Wyoming Deer:  About 425,000 deer in 2017.  An estimated population of 423,000 deer in 2015, up from 400,000 in 2014.  The population was trending higher after three mild winters into 2016, but a very harsh winter for 2016-17 west of the continental divide resulted in very low fawn survival.  Also an EHD die-off.  The mild winter of 2018 has allowed populations to recover.  A total population of about 578,000 in 1991.  Wyoming Game and Fish draft CWD Management Plan 2019.  Herd analysis at right.  Historical Wyoming deer hunting data and news archive..
Wyoming Deer News

CWD plan targets mule deer bucks, eyes sharpshooters December 4, 2019 Wyoming, WyoFile
... With fatal chronic wasting disease infecting 84% of Wyoming’s mule deer herds, wildlife managers propose to thin buck populations, among other actions, to limit the disease’s spread...  the Wyoming Game and Fish draft CWD Management Plan ...

... Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Brian R. Nesvik told members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that chronic wasting disease is a national problem... The number of animals tested for CWD nationwide is expected to expand by 32% over the next fiscal year...

Unprecedented sagebrush die-off, recovery reveals threat of weather swings November 28, 2019 Wyoming, Helena Independent Record
... The cause, ironically for a plant known for growing in an arid climate, was a combination of severe drought and then excessive water... with those plants go the iconic species that depend on them, from trophy mule deer to songbirds to sage grouse...

... will go towards constructing wildlife crossing on 19 miles of US 189 between Big Piney and La Barge in southwest Wyoming... "Underpasses, coupled with fencing, can reduce crashes by 80-90% ...

  Chronic Wasting Disease, Wyoming's winter elk feeding could spread 'zombie deer disease,' experts fear November 27, 2019 UPI.com
... The concentration of large numbers of elk over the winter may accelerate the spread of the incurable and fatal "zombie deer" disease to catastrophic levels near the Yellowstone ecosystem and could eventually destroy Wyoming's multimillion-dollar big-game hunting industry...

Money approved for Wyoming mule deer projects November 20, 2019 Billings Gazette
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved $560,000 to support mule deer populations across Wyoming through 10 habitat and migration projects...

Ask Game and Fish: What is the outlook for deer hunting in the Black Hills this year? November 15, 2019 Wyoming, Daily Rocket Miner
... both mule deer and white-tailed deer populations have declined. We conduct our annual Black Hills deer surveys during the last two weeks of October. To date, these efforts suggest about a 15% drop in deer numbers..,

WYDOT receives $14.5 million federal grant for wildlife crossing project  November 14, 2019 Wyoming, Northern Wyoming Daily News Worland Wyoming
... will be used for underpasses, fencing and related improvements along a 19-mile stretch of US 189 between La Barge and Big Piney.  “Wyoming has demonstrated leadership in protecting wildlife as they migrate,” Governor Mark Gordon said...

Hunting limited in Colorado, Western US states after tough winter November 11, 2019 Wyoming, Stock Daily Dish
... unusually cold weather and heavy snowfall that blanketed much of the Western U.S. last winter killed off many young deer... In one remote part of Wyoming‘s backcountry where peaks soar to 11,000 feet (3,300 meters), state wildlife managers documented the loss of all fawns they had been monitoring in a mule deer herd...  

Deer near Clark, Wyoming, test positive for CWD November 11, 2019 Billings Gazette
... Several deer killed north and northeast of Clark, Wyoming, in the Badger Basin and Big Sand Coulee areas south of the Montana border have tested positive for chronic wasting disease...

CWD, Searching for fatal disease, Game and Fish pleads for deer samples November 7, 2019 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... The department is prioritizing 2-year-old or older mule deer bucks. They still want samples from does, and even white-tailed deer are on their sample list ...  for the area’s mule deer herds.  “We feel like were seeing quite a few fawns this year... If we can get a mild winter, we might get a population increase for the first time in five years.”..,

G&F takes steps toward new CWD policy November 7, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... among the recommendations, for example, was a consensus that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department “takes action to reduce artificial points of concentration,” ... other recommendations address topics relating to: disposal of big game carcasses; education and communication ...

$2.5 million for Wyoming wildlife underpasses committed, up to $36.5 million needed November 6, 2019 Oil City News
... the project will benefit the Wyoming Range mule deer herd as well as pronghorn and moose. ... “’This area of Wyoming has one of the highest rates of mule deer vehicle collisions,’ ... new conservation license plates established during the 2018 Legislative session generate funds for wildlife conservation...

... in a move that can only be described as a power grab, the select legislative committee has been crafting a bill to minimize the state’s wildlife professionals’ authority to designate migration corridors and give more of that discretion to energy developers, other state agencies and county commissioners...

Number of moose killed in Teton County collisions rises October 29, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... between May 2018 and this past April ... 33 of the long-legged ungulates died in vehicle collisions... “We can’t hit 28 moose every year and expect the population to do well,” he said. “It’s not a big population to begin with.”...

WGFD biologist presents updates on mule deer study October 25, 2019 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press
... From 1985 to 2018, biologists have seen a decreasing trend of mule deer populations ...  Of the 70 adult, female mule deer who were initially collared as part of the initiative in 2018, 12% tested positive for CWD...

Mule Deer Tests Positive for Wasting Disease October 24, 2019 Wyoming, Sheridan Media
... a buck mule deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Deer Hunt Area 50 in the Bighorn Mountains...  has been previously documented in deer in three adjacent hunt areas ...

... Vehicles are involved in over 6,000 wildlife collisions in Wyoming each year and 80-85% of those cases involve mule deer.  There are likely more incidents since drivers tend to report collisions only when there is damage to vehicles ...

Wyoming man sentenced for poaching more than 100 deer October 19, 2019 KTVQ Billings News
...  62-year-old Sheridan County man was will spend nine months in jail for killing more than 100 deer and leaving them to waste on his property... $254,000 in fines ...

Rawlins, Shooting deer in city limits called into question October 19, 2019 Wyoming, Rawlins Times.com
... have police officers equipped with night vision goggles and bolt-action rifles shoot them dead within city limits was called into question ... “You’re live firing in town ... All it needs is one accident.” ... when some does are exterminated, “the remaining female deer will often respond to greater food abundance by giving birth to twins or triplets...

... two elk with their antlers locked together north of Rock Springs ... were able to get the elk separated.  Unfortunately, one of the elk was already dead ... a few hours later dragged an elk calf stuck in deep mud ...

... In the spring of 2016 ... Deer 255 ... She traveled a whopping 242 miles from southwest Wyoming to eastern Idaho in the greatest migration in recorded mule deer history... [map below from University of Oregon]

Uinta Mule Deer - Study UpdateHD 2019 HD. Radio collars have dropped from Uinta mule deer does and biologists are retrieving them along with the valuable GPS location information the collars hold. In December 2010 deer were captured and collared in this western Wyoming herd to understand more about the animals and to provide better hunting opportunities in the future. - October 13, 2019 Wyoming


... On the recommendation of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the BLM is deferring two whole parcels and portions of another that cross a state-designated mule deer migration corridor. The BLM will include a special lease notice on the one remaining parcel that intersects a designated big game migration corridor...

Game and Fish to eliminate elk feedground October 8, 2019 Wyoming,Gillette News Record
... Wyoming Game and Fish Department will eliminate the legally embattled Alkali Creek elk feedground in coming years as the threat of chronic wasting disease looms... will allow emergency elk feeding at Alkali for five years ... plan is now being “scoped” and is open for public comment...

Local deer cull fills freezers, divides community October 5, 2019 Wyoming, Rawlins Times.com
... Before the plan was implemented, Game and Fish conducted a population assessment, then issued the governing authority a Chapter 56 permit, allowing Rawlins to cull a set number of animals from the herd...  residents are still divided about whether it’s needed...

Diseased deer found near elk winter feeding grounds October 2, 2019 Wyoming, Oil City News
... “’Seeing a deer test positive for CWD west of the continental divide again is concerning,’ ... The disease has not previously been detected in elk winter feeding grounds or the National Elk Refuge...

Wanted: Backcountry elk lymph nodes October 2, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... The Pinedale and Afton elk herds are western Wyoming’s two first “priority herds” that will be exhaustively tested for chronic wasting disease, and wildlife managers want a little help from hunters...

National Elk Refuge Environmental Assessment Open For Public Comment October 1, 2019 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... The environmental assessment goes through the process of reducing elk reliance on supplemental feeding... public comment period will close on October 30 ...

