October 18, 2021 |
Between elk moving through the low country and hunters in search of a coveted Wapiti, driving Highway 130 north of Saratoga Friday afternoon was like running a gauntlet.
The first day of elk season was just a few hours old in Hunt Area 15 when a herd of elk moved into the rangeland east of the state highway south of Walcott Junction. Hunters pulled off both sides of the road, eyeing their chances through field glasses. Game wardens were there, too, keeping a watch on things. One Wyoming Game and Fish employee in the area in the Platte Valley this weekend called the scene “a bit of a circus.”
On Saturday, Bigfoot 99 stopped into the hunter check station set up at the U. S. Forest Service Office and spoke with WGFD big game biologist Teal Cufaude. We asked Cufaude about the unusually large presence of Game and Fish trucks and personnel patrolling the area over the weekend.
Photo courtesy of Wyoming Game and Fish.
The check station set up at the parking lot of the Forest Service office just south of Saratoga is an annual fixture during hunting season. Cufaude was checking with hunters who drove through the checkpoint as she spoke with us. She described the hunting season so far.
The harvest may have been smaller this year, but it wasn’t for a lack of hunters. Cufaude said the number of hunters coming through the checkpoint has seemed about the same as in past years. Quotas for deer rifle season here did not change this year. She did say bow season in September continues to grow in popularity, and was busy again this year. Cufaude and the other Game and Fish employees checking vehicles over the weekend are now working elk season.
In addition to the check station at Saratoga, another is operating near Laramie. Cufaude said Game and Fish is also contacting elk hunters in the field as they investigate the prevalence of chronic wasting disease in the herds of southeast Wyoming.
The elk rifle season in Area 15 runs from October 15th through October 31st.
