Shirley Mountain Mule Deer Herd Numbers Lowered by Game and Fish

JUNE 18, 2025 |

Photo – Image shown during G&F meeting in Hanna – By Matt Copeland Bigfoot99

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is lowering the number of projected mule deer in the Shirley Mountain herd.

On Tuesday, June 17th, Game and Fish Saratoga Biologist Teal Cufaude and Game Warden Ryan Snell held a meeting in the H-E-M High School in Hanna to review the 2025 Shirley Mountain mule deer objective.

Game and Fish Biologist Cufaude explained that, unlike annual season-setting meetings, objective reviews only occur every five years. The state agency uses data collected from landowners, sportsmen, and climate records to establish a recommended management objective, or the ideal number of animals for a given herd.

The Shirley Mountain mule deer herd spans deer hunt area 70, extending from north of Hanna to the Shirley Rim on both public and private land.

Cufaude said that 47 years ago, when the first mule deer estimates were conducted on the Shirley Mountain mule deer, Game and Fish established a herd size limit of 5,200 animals. The Saratoga Biologist emphasized the data was collected using an outdated population estimation tool.

Nine years later, in 1987, Game and Fish used an updated population estimation tool to set a new herd size objective of 10,000 deer. However, Cufaude said wildlife managers on the ground reported the models overestimated the number of mule deer in the Shirley Mountain herd by 50 to 70%. In 2015, Game and Fish used a new population estimate model to reduce the ideal herd size by 4,500 animals.

At 7,500 animals, Cufaude said the 2015 population model was also overestimating mule deer numbers in the Shirley Mountain herd. Instead, data gathered by Game and Fish biologists in the field indicate that 2,500 mule deer is a more suitable herd size.

Cufaude explained that in 2023, Game and Fish biologists spent 25 hours performing aerial surveys of the Shirley Mountain herd. Using data collected from the study, the state agency determined the herd contained fewer than 3,000 deer, rather than the 7,500 projected in 2015.

The data collected in 2023 was used to create a new mule deer population estimation model. Cufaude said with the new tools, Game and Fish biologists estimate the current Shirley Mountain mule deer herd at 1,800 to 2,800 animals. The herd likely reached its peak in 2010 and its lowest point in 2020.

Cufaude reiterated the current models show the Shirley Mountain herd to be significantly smaller than the 7,500 deer predicted in 2015. Using this information, Game and Fish have reduced the ideal size for the herd to 2,500 deer.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will continue accepting comments on the updated Shirley Mountain mule deer herd objective until this Friday, June 20th. However, Cufaude said she will consider all comments made before the September 7th presentation deadline.

Bigfoot99 will include a link to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Shirley Mountain herd survey and comment website with this story when it is posted to our website later today.

Game and Fish Shirley Mountain herd survey and comment website: https:2025 Shirley Mountain Mule Deer Objective Review Survey