MARCH 10, 2025|
Photo – Mule deer – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will hold a series of meetings to discuss changes to this year’s hunting seasons.
Every March, Wyoming Game and Fish hosts hunting season setting meetings around the state. Game and Fish Information Specialist Rene Schell explained the meetings are designed to inform people about changes to the hunting season and to collect comments from the public. If one is unable to attend the meetings in person, Schell said public comments may also be submitted online or through the mail.
Rawlins Wildlife Biologist Ashley Umphlett said the Game and Fish Department spends every summer collecting data from hunters and landowners about the types and numbers of game animals they are seeing. Following that, Game and Fish agents use helicopters to physically count the number of game animals in a given area. That information is used to determine how many hunting licenses will be issued the following season.
Wildlife Biologist Umphlett explained that the harsh 2022 and 2023 winter took a toll on the pronghorn population. However, research shows the herds are beginning to recover. For that reason, Umphlett said Game and Fish is not changing the number of pronghorn hunting licenses available in Carbon County this year.
The number of mule deer licenses will also remain unchanged throughout most of Carbon County, except for the Ferris Herd, which occupies the area between Rawlins and the Pathfinder Reservoir. Biologist Umphlett said hunters have reported seeing fewer large bucks in the Ferris Herd. This information has caused Game and Fish to issue 25 fewer mule deer licenses for that hunting area.
Wildlife Biologist Umphlett said landowners have reported large numbers of elk hunters in the Ferris Herd area, specifically hunt areas 22 and 111. However, elk numbers must be reduced.
To thin the herd and prevent overcrowding from hunters, Umphlett said Game and Fish will allow sportsmen to take cows, calves, and antlerless bulls beyond the usual end date.
Additionally, elk hunters in areas 22 and 111 have reported an abundance of smaller bulls with broken antlers. Umphlett said Game and Fish will issue 25 additional type two elk licenses per hunt area, enabling hunters to harvest more males with smaller racks.
All hunting season changes will be presented during the upcoming Game and Fish season setting meetings. Information Specialist Rene Schell said all the information will also be available on the Game and Fish website beginning on Wednesday, March 22nd.
Game and Fish representatives will hold their first Carbon County season setting meeting on Thursday, March 20th, in Baggs, at Carbon County Higher Education’s Little Snake River branch. The following Monday, March 25th, Game and Fish will host a season setting meeting at the Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins. And on Thursday, March 27th, Game and Fish will hold the final season setting meeting in Carbon County at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. All meetings are set to begin at 6:00pm.
For more information about the upcoming season setting meetings, visit the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s news and events page.