Bighorn Basin Hosting CWD Sampling Trainings September 20, 2019 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... Wyoming Game and Fish Department will host trainings throughout the Bighorn Basin to teach hunters how to collect samples from mule deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing...
Elk hunting outlook good, deer hunting 'mixed bag,' says G&F report September 13, 2019 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Although a successful hunting season is expected for the Big Horn Basin, most deer populations in Wyoming are down due to the severe winter of 2016-17. However, the Pinedale and Cody regions are seeing large populations and high quality hunting opportunities, with Cody herds expanding into new areas and habitats..,

Wyoming DNR Deer Hunting Forecast September, 2019 WGFD News
... Throughout the Casper Region, mule deer populations have rebounded some over the past four years following long term gradual decline since the 1990s... White-tailed deer numbers have improved in many areas of the Bighorn Basin ... mule deer in the Green River Region ...  Winter losses were very high in the Uinta and Wyoming Range Herd units ...

Shifts in Wyoming migration corridors on the horizon September 10, 2019 Casper Star-Tribune Online
... the Migration Corridor Advisory Group announced Monday it had reached some consensus. In a set of recommendations offered to the governor, the team called for changes in state-led management of migration corridors that stretch like veins across Wyoming. If accepted, the ideas could be enshrined into a new executive order...

Mule deer hunting near Cody expected to be 'not as good' September 6, 2019 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... herds have undergone severe population declines due to tough winters and poor fawn production and recruitment over the last five years...  Game and Fish began implementing changes to the seasons last year by reducing doe harvest opportunity to maximize the ability of the herd to rebound and implementing four-point antler restrictions to reduce buck harvest..,

Fire will help butte's wildlife September 4, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
...  mule deer and elk  ... stand to benefit from the flames ... “Usually if you have a fire come through, you end up with a bunch of new green vegetation that has a pretty high protein content — higher than the older vegetation,” ...

 ...a mix of fuels-reduction work designed to prevent wildfire ...  mimic wildfire's natural role of invigorating browse for elk and mule deer...

Migrating mule deer don't need directions, study finds August 23, 2019 Wyoming, Science Daily
... research from the University of Wyoming has found that memory explains much of deer behavior during migration: Mule deer navigate in spring and fall mostly by using their knowledge of past migration routes and seasonal ranges... Scientists had long presumed that migratory behavior was dictated by availability of food resources ...

... For every acre of mule deer habitat taken by roads, well pads and other oil and gas development infrastructure in Wyoming’s Green River Basin, an average of 4.6 other acres of available forage is lost ... because deer avoid areas close to such human disturbance, even when there’s quality forage in those areas, says the research published in the journal Ecological Applications...

Proposed bike trail moved out of migration bottleneck August 16, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... Plans that originated with a cycling group were considered by the Bridger-Teton National Forest, but the project didn’t pass muster when it was being vetted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others...

... “The fact that she was able to walk almost 60 miles in one direction and turn around and walk that same path back shows that something neat is going on here,” Jakopak said. “And calls attention to how smart mule deer are and how much we don’t know about them.” ... a multi-year study looking at fawn survival  in the Wyoming Range...

Ungulate migration group asks Gov. Gordon for protective executive order August 14, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... A diverse committee charged with shaping Wyoming’s policies for safeguarding ungulate migration is asking Gov. Mark Gordon for an executive order that will keep designated routes largely unscathed...

...  last winter the environmental advocacy law-firm Earthjustice sued, asking a federal judge to compel the refuge to release a feeding-reduction plan... In the Wyoming Game and Fish director’s view, a fatal flaw of the plan is a lack of flexibility...
     Weaning Jackson elk off refuge feed may start this winter August 12, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... In a worst-case scenario, the refuge’s prized winter range will become an infected area where wildlife congregate, leading to the long-term decline of a diseased Jackson Elk Herd. But the fate of the refuge still remains uncertain since CWD and wild, fed elk have never before mixed...

Interior plan sells out sagebrush habitat August 2, 2019 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... changes proposed to the plans will imperil this iconic western bird and other wild game that depend upon undisturbed sagebrush habitat... the plan also protected mule deer, antelope, elk and the 350 wildlife species that rely on undisturbed sagebrush habitat ...

Winter predation patterns of wolves in northwestern wyoming SP Woodruff, MD Jimenez - The Journal of Wildlife Management, 2019
... remains of 289 wolf kills on 3 state‐managed feedgrounds and adjacent winter range near Jackson, Wyoming...  Thirty‐seven percent (n = 106) of kills were located on elk feedgrounds where elk composition included 49% calves, 42% adult females, 5% adult males, and 5% unknown. Sixty‐three percent (n = 183) of kills were located on winter range adjacent to feedgrounds and prey species consisted of 90% elk (38% calves, 35% adult females, 24% adult males, 2% unknown), 9% moose (Alces alces; 13% calves, 69% adult females, 6% adult males, 1% unknown), 1% mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; 1 fawn, 1 adult female), and 0.5% adult female bison (Bison bison)...

Pinedale Anticline Wildlife Monitoring Goes Infrared July 24, 2019 Wyoming, SweetwaterNOW.com
... The past two winters, the decision was made to contract with Owhyee Air, LLC to conduct the surveys using infrared technology from an aircraft.  Benefits to using the infrared technology include increased safety, less disturbance to wildlife (flights are conducted at approximately 2,000 feet and it is far less expensive ...

Reducing wildlife-related accidents within grasp July 24, 2019 Wyoming, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
... local, state, federal and tribal governments, along with non-governmental organizations, came together for the first Montana Wildlife and Transportation Summit in an effort to better understand challenges and opportunities for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions...  the report

... The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved $1.25 million for underpasses to reduce mule deer-vehicle collisions along Highway 189, north of LaBarge ...one of the highest wildlife collision rates in Wyoming...

... install several miles of wildlife-friendly fence within a key big game migration corridor near Pinedale... old, traditional barbed-wire fences, that can often entangle big game animals, are being converted to pipe fence thanks to significant donations ...

... results from a new poll published by the University of Wyoming ... The poll cited a number of potential policy changes that could protect the state’s mule deer populations from the threats of highways, private properties and expanding industries cutting through the natural landscape...

Researching diverse migration strategies July 11, 2019 Wyoming,  Post Register
... Over the course of the eight years of the study, the researchers found that this herd of 20,000 deer exhibits three distinct migration patterns ... short-distance migrants that migrate only a few miles...  mid-range migrants that might travel up to 50 miles. The long-distance migrants travel much further...

... published in late June in the Journal of Applied Ecology might eventually help with those decisions. In a paper titled “All routes are not created equal: an ungulate’s choice of migration route can influence its survival,” wildlife biologists explain that mortality rates on some routes can, in fact, be as much as three times higher than on others...

WY Game and Fish Hears Public Concerns Regarding CWD July 1, 2019 Wyoming, laramielive.com
... “Right now, the big concern is whether or not CWD will get into the feed grounds and what the dynamics of the disease will be when that happens... we have CWD endemically in deer and elk in southeastern Wyoming, and the populations do grow a little less robustly because of the Chronic Wasting Disease, but there are still viable populations ...

Wildlife corridor talks begin June 30, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... Game and Fish is working with Research Biologist Hall Sawyer to evaluate the migration ecology and potential impacts of energy on mule deer, elk and pronghorn. He is expected to come back with findings in a few weeks. In the meantime, Game and Fish wants to limit surface disturbance in the corridor until it conducts more research...

... Over the last year, additional parcels of land in the oil-rich sands of the Red Desert – which contains a number of long-established migration corridors for numerous species of ungulates – have been targeted for development by oil and gas interests in spite of a declaration by the U.S. Department of the Interior ...

... Mule deer populations around the West are down — 31 percent since 1991 ... some studies show that if you kill off a lot of coyotes, they breed even more.  "Oftentimes, coyote control programs have been implemented, and in some, or many, instances the effects were negligible," ...

CWD panel won't consider closing elk feedgrounds June 11, 2019 Wyoming, WyoFile
... Instead, Game and Fish is considering forming a separate, more localized group that would address elk feedgrounds. That would occur “after this [statewide] process,”... The agency recognizes feedgrounds “will likely exacerbate the disease problem,” because they concentrate animals artificially to the point diseases can be transmitted more easily...

... Every year, more than 6,000 deer, pronghorn, elk and moose are reportedly hit by vehicles on Wyoming’s roads... The best solution is over- and underpasses, Riginos said.  They are more than 80 percent effective in reducing collisions,” ... more than a dozen underpasses and two overpasses already built in the state ...

