Cellular service between Cody and Meeteetse could soon get a boost, as plans for two new communications towers are moving forward.

On Tuesday, Park County commissioners unanimously approved special use permits for the pair of 195-foot-high, self-supported towers. One will be located about 5 miles north of Meeteetse/20 miles south of Cody with the other sited halfway between the two communities. Both will be constructed within a quarter-mile of Wyo. Highway 120 on pieces of rangeland owned by the Hoodoo Ranch.

While the two projects are similar and were submitted within a couple weeks of each other, they’re being pursued by two different companies with past experience in Park County.

Bridger Tower Corporation, which won permission to build a nearly 400-foot tower in Clark last year, is building the one midway between Cody and Meeteetse.

“The site will bring much needed infrastructure upgrades in the form of increased access to both voice and data to all users,” Bridger Tower President Derek Dye wrote in an April application. Plans show Verizon has already been penciled in as a tenant, and there’s enough space for three additional carriers.

The Kansas-based Bridger initially proposed a 300-foot high tower, but cut it back to address potential impacts to birds and a nearby electrical transmission line.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Habitat Protection Supervisor Will Schultz had told the county that towers over 200 feet high generally kill more birds, and especially songbirds that migrate at night.

Additionally, both sites lie within core habitat for sage grouse and Schultz raised concerns about how the projects might impact the embattled, ground-dwelling species.

Not only could the towers play host to grouse-gobbling raptors, “tall anthropogenic structures on the landscape have been shown to negatively impact lek trends,” Schultz wrote, “and sage-grouse will often avoid previously used habitat once these projects are constructed.”

Schultz recommended that Bridger Tower work with the department to avoid and minimize potential impacts.

As for the second, southernmost tower, the Game and Fish also raised concerns about potential impacts to big game. According to the department, the site just east of Wyo. Highway 120’s intersection with County Road 3LE is crucial winter range for mule deer.

Commissioners agreed to recommend that developer Horizon Tower LLC avoid construction between Nov. 15 and April 30 to assist the deer, but they emphasized it was not a requirement.

“This is on private land and if you look at the sites, I mean, it’s not way out in the boonies,” Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said before the vote to approve the permit.

A representative from Horizon Tower said the company wasn’t planning to build during those winter months, but appreciated having the flexibility to perform work if needed.

This Horizon Tower proposal went a lot more smoothly than its attempt to build a 195-foot-high tower in the Wapiti Valley last year; commissioners rejected those plans after many Wapiti residents expressed strong opposition.

The California-based company subsequently took the county to federal court, asking a judge to overturn the commission’s ruling and allow the tower to proceed. More than a year later, the case remains pending, with a trial slated for September in Cheyenne. However, presiding U.S. District Court Alan Johnson is considering dueling requests from the company and the county for summary judgment.

In sharp contrast to the Wapiti tower, the two new projects in Meeteetse drew no comments from the public.

(Zac Taylor contributed reporting)