There were no roads where the folks who build and maintain Wyoming thoroughfares were heading. It was billed as a Big Horn County upland game bird hunt, but hidden behind all the smiles from the mass infusion of fresh air mixed with hunting-induced adrenaline is a unified group of Wyoming companies fighting for their businesses in the face of buyouts by huge, multinational companies.

Normally, in-state companies attending the hunt see a much different side of each other; especially at the bidding table. However, as the number of Wyoming companies building and fixing roads and other major infrastructure dwindle, the contractors have found the landscape easier to navigate as a unified group, said Ernie Skretteberg, co-owner of McGarvin-Moberly Construction, a company out of Worland that has been building roads in the state for more than 60 years.

“I don’t think it’s unique to our association, but I will say it’s unique to Wyoming,” Skretteberg said. “We have peers in our group that are fierce competitors. They will break each other’s noses at the bidding table, but then play 18 holes of golf or come out and shoot birds. And that helps build our alliance and an understanding of unified action,” he said.

They came to Cowley at the invitation of David and Jennie Rael, owners of S&L Industrial. The couple is well-known for their Fourth of July fireworks displays, a present to Big Horn Basin to celebrate the ratification of the
Declaration of Independence. As licensed general contractors, they build and maintain roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects in the Basin.

“We’re really grateful for members like the Raels and S&L Industrial for being involved, giving back and for understanding that camaraderie and networking is important,” said Kelli Little, director of government affairs for the Associated General Contractors of Wyoming.

McGarvin-Moberly co-owner Kevin Craft agreed.

“Dave and Jennie do a lot to bring everyone together,” he said.

Shortly after sunrise, groups of hunters headed to Rael’s private controlled shooting area for a day of hunting pheasant, chukar and Hungarian partridge. Meanwhile, the Raels stayed behind to prepare a lunch feast of barbecue ribs, taters, spicy baked beans and side dishes. Despite managing hundreds of acres of game bird habitat, Rael has only harvested birds once in the past decade — hard to imagine with prime habitat just a couple blocks from his front door.

Before even stepping into the field, numerous birds could be seen and heard, driving their bird dogs into a frenzy. The dream hunt unfolded with myriad birds pushed into flight by the happy pups, perfect weather and tons of laughter. It was the kind of day that makes a person forget about work or troubles at home and just relax. The relationships built afield translate into a more unified group, ready to take on the multi-national corporations hungry for Wyoming business.

There are significant issues the contractors face once back to work. One of the top concerns is the miles of road projects relying on a small population for funding. The association’s biggest challenge is lobbying the state for needed cash to be able to pay for the projects the local companies bid on. Both state and federal projects rely on Wyoming funds.

“Susie Homemaker and Joe Sixpack don’t realize that with federal projects, Wyoming still has to match [federal funding] as a state,” Skretteberg said. “We can’t do that anymore. And we’re going to be in the same boat that Montana was five years ago, when they had to turn away federal money because they couldn’t match their portion with state funds.”

State projects give a 5% preference to in-state companies bidding on projects and Park County grants another 5% preference for county contractors bidding on county projects.

“It does two things,” he said. “It keeps our infrastructure the quality that we have helped built in the state… and it keep the money in Wyoming.”

There are now only 70 companies represented by the Association, down significantly in the past decade. However, the companies left are coming together to find strategies to keep the money in-state.

“Our legacy is we promote from within and keep the company going with [Wyoming employees]. We want to keep that going,” Skretteberg said.

The lobbying efforts are constant, said Matt Larson, who said the hunt helped focus the group.

“It brings everybody together that are in the industry, just to get away from work for a nice relaxing weekend. You get to enjoy the outdoors and still talk about events that are coming and what we need to do as a group: You know, to get more funding out there,” Larson said.