... There are places in the state that have up to 60 percent prevalence in deer herds... CWD is predominantly here in the southeast corner of Wyoming. It’s starting to move up toward the Big Horn Basin, the Black Hills, and only a few confirmed cases in western Wyoming ...

G&F approves reduced deer tags May 20, 2019 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Upper Shoshone mule deer herd in areas 110-115 and the Clarks Fork mule deer herd in areas 105, 106 and 109, will see seasons close a week earlier ... herd populations have been declining...

... deer in the North Fork, South Fork and Sunlight areas ... have undergone severe population declines due to tough winters and poor fawn production and recruitment... reducing doe harvest ... and four-point antler restrictions to reduce buck harvest..,

Study Examines Role Of Coyotes In Declining Mule Deer Numbers May 10, 2019 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
...  Statewide, mule deer have declined by 31 percent since 1991. As part of the project, researchers put tracking collars on 30 coyotes and have been watching their behavior to see if their behavior changes during peak times when fawns are born..,

Gordon forms migration group Map May 8, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... “As the NGO community, we want some regulatory certainty that our deer herds are going to keep going, because we like to hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors. I think that’s where we’re all at ...

... The research is clear, wildlife crossings help reduce vehicle accidents and save countless animals. In addition to safety, the long-term positive impact on migratory patterns is extremely encouraging. The number of species benefiting is also impressive. Mule deer, pronghorn, moose and elk along with a variety of small mammals and carnivores utilize the crossings ...

... An influential cattlemen’s group is trying to rescind a U.S. Interior Department big game migration route protection ... Secretarial Order 3362...

... Gov. Gordon prefers small groups that work over short time periods so he is asking for a representative of oil, gas mining; agriculture; county commissioners; conservation groups; and sportsmen groups ... Nominations are due by May 20...

.... U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced the award of $2.1 million in grants to state and local partners in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming for habitat conservation activities in migration corridors and winter range for elk, mule deer ...

... highways can interrupt migration corridors. Game and Fish estimates there are over 6,000 wildlife collisions each year...

Members of Wyoming CWD Working Group Announced April 26, 2019 laramielive.com
... the Chronic Wasting Disease working group, composed of 32 people from a diverse range of backgrounds, professions, and interests from across Wyoming. This group will develop recommendations to revise Game and Fish’s CWD management plan...

Rock Springs backs management plan for Greater Little Mountain April 22, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... “Hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational activities depend on abundant, healthy populations of elk, mule deer, antelope, moose, trout and numerous other species that need intact ecosystems to thrive ... the GLMA can continue to nourish a sustainable outdoor economy with diverse recreation opportunities. Recreation creates jobs, fills freezers, pays salaries ... [letter from Rock Springs]

More than 23000 apply for elk licenses April 23, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... Nonresidents submitted 23,750 applications, a 2.9 percent increase from 2018 ... Nonresident hunters take a chance at 7,250 licenses in the draw...

WILD Act will spark wildlife conservation innovation April 17, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act — or WILD Act... will promote technological innovation to protect threatened wildlife and control invasive species...

Find dead deer for science April 17, 2019 Wyoming, Ecowatch
... Wyoming wildlife managers are inviting the public to participate in the annual deer mortality surveys of the Wyoming Range and Uinta mule deer herds... Wyoming Range survey is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 4 in Cokeville ...

Lead kills 1st Yellowstone golden eagle fitted with tracker April 15, 2019 Wyoming, Washington Post
... likely after consuming bullet fragments while scavenging ... Wearing a GPS unit like a backpack, the adult, female eagle had flown outside Yellowstone into areas where hunters pursue game such as elk and deer...

Chronic Wasting Disease, Could A Mysterious Animal Epidemic Become The Next Mad Cow? April 12, 2019 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... She concluded this version of the disease was not the same as the one circulating in North America. And upon closer inspection, the disease in reindeer was different, too.  Then last year, a moose in neighboring Finland tested positive as well, way over by the Russian border, and in March 2019, the illness showed up in Sweden...

G&F Commission increases CWD testing funds April 9, 2019 Wyoming,
The Torrington Telegram
... Dube called to increase the budget for testing for the disease by 50 percent, from $100,000 to $150,000. He didn’t get any argument from his fellow commissioners, with the motion passing by a unanimous vote...

Chronic wasting disease April 3, 2019 Wyoming, Aitkin Independent Age
... Less than four decades after Wyoming’s first case, CWD’s effects are widespread and devastating in the state.  Rothstein quoted a recent study that took place in Wyoming where researchers found that 20 percent of the wild mule deer population now had CWD. Over the five-year study period, their population declined by 21 percent annually...

Application Deadline for CWD Group Membership is Friday April 2, 2019 Wyoming, laramielive.com
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is addressing increased concerns about Chronic Wasting Disease through a new public working group and is asking for membership applications... the CWD working group website ...

Deer and Elk Research Project Meetings on Wind River Reservation April 8-9 April 1, 2019 Wyoming, University of Wyoming News
...  The finding shows that the Wind River Indian Reservation is connected to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem through big-game migration corridors. ... The finding shows that the Wind River Indian Reservation is connected to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem through big-game migration corridors...

Lasting winter challenges wildlife March 29, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
...  snow depth at the National Weather Service monitoring plot in Jackson on Thursday was still 18 inches — deeper than all but four other March 28 dates documented during the last century. .. In some places, death rates are climbing... watched a struggling, mangy cow moose suffer an excruciatingly slow death..,

The project is part of the statewide Mule Deer Initiative ... The Upper Powder River mule deer herd ... has been below population objective (18,000) since the early 2000s, with the 2017 postseason population estimated at approximately 11,000 deer. - March 28, 2019


... with storms dropping record snowfall across the state and ushering in frigid temperatures, the state’s wild herds are beginning to struggle ... The harsh weather is doubling down on the 2016 and 2017 summers, which both registered drought conditions near the Black Hills. Poor food in the summer means skinnier females going into winter ..,

Big Blizzards Tough On Mule Deer March 15, 2019 Wyoming Public Media
..."Down south . . . probably three-quarters of the fawns that entered winter have died, and the leading cause of death has been starvation or malnutrition," ... LaSharr said the herd in southwestern Wyoming close to Idaho and Utah was hit especially hard..,

Shorter, more limited mule deer hunts proposed March 14, 2019 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... Seeking to protect migrating mule deer herds, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing some new restrictions for the 2019 hunting season in Upper Shoshone and Clark’s Fork areas... The reduced number of tags represents a large drop in revenue for the department ...

... Preliminary field visits to assess habitat quality found that many aspen forests and shrub communities are in late successional stages exhibiting reduced vigor and a lack of recruitment. In order to reverse this trend, vegetation manipulation techniques such as mechanical and chemical treatments, as well as prescribed fire will be used to rehabilitate degraded habitats. Implementation of this project across the landscape, with proper pre- and post-management, will enhance the quality of habitat for the iconic mule deer as well as for all animals...

Elk, horses shack up together March 13, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... An on-again, off-again unofficial elk feedground in Buffalo Valley has been decommissioned for now. The result: dozens of elk scrapping for hay amid 80 horses... From the 1930s until 1973 a permanent Game and Fish feedground occupied the valley, and in its earliest days “deer, elk and moose” used it ...

Big sagebrush may weather climate change March 6, 2019 Wyoming, Post Register
... Particularly in cooler portions of the study region, climate change appeared unlikely to harm big sagebrush directly ... “Managing Big Sagebrush in a Changing Climate,” ... sagebrush made up 78 percent of the annual diet for antelope in Wyoming and 59 percent of the winter diet of deer and elk near Gardiner, Montana ...

... The new plate features a mule deer design as a way to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and to help protect wildlife migration routes...

... The department is assembling public comment from a series of meetings at which it presented its case for the Sublette Pronghorn and Wyoming Range Mule Deer paths. The goal, according to department personnel, is to add the corridors to the department’s catalog of designated vital habitat ...

... The mule deer population in Wyoming has dropped 31 percent since 1991... Now the BLM is considering and granting leases for oil and gas wells in mule deer migration corridors including the Red Desert to Hoback..,

Wildlife is low and visible, but so far OK February 27, 2019 Wyoming, 
Jackson Hole News&Guide
... There are “severe” conditions on winter ranges throughout the Pinedale Region, Regional Supervisor John Lund said in a statement.  “We will likely see above-average mortality in some areas,” Lund said, “mostly among mule deer and pronghorn fawns if conditions do not improve quickly.” ...

