in captivity.

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