Scoping meeting targets shrinking mule deer herds February 26, 2019 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... Mule deer population trends in the area are down, with no immediate hope of a rebound... n the Upper Shoshone and Clark’s Fork herds ...  For the past few years, harsh winter weather — particularly hard on fawns — has been the largest factor in population declines ...

Winter conditions in the Casper Region February 21, 2019 Wyoming Game and Fish - State of Wyoming
... big game were observed on winter ranges much earlier than normal due to significant snowfall and cold temperatures during the late fall... This could result in above average winter mortality for mule deer and pronghorn in some areas if late winter and early spring conditions become harsher than normal..

A lost migration route is gone forever February 20, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... the second time the Bureau of Land Management will lease public land parcels for oil and gas development inside the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor...

... This week marks the second time the BLM will lease public land parcels for oil and gas development inside the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor...  The corridor’s northern end was protected in 2012, when Wyoming citizens raised $8.75 million to buy out and retire oil and gas leases in the Wyoming Range’s Upper Hoback...

A recording of the Migration Corridor Forum meeting at the Casper Regional Office from February 11th, 2019 - Wyoming


On the trail of the hunt: bill to enable dogs to search for big game February 8, 2019 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... House Bill 73 places conditions on hunters including:  Maintaining physical control of the dog at all times by using a leash. “If you use a dog in this manner, you must maintain physical control of the dog at all times by means of a maximum 50-foot leash ...

Federal Lawmakers Try To Tackle Chronic Wasting Disease In Western Deer, Elk, Moose February 8, 2019 Wyoming Public Media
... The bipartisan bill ...would require the departments of agriculture and interior to pay the National Academies of Sciences to figure out how the disease moves between animals, and how to keep it from spreading further...

... the Super Tag Raffle has raised more than $3.7 million for big game management and wildlife conservation in the state...  includes ten license drawings - one drawing for each of the following species: bighorn sheep, moose, elk, mountain goat, wild bison, deer, antelope, mountain lion, grey wolf, and black bear...

... The first large-scale movement study of mule deer in the Sheridan Region kicked off last month near Kaycee ... efforts were part of the Mule Deer Initiative, a statewide program originally created to address a severe decline in mule deer population across the state...

Mule deer January 28, 2019 Wyoming, Endangered Species Coalition
... unlike other big game, they can’t adapt their migratory strategy or route as the landscape changes around them. They learn their migration route — scientists hypothesize that they are taught by their mothers — and keep to it for the rest of their lives. These unique traits are compelling, but maladaptive in the context of an increasingly disturbed landscape...

... Revenue from the Super Tag goes to the department’s budget and supports a range of programs .... such as the Wyoming mule deer initiative, hunter safety, law enforcement and chronic wasting disease...

CWD found in a new elk hunt area near Sheridan January 18, 2019 Wyoming Game and Fish Department - State of Wyoming
...  a cow elk has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Elk Hunt Area 37. The elk was harvested by a hunter in late December. CWD has been previously documented in deer in overlaying Deer Hunt Area 24 but this is the first time an elk has tested positive ...

Should energy interests outweigh wildlife? January 17, 2019, Wyoming, High Country News
... in the current political climate and administration, where an “energy dominance” mandate for management has been passed to federal public lands managers, we are facing a future where one of the West’s most iconic species — the mule deer — could be irreparably devastated...

A comprehensive study of a premier mule deer herd in Wyoming is in its sixth year of study. January 17, 2019


... The state brought in only about US$50,000 from parcels in the middle of the Red Desert to Hoback corridor, a lifeline for some 5,000 deer. The BLM jeopardized the integrity of the world’s longest mule deer migration corridor for US$10 per deer. That’s both unacceptable and unnecessary...

Mule deer migration follows the melting line of snow and the greenup of plants in the wild Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of Wyoming. Two wildlife biolgists explain how the deer you see along the highway are actually "surfing the green wave" of vegetation. This behavior helps mule deer to extract the most available resources from the landscape in spring, so they can grow antlers, nurse their fawns, and store up the fat they need to survive the next winter. Filmed along US 26/287 to Togwotee Pass. Many migration corridors like this take deer all the way into Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. - January 14, 2019


Deer culling results in fewer incidents January 14, 2019 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Results of the 2018 count show a 81:100 fawn to doe ratio...  increasing buck to doe ratio, which stands at 49:100 compared to 45:100 last year...  the goal in Cody is to reduce the number of deer hit by vehicles, dead deer incidents and deer nuisance calls to the police department...

... Closing antler collecting on winter ranges is critical to keeping wildlife safe, said Brian Nesvik, Game and Fish’s chief game warden.  Elk and deer eke through winter using fat reserves ... every time someone shows up and runs elk and deer off the winter ranges it causes stress ...

Northern Wyoming range deer surveyed  January 10, 2019 County 10 
... the northern half of the Wyoming Range mule deer herd near LaBarge ...  at 59 fawns per 100 does, they’re still better than last year’s number of 54:100. The ten-year average is just 63:100 ...

New nonprofit seeks to be 'RAND Corp. of hunting' January 9, 2019 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
...Hunters should be prohibited from blasting a rifle at an elk that’s any farther away than 300 yards to give the animal a fair shake, says a Jackson bowhunter who wants to make hunting more ethical. Same goes for bowhunting: Letting arrows fly more than 50 yards should be illegal...

... “It takes generations and generations for herds to learn migration corridors,” Kauffman says. “If you wipe out a herd that has knowledge of a specific migration, then you lose all the knowledge that those animals have of how to make that migration.” ...

Wyoming outlines chronic wasting disease plan January 7, 2019 LocalNews8.com
... The department has provided supplemental feed to elk during the winter months for more than 100 years ... 22 feedgrounds... "When CWD is found on elk feedgrounds, we will all be faced with some difficult discussions ...

Chronic Wasting Disease, Wyoming Game & Fish present 2018 year in review December 26, 2018 County 10
... Game and Fish  ...One project developed recommendations for strategies that states can use to potentially slow the spread and reduce prevalence of CWD. The other is a study of whether hunting may decrease the prevalence of CWD in deer populations...

... Dozens of biologists and wildlife experts from Wyoming and neighboring states have asked the Interior Department to delay leasing any land parcels for oil and gas that overlap with Wyoming’s only designated mule deer migration corridor...

CWD Detected In Teton County, Do Elk Feed Grounds Need To Go? December 21, 2018 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... "Creating these dense concentrations seasonally for elk literally creates a feeding ground for things like brucellosis and now CWD," ... the Laramie Peak Elk Herd is free roaming ... 

Sublette County Mule Deer Numbers Look Encouraging December 20, 2018 Wyoming, SweetwaterNOW 
... the number of fawns improved significantly with 71 fawns being counted for every 100 does... improvement from the 49 per 100 does counted last year following the hard winter of 2016-17... proportion of bucks seen also improved to 37 bucks:100 does...

Mule Deer Collared Near Kaycee December 19, 2018 Wyoming, County 3
... a three-year monitoring project to evaluate the condition of the herd, identify factors influencing animal survival, learn about seasonal movements and habitat preferences, and study the dynamics of chronic wasting disease on the herd...

... chronic wasting disease ... Teton County's trash is now being sent to a Bonneville County, Idaho, landfill, but Wyoming's western neighbor — for now uninfected with the lethal ungulate sickness — is no longer accepting the community's carcasses ... 30 to 40 annual tons of wild game carcasses ...

Wasting disease testing robust for elk, skimpy for deer December 15, 2018 Gillette News-Record 
... The amount of effort Wyoming wildlife managers put into monitoring the Jackson Elk Herd for chronic wasting disease is unparalleled among elk and deer herds roaming elsewhere in the state...

Environmentalists: Plan to reduce elk feeding is overdue December 8, 2018 Wyoming, Fresno Bee
... Winter feeding of elk in the area began in 1910 to help them survive the winter and keep them from eating ranchers' hay in the Jackson area ... Earthjustice said [chronic wasting disease] could spread easily among elk that bunch together to eat the alfalfa pellets ...

... signs ... were recently installed at one of the mule deer migration bottlenecks near Fremont Lake, where several thousand animals pass through each spring and fall north of Pinedale. One sign is at the Fremont Lake overlook and the other is at the parking area for the CCC Ponds...

Antelope and deer migration corridor to be studied December 3, 2018 Wyoming, LocalNews8.com
...Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has cleared a $300,000 research grant ... number one research priority for identifying migration corridors, and for Wyoming that was tracking these specific herds of pronghorn and mule deer...

State biologists worried about wasting disease in Park County November 27, 2018 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
...While the prevalence in Park County is currently about 5 percent in deer, some hunt areas in the Big Horn Basin have prevalence rates as high as 40 percent... “It’s moving across the state,” ...

First deer infected with CWD found in Grand Teton National Park November 21, 2018 Wyoming, Post Register 
... a mule deer in Grand Teton National Park tested positive for chronic wasting disease ... “The positive test result does not come as a surprise based on recent positive results for mule deer in Star Valley, (Wyo.) and Pinedale, (Wyo.) in 2017,” ...

Sweetwater commissioners seek help with mule deer mitigation November 21, 2018 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... commissioners agreed to send a letter to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, Gov.-elect Mark Gordon and agency representatives requesting that the state implement a compensatory mitigation program involving potential oil and gas development in the [mule deer] corridor...

A human history of the mule deer November 17, 2018 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune 
... The mule deer population is steadily declining. Try camping during the winter on the slopes above the Superior exit. The deer there look depressed, dejected and hungry. The interstate below is like a Berlin Wall: fences, traffic increasing yearly, another fence, frontage road and railroad tracks...

Game and Fish Approves Changes for 2019 November 16, 2018 Wyoming, County 17
... Six of the state’s mule deer herds will be addressed and the projects will be geared towards enhancing over 100,000 acres of key habitat for the species.  An additional $25,000 was approved for the WGFD’s migration corridor policy to help the department evaluate existing GPS data...

Thermopolis reinstates deer management program November 16, 2018 Wyoming, Northern Wyoming Daily News Worland Wyoming
... “We had reached a manageable population level, and took a year off, after six years of the program, but predators are pushing them back toward town,” ...

Animal migration requires both movement corridors and food October 26, 2018 Wyoming, Science Daily
... An analysis of mule deer migration routes in two areas of Wyoming documents the idea that the animals choose readily traversable pathways where they also can find food... migrating animals avoid human disturbance ...

Deer Tests Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease Near Kaycee October 27, 2018 Wyoming, Sheridan Media 
... The deer was harvested south of Kaycee. CWD has previously been documented in neighboring deer hunt areas...

First-Ever Atlas of Big-Game Migrations Highlights UW ResearchOctober 22, 2018 Wyoming, University of Wyoming News
... detailing the ecology and conservation of migratory big-game species including mule deer, elk and pronghorn in Wyoming, the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and adjacent Western states... In addition to the map illustrations, “Wild Migrations” uses stunning color images ... purchase information

Elk habitat, research efforts receive $500K grant October 18, 2018 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... Money from the grants will help provide public access to roughly 48,000 acres of land around the state through a partnership between private landowners and sportsmen. It will also pay to remove encroaching trees ...

... Wyoming Wilderness Association leaders found the bill troubling, saying the bill’s introduction threatens more than half of Wyoming’s WSA designations and more than 400,000 acres containing high-desert habitat for species such as elk, deer and sage grouse...

... new wildlife migration and winter range preservation strategy in Wyoming ... The outdoor council had asked that 32 parcels in the deer migration corridor be deferred, but McGee said 15 of those ultimately were sold...

Contested drill leases see lukewarm interest October 3, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... The oil and gas industry showed relatively slim interest in investing in hotly contested leases overlapping the celebrated Red Desert-to-Hoback mule deer migration corridor... Leases on deer route attract up to $9 an acre, well below $202 average...

Fabled wildlife park failed fast September 25, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... By 1947 the “Jackson Hole Wildlife Park” was on its way... 1,600 acres of mainly grassland, including a 400-acre fenced enclosure... elk and deer jumped over the fence, pronghorn went under the fence ... By 1954 the University of Wyoming assumed responsibility for research funding and maintenance of the facility. Today the research center is known as the AMK Ranch ...

Wyoming commission punts on mule deer versus minerals debate September 21, 2018 Casper Star-Tribune Online
...  the aim of encouraging companies to keep surface disturbances outside of the mule deer corridor. If a company refuses, Game and Fish will object and the BLM will require the company to complete an Environmental Impact Statement ...

Enviros take feeding lawsuit September 17, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
...  A federal judge has ordered the Bridger-Teton National Forest to re-examine its decision allowing the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to feed elk on 91 acres of national forest perched above the Gros Ventre River. ...  could become a reservoir for [chronic wasting disease] ...

Habitat conditions supporting big game herd health September 17, 2018 Wyoming, wyomingbusinessreport
... Abundant spring and summer moisture across southeast Wyoming this year ... Mule deer populations are increasing, and buck ratios in many places are the highest they’ve been in a decade or more... Most elk herds in the area are larger than the department’s population objectives ..,

Mule deer migration corridor should be protected September 16, 2018 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune
... Mule deer populations are dwindling. Energy development in critical habitat may only increase their struggle ... these 33 parcels of land, less than 2 percent of the total acreage proposed for lease by the BLM, should not be leased without further consideration ... the notices have no legal teeth...
 
Mule Deer Research Ongoing Near Superior September 14, 2018 Wyoming, For Sweetwater County & Southwest Wyoming
... “The Sublette Mule Deer Herd spends the winter in the Red Desert, east of Rock Springs. This unique herd exhibits three migratory behaviors, including long-distance migration (~150 miles), medium-distance (~70 miles), and short-distance migration (<30 miles)...little is known about the costs or benefits associated with each migratory strategy ...

Zinke Offering 1.2 Million Acres of Wyoming Pronghorn, Mule Deer Habitat to Oil, Gas ... September 12, 2018 Wyoming, Center for Biological Diversity (press release)
... The Bureau of Land Management and fossil fuel companies have long claimed that oil and gas development causes only short-term harm to big game, and that the animals adapt to the area once drilling activities are complete. But research released in A
pril 2017 confirms that is not the case with mule deer...

BLM to auction 780,000 acres September 12, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News and Guide
... Two parcels initially marked for sale in the Red Desert-to-Hoback mule deer migration corridor are no longer being considered for lease... Other parcels that overlap with the mule deer passageway have a “special lease notice” attached that requires producers to work with BLM and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to minimize impacts...

... University of Wyoming researcher Brett Jesmer recently proved that hooved animals, such as bighorn sheep and moose, must learn from their families when and where to go. His groundbreaking study was published Friday in the journal Science....

... The debate over these tracts of land began in January, when the Interior Department decided that lease sales would proceed even in places where local management plans for the land were being rewritten — as they are in the migration region... Stipulations can preclude oil and gas firms from certain types of development, ...

Researchers Study How Wolf Predation Shapes Elk Antler Evolution September 4, 2018 Wyoming, University of Wyoming
... "We believe elk evolved to keep their antlers longer than any other North American deer because they use their antlers as an effective deterrent against wolf predation," ... online at Nature, Ecology, and Evolution 

BLM to auction 780,000 acres September 5, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News and Guide
... Two parcels initially marked for sale in the Red Desert-to-Hoback mule deer migration corridor are no longer being considered for lease. Other parcels that overlap with the mule deer passageway have a “special lease notice” ... Comments on the sale are due by Sept. 12. The sale is scheduled for the week of Dec. 10.  The environmental documents are posted online ...

Habitat Project on Little Mountain Completed With the Help of Many August 30, 2018 Wyoming, SweetwaterNOW.com
... Over browsing of aspen suckers by elk and cattle at many locations throughout the Little Mountain ecosystem has impeded vertical growth ... mule deer, elk, and cattle tend to concentrate on the top of Little Mountain during the summer months to give birth and rear their fawns and calves...

WYDOT warns of higher deer crossing numbers August 28, 2018 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... A wet spring across much of Wyoming, followed by summer’s hot weather, spurred the growth of green grass in the state rights-of-way, and deer and other wildlife are moving toward and across highways in higher numbers than usual ...
Rise in lease sales pits Wyoming's energy industry against conservation August 27, 2018 Wyoming,Casper Star-Tribune Online
...  A similar rush to support energy compromised the mule deer corridor, some argue.  ... The rules that are in place simply aren’t being followed, conservationists say.  “The current plans say prioritize away from habitat and they are right smack dab in priority habitat,” said Arnett of the TRCP... 

... Our research has direct implications for wildlife conservation and rangeland
management by demonstrating that short-term (1–2 yr) rest from large ungulate grazing may not substantially alter vegetation structure in this system. Instead, structural variation is strongly driven by black-tailed prairie dog colonization and historical wildfire. Understanding and managing multiple, potentially interacting disturbances is critical for maximizing wildlife conservation and livestock production in heterogeneous landscapes.

Wyoming Statewide Hunting Forecast for 2018  August, 2018  
...  in the Wyoming Range Herd Unit in February, 2018 yielded a count of 25,317 deer, and an estimate of approximately 29,000 deer. The mild winter of 2017-18 provided for good body condition and high survival of both adults and fawns, and all indications are that the fawns born in 2018 are robust, healthy, and experiencing high summer survival. This year should really jump-start the recovery of this deer
herd ...

... In the late 1980s and early 1990s, mule deer in the herd numbered around 50,000. But a series of bad winters and increased hunting pressure cut the herd down to about 30,000. Wildlife managers tried for years to reach that 50,000 goal again, but realized the deer were not just limited by a bad winter or hunting, but by available food... Fawns born in 2017 after the harsh winter measured on average 6.8 pounds. Fawns born this summer weighed on average almost a pound more...

Groups fight gas plan in deer migration path August 22, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... Three coalitions of conservation groups have made a last-minute plea to halt the sale of more than 15,000 acres of oil and gas leases that overlap a 150-mile mule deer migration corridor that ends in the Hoback...


WYOMING 2018 STATEWIDE
FALL HUNTING FORECAST
Revised August
15, 2018

This video highlights the addition of one new fawn found in late July by the Laramie County Conservation District crew. The LCCD is following a gps collared doe, Jane Doe, during a two-year study with Central High School. This study helps students understand the movements of deer within an urban setting and contrasts it with large scale migrations of those wild herds in the rest of our home state. While this doe has added to the Cheyenne population, the district will search for more fawns over the next couple of months. - August 13, 2018 Wyoming


Investing in muleys August 8, 2018 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have come together to help protect designated mule deer migration corridors in Wyoming.  They announced last week that the department will prioritize the conservation efforts by deferring sales of mineral rights and putting lease stipulations on public land...

... The BLM has offered to sell multiple oil and gas leases in the Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration corridor ... Secretary Zinke is clearly prioritizing energy dominance over mule deer...

Could fencing funneled to existing underpasses on I-25 help wildlife and prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions - August 6, 2018 Wyoming


Epic Yellowstone Migrations Gain New Bipartisan Protections August 3, 2018 Wyoming, National Geographic
... Over the last decade, hunters, conservationists, private landowners, and policy makers have come together to identify and eliminate man-made obstacles from migratory corridors in and around Yellowstone National Park... Commonly known as "The Thorofare," it is so-named becuse it serves as the main route for thousands of ungulates and other large animals who traverse it during their annual migrations...

Hoback deer route partially spared August 3,2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide 
... the Bureau of Land Management has been directed to defer nearly 5,000 acres of leases that overlapped with the Red Desert-to-Hoback migration route, the first such wildlife path officially recognized by Wyoming... the migration takes hundreds of mule deer on a 300-mile round-trip journey ...

... A 14-year study following 134 tagged mountain lions north of Jackson, Wyoming, found a 48 percent reduction in their numbers.  The researchers found that the combination of the reintroduction of wolves and increases in elk and mountain lion hunting led to the precipitous drop...

Drilling yields to muley migration July 31, 2018 Wyoming, Mountain West News
... The Interior Department announced Tuesday that about 5,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land would be precluded from oil and gas lease sales for the time being and additional parcels in the migration route would only be leased with a rider mandating collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department...

From 1939: This video shows you Wyoming the home of the elk,grouse and moose.


  Epic Wyoming mule deer migration documented again, confirming the longest path in the world July 27, 2018 Casper Star-Tribune
... When deer number 255 walked almost 250 miles from southern Wyoming to Idaho, researchers wondered if it was a fluke. But then she came back... This year she went back again, following the same path. And she was pregnant with twins....

Study says feeding elk could hurt economy July 26, 2018 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... economics PhD Matthew Maloney, determined that wintertime feeding with chronic wasting disease on the landscape is only an economic winner if elk numbers are held extremely low, or the fatal malady’s spread is slower than observed elsewhere in the wild...

Study says feeding elk could hurt economy July 26, 2018 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... economics PhD Matthew Maloney, determined that wintertime feeding with chronic wasting disease on the landscape is only an economic winner if elk numbers are held extremely low, or the fatal malady’s spread is slower than observed elsewhere in the wild...

... A study is underway with thirty-one mule deer does ... The longest movement was nearly twenty miles to the south side of the Ferris Mountains... Some of the deer that “stayed home” on or very near their winter ranges are using alfalfa or grass hayfields ...

Wyoming announces big game raffle winners July 23, 2018 LocalNews8.com
... The raffle generated $913,550 for conservation programs this year... Ten hunters won a Wyoming Game and Fish Department raffle last weekend to hunt for ... moose ... elk ...deer ...

Why Seeing Deer is Just as Enjoyable as Hunting Them July 20, 2018 Wyoming, Wide Open Spaces
... Sometimes I enjoy seeing deer as much as hunting them. Sometimes I like just seeing deer even more ... During my short time living in Wyoming, it became something of an obsession for me to capture photos of urban deer in the area. In fact, I had one of my most memorable whitetail encounters ...

Game & Fish and Federal Partners Burn for Wildlife July 18, 2018 Wyoming, Wyo4News
... This is the third aspen unit burned as part of a string of Wyoming Range mule deer treatments initiated in 2014... 

More Land In Wyoming Range Retired From Oil And Gas July 13, 2018 Wyoming Public Media
...  It will soon be impossible to get oil and gas leases on 24,000 acres of the Wyoming Range. Conservation non-profit the Trust for Public Land bought out existing leases within the Wyoming Range to maintain the area for wildlife and recreation .... summer habitat for many of those mule deer ...

... Overall, applications for resident and non-resident deer and antelope and resident elk increased by 6.95% since last year, amounting to an 11.73% increase in the past two years... residents and non-residents both submitted notably more applications this year for doe/fawn deer  ... “In all, there were 88,869 unsuccessful applications,” ..,

... Each year more than than 13,000 mule deer migrate safely through Nugget Canyon near Kemmerer using six underpasses and fencing,.. Just a few years before about 130 mule deer each died each year....

Deal retires 24,000 acres of oil, gas drilling leases July 4, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide 
... The Wyoming Range is home to a slew of wildlife, including moose, elk, mule deer and antelope. Conservationists have worried drilling would disrupt the migration of such animals as well as disturb their habitat... Over 24,000 acres of land southeast of Jackson were retired from oil and gas drilling Tuesday after The Trust for Public Land acquired the leases...

Game and Fish adds option to mandate CWD testing July 2, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... The first cases of CWD in Wyoming were detected in 1985 in mule deer. The disease has since spread to elk and other species of deer and now affects ungulates in all but two counties in the state, Teton and Uinta... will not require hunters to test meat for chronic wasting disease in 2018 ...

... allows Game and Fish to mandate that harvested deer, elk and moose in certain hunt areas be tested for CWD...visit the Game and Fish website for more information on chronic wasting disease transmission and regulations on transportation and disposal of carcasses...

Large gas development edges forward in western Wyoming June 24, 2018 Casper Star-Tribune
... The project would also overlap with the Path of the Pronghorn, one the longest migration corridors in the U.S. Pronghorn, like Wyoming mule deer, have been documented as avoiding oil and gas wells...

... A narrow corridor of land, beaten by the Sublette mule deer herd as it travels from the Red Desert to Hoback and back again, may be developed for oil and gas pending lease sales later this year... quite a bit of land was added late to the September sale...

... a clear increase in shed hunting over the past few years. That led to the creation of a seasonal closure in the mid-1990s to protect weaker wintering elk, just as more of a market began appearing for antlers...

... Cattle fed extremely high oral doses of chronic wasting disease (CWD)-infected brain material or kept in heavily prion-contaminated facilities for 10 years showed no neurological signs of the disease... Even in deer or elk, animals can take years to succumb to the disease ...

Most at meeting against more nonresident elk tags May 16, 2018 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... many there would likely hunt even if licenses were $100 or $200 – he said he’d be fine with a hike in nonresident license fees – but it was not the time to give nonresidents a larger share...

Wyoming Range Mule Deer - 2018 Project Update, May 15, 2018


Can White Canvas Bags Reduce Deer-Vehicle Collisions? May 15, 2018 Wyoming,  blog.nature.org
... according to research published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, researchers found that reflectors covered in white canvas bags as a control were more effective than the actual reflectors... funded by the Wyoming Department of Transportation, focused on three wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots ...

Hunters can plan for promising fall seasons May, 2018 Wyoming,  WGFD News
... Wildlife survival, especially mule deer and pronghorn, has so far been high. Here’s a breakdown of each region’s wildlife outlook in anticipation of hunts on the horizon... Wildlife survived the winter in the Casper area at an above average rate ... Elk populations in the area remain over established objectives ... Sheridan region ... Elk and whitetail deer have also done well this past year ...Cody region ...  proposing is a 4-point antler restriction for mule deer in the Upper Shoshone deer herd to improve buck numbers after last year’s severe winter ... Jackson/Pinedale regions ... because of last year’s winter ... shortened the deer season, reduced the nonresident quota, and implemented a 3-point or better restriction in 2017 ... 
     Of the five mule deer herds within the Lander region with population size goals, two are at and three are below objective. Along with increased fawn survival, buck to doe ratios increased to an average of 33/100. Though that is not the case in the Sweetwater herd unit, hunt areas 96 and 97, where the buck ratio declined to 18/100 ... Green River region experienced an extremely mild winter. Mule deer numbers boosted,  with nearly all fawns surviving, which may speed up recovery of last winter’s losses ... Laramie region’s mild winter kept most wildlife and hunting seasons at status quo ...

Groups seek protection for mule deer migration route May 7, 2018 Wyoming, Gillette News Record
... asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to keep oil and gas rigs out of a migration route used by mule deer that spend the summer in the Hoback region.  At issue is roughly 10 square miles of Bureau of Land Management property near the Red Desert and Pinedale that fall within a 150-mile migration route ...

Shed hunting popularity breeds new challenges April 28, 2018 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press
... “Guys will watch elk and deer and as soon as an antler drops, they’ll push those animals to go pick the antler up,” Shorma said. “And what they don’t realize is, when elk and deer are dropping antlers, it’s the most critical time of year for them. Their fat reserves are close to zero, if not at zero.” ...

... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is concerned about how chronic wasting disease or CWD may affect the future of the state’s deer. In reaction, Wyoming teamed up with Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Canada to create three management strategies...

Mule Deer Doe’s Epic Migration, Reappearance Stun UW Researchers April 9, 2018 Wyoming, University of Wyoming
... Twenty months had passed since the doe’s GPS signal had blinked off beyond the Tetons on summer range. And now, in March 2018, the capture crew members had relocated deer 255 roughly a dozen miles from where they’d first found her ... a 242-mile migration across the Tetons to Idaho, breaking the previous 150-mile record ...
...one deer. Doe number 255 – as named by her GPS — didn’t stop in the gentle valleys of the Hoback.  She continued north, climbing up and over the Gros Ventre Range ... her collar died... had traveled almost 250 miles ...  500 to 1,000 deer traveled into the western side of the Winds where they merged with another 4,000 deer ...

Public tip helps solve three-year-old poaching case April 6, 2018 Wyoming, Buckrail
... two buck mule deer were shot and abandoned west of Sheridan ...Three Tennesse men plead guilty to poaching and have been fined more than $15,000...

... The order is intended to “improve habitat quality and western big game winter range and migration corridors for antelope, elk and mule deer,” ... provides a framework for connecting states with each other to improve tracking and mapping ...

After Mule Deer Decline, Human Collaboration Could Bring Herd Back March 30, 2018 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... For the last 20 years, the Wyoming Range mule deer herd has been in decline, and nobody has been quite sure why... The Wyoming Mule Deer Project captures the deer they study twice a year ... habitat is what drives the trajectory of mule deer populations ...

Agricultural land conserved near Lander, Wyo. March 29, 2018 Wyoming, Fence Post
... The property is home to crucial moose habitat as well as sage grouse habitat, and is adjacent to mule deer and elk crucial habitats...  connects to a much larger landscape renowned for its mule deer ...

After difficult years, 'conservative' deer hunts March 27, 2018 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... Very difficult winter conditions during 2016-17 and poor fawn ratios for the past four years have resulted in herd units west of Powell being below objective ...

Hunting proposals are out March 21, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... Biologists say that wintering wildlife likely fared the winter well, and they estimated no large changes to populations of regional herds of elk, deer and other ungulates. The Jackson Elk Herd, for example, was assessed in recent weeks at 10,877 animals, which is 111 more elk than the number tallied a year ago...

... a bill creating a specialty license plate that can help the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) do things like pay for signs identifying wildlife corridors and build wildlife crossings and game fences...

Elk Research Project Meetings on Wind River Reservation Feb. 27-28. February 21, 2018 Wyoming, University of Wyoming News
...  investigating the cultural significance and migratory behavior of elk on the Wind River Indian Reservation.  These meetings will be an opportunity for community members to connect with researchers ...

Organizations trying to reduce car-animal crashes February 20, 2018 Wyoming, Wyoming Business Report
... House Bill 39 would authorize the new plates and direct the one-time $100 application fee to the Wildlife Conservation Account within the Highway Fund ... “It’s been estimated that mule deer populations have declined nearly 38 percent in the west in the past two decades,” Coursey said. “Any and all efforts to limit this loss should be of utmost priority.” ...

Animals Are Losing Their Vagility, or Ability to Roam Freely February 19, 2018 Wyoming, The New York Times
... Development threats led to the creation of the Wyoming Migration Initiative, which seeks to identify, study and protect pronghorn, mule deer and other animals’ migrations, which are increasingly at risk on the high plains because of new housing tracts, oil and gas development, roads and other barriers...  In 2011, researchers discovered that mule deer in Wyoming make a 150-mile long, twice yearly journey ...

The wolves of Yellowstone February 15, 2018 Wyoming, Nouse
... Wolves were then trapped, shot or poisoned until the last packs were removed in the 1920’s ... Elk saw rapid increases in their populations ... wolves were finally released [into Yellowstone] in the winter of 1995 ... The main effect the wolves had on the deer population was not the amount they reduced it by but how they altered their behavior ... Changes to the grazing patterns allowed rejuvenation in the areas where the deer avoided..,

Wintering deer doing OK in Sheridan area February 1, 2018 Wyoming, Helena Independent Record
... We lost some fawns with the cold snap and snow in December ...  in the Sheridan Region ... There were 3,183 white-tailed deer surveyed with ratios of 70 fawns per 100 does and 37 bucks per 100 does recorded...  In the Powder River Herd ... there were 37 bucks per 100 does and 68 fawns per 100 does ... in the Upper Powder River Herd Unit ... there were 43 bucks per 100 does and 70 fawns per 100 does ..,

WYDOT suggests safer speed February 1, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... lower speeds are being recommended because they're proven to reduce the likelihood of costly and often dangerous collisions with wildlife.  Featuring a running deer and the word “ATTENTION,” the signs were all located strategically ...

CWD found in deer hunt area near Hanna January 29, 2018 Wyoming, WGFD News
     The Wyoming Game and Fish Department diagnosed chronic wasting disease (CWD) for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 161 in the town of Hanna, Wyoming. The Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory confirmed CWD in a buck mule deer that was found dead...

Mule deer recovering, Game and Fish says January 22, 2018 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... the animals are rebounding from last year’s deadly winter.  Winter 2016-17 walloped the Wyoming Range and Sublette mule deer herds, which roam into the southern reaches of Jackson Hole, with almost an entire crop of fawns dying ..,

Wyoming Range mule deer showing signs of recovery January 20, 2018 Outdoor News Daily
...  Mule deer in western Wyoming are bouncing back after suffering harsh impacts from last year’s winter ... The winter of 2016-2017 was one of the harshest and most impactful on big game in Western Wyoming... Many of the fawns were stillborn in May and June of 2017 ..,

Last Year's Severe Snows Mean Fatter Mule Deer This Winter January 18, 2018 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... Last year, the Wyoming Range mule deer herd died in incredibly high numbers because of record-breaking snow depths. That same snow, however, meant extra deep grasses for the surviving deer ... the 2017 winterkill was the worst since the 1980s ..,

Cody, Council Votes to Take 50 Deer January 17, 2018 Wyoming, mybighornbasin.com
...  opponents of the policy pointing out the stability of the herd and what they deemed unnecessary cost to the City, while supporters indicated that the program could cut down on vehicle collisions and danger to domestic animals...

Mule Deer meetings scheduled by Game & Fish January 13, 2018 Wyoming, Buckrail
... The Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative is a statewide framework designed to address declining mule deer populations, particularly over the last two decades. These declines are not unique to Wyoming, but have been seen throughout the West...

Cody, Deer culling vote Tuesday January 10, 2018 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Greer questioned whether the city should spend the estimated $4,660 when the community is split about 50-50 on the issue.  Councilman Glenn Nielson, also on speaker phone, said he’s reluctant to kill more than 50 because money spent last year didn’t seem to make much difference...

... “It allows us to manage some crucial habitat for elk and mule deer so it’s a great location for wildlife and then the public has access there with the land being managed by State Parks,” ...

Northwest Wyoming deer, elk hunting challenges fall hunters January 6, 2018 WRAL.com
... Wildlife managers point to the severe winter of 2016-17, which killed many fawns, for the dearth of hunter-killed mule deer.  Elk, which are fed during winter in northwestern Wyoming, fared better as a population but also proved to be difficult to find..,

Krumm bags first elk since 1997 January 4, 2018 Wyoming, Helena Independent Record
... hunt areas along the east side of the Bighorn Mountains had elk populations above objective levels. The Game & Fish offered a liberal number of cow/calf permits and started to offer seasons in December off the national forest...

Cody,  Recent town deer data a little hard to believe December 29, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... As far as oft heard statements that Cody’s urban deer are unhealthy and malnourished from not eating native vegetation, G&F’s statement that 64 fawns per 100 does is “higher than outside city limits for sure” would indicate otherwise... “based on the count over the past five years, he didn’t foresee the number of urban deer significantly growing.” These statements do not seem to justify a decision to cull 150 deer ...
... with last year’s hard winter, the number of fawns was as low as it has been in many years at approximately 49 fawns per 100 does. The buck ratios stayed decent at 34 bucks per 100 does... This year a total of 6,531 deer were counted in the Sublette Herd, which was a 39% decline from the sample of 10,640 counted in 2016..,

Cody, Urban Deer Population Remains Stable December 26, 2017 Wyoming, mybighornbasin.com
...  there are approximately 242 deer in the town herd, as compared to 258 last year. And that’s after the Police Department, through a special permit from Game and Fish, killed 51 deer in February... the Council now has to decide whether the expense of the culling process is justifiable, considering how little impact the project had this year...
     City to ask G&F for deer culling permit December 22, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Comparing the 47 deer found dead in Cody this year with the 51 does the CPD harvested Jan. 9-Feb. 9, Smith said the city hadn’t made much progress toward reduction with the culling... According to the G&F, there are 64 fawns per 100 does in Cody.  “That’s much higher than we see outside the city limits ...

Elk Migration, Stupid Wyoming Tourist Was Right After All December 22, 2017 Wyoming, Kgab
... only 2% of elk attempt the migration from Jackson to Yellowstone... down from the over 50% who used to make the trek.  Apparently elk calves no longer know the routes... elk calves have to learn them from their mothers... the percentage of calves that survive to adulthood is much lower for these Yellowstone migrants compared to the short distance migrants.”...
Wildlife experts provide info in Sheridan December 21, 2017 Wyoming, Madisoniannews
... At the Alder check station, 38 elk were antlered, compared to 31 in 2016 ... The biologist reported a significant decline in mule deer harvest this year – 39 compared to last year’s total of 76 ... Spring population trend surveys last year showed mule deer numbers were up about 60 percent relative to 2016...

G&F mulls Montana elk feeding opposition December 20, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... “At this point, there’s no link whatsoever between the prevalence of CWD in Montana and feedgrounds in Wyoming,” Nesvik said. “The fact of the matter is we have not discovered CWD in elk in any of our feedgrounds in western Wyoming.”  Critics of Wyoming’s feedgrounds point out the practice spreads disease ...

... a variety of species use the ranch year-round including, elk, mule deer, moose, pronghorn and sage grouse... the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust acquired the 15,231-acre North Cottonwood Ranch conservation easement from The Conservation Fund... 

... When asked if cattle could contract the disease from deer, Meyer said it was unlikely in the U.S., except for a reservoir in the upper peninsula of Michigan, which at one time had spread to a herd in neighboring Wisconsin but has since been isolated in Michigan...

Hunting harvest off to one of the slowest starts ever November 27, 2017 Wyoming, Buckrail 
... After a harsh winter last year took a severe toll on mule deer populations ...  the 2017 big game hunt seasons have resulted in the fewest number of mule deer and elk checked during any one hunting season over the last 25 years [South Jackson] ..,

CWD found in deer hunt area near Meeteetse November 16, 2017 Wyoming, Northern Wyoming Daily News Worland Wyoming
... chronic wasting disease (CWD) for the first time in Deer Hunt Area 118 near Meeteetse, Wyoming. The Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory confirmed CWD in a buck white-tailed deer harvested by a hunter on Nov. 3 ...

... In southeastern Wyoming average annual CWD prevalence in mule deer exceeds 20% and appears to contribute to regional population declines. We determined the effect of CWD on mule deer demography using age-specific, female-only, CWD transition matrix models to estimate the population growth rate (λ)...  These findings support CWD as a significant contributor to mule deer population decline. Chronic wasting disease is difficult or impossible to eradicate with current tools, given significant environmental contamination, and at present our best recommendation for control of this disease is to minimize spread to new areas ...

Elk Habitat Protected in Wyoming October 20, 2017 KCWY 13 Where News Comes First
... “This conservation easement maintains large-scale habitat connectivity in a portion of Wyoming that benefits a wide range of wildlife including elk, mule deer, turkey and plains sharp-tailed grouse,” ...

John the deer: Rescued buck taken from family, relocated October 19, 2017 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... The fawn’s right rear leg was severed cleanly just below the knee...  A hunter herself, she cared for the wounded deer, bottle feeding it and applying medicine to the wound... When he wants out, he jumps the fence... A representative for the Game and Fish came by to load him in a trailer, telling the Murray family the deer had to be relocated...

Biologist speaks on issue of deer crossings October 16, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... over 6,000 instances in which a deer was struck by a vehicle last year... “a pretty dramatic underestimate” due to the difficulty of collecting accurate data... About 4 percent of the total deer population is struck in any given year ...  animal bridges and tunnels reduce crashes by 80-90 percent ...

Deer Visits Wyoming Family Regularly October 9, 2017 101.9 KING
... get annual visits at their homes, from a deer they have named “Tails.” ... while they don’t feed him, he comes into the home, seemingly oblivious to the other deer heads mounted on the walls...

Hunting outlook: not too bad September 28, 2017 Wyoming, Sundancetimes
... we started out the summer with lots and lots of deer, but we’ve been experiencing a bit of a die-off due to epizootic hemorrhagic disease ... elk tend to find places where pressure is light, so oftentimes on public land hunting can be a bit of a challenge just because of how smart those critters are ..,

Sage grouse changes should alarm sportsmen September 3, 2017 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... “What’s good for the bird is good for the herd.”... If you care about Wyoming’s wildlife, I encourage you to contact Rep. Cheney, Sen. Barrasso and Sen. Enzi and ask them to put pressure on Zinke to restore the original plans as approved by the Department of Interior in 2015...

Bill advancing sale of wildlife locations to advance to Legislature September 2, 2017 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press
... voted to move a bill to the 2018 regular legislative session that will prohibit the sale of wildlife location information... they believe it’s not fair chase, it’s not good ethical hunting to basically go on the internet, pick out a big deer…and then purchase the location and services to go find that big deer,” ...

... In their comments to the federal Bureau of Land Management today, the groups said the project would destroy key wildlife habitat for greater sage grouse, pronghorn and mule deer by allowing 3,500 new gas wells, roads and other infrastructure. If approved by BLM, drilling in the 140,000-acre gas field could begin next year.  Fracking in sagebrush habitats will reduce already dwindling mule deer populations in the region. Mule deer avoid gas wells and infrastructure, which fragments and shrinks their habitat. Research shows that development of the Pinedale fracking field decimated migration routes and winter habitat, reducing mule deer populations by more than a third...

Prescribed fires as a tool August 21, 2017 Wyoming, Kemmerer Gazette
...“ ... a key tool for plans to improve mule deer fawning habitat  ...Wildfire and prescribed burns provide natural treatment of timber stands that especially benefit deer and elk by stimulating new growth of aspen and increased tall forb production...

Devastated deer herd offers rare research opportunity August 11, 2017 Wyoming, WyoFile
... Bitter cold and deep snow defined the winter of 2016-2017 in the Wyoming Range...  it was difficult to look at the starving deer in March...  In severe winters about 18 percent to 25 percent of a herd dies ... this winter was so harsh the deer mortality rate is likely close to 25 percent in the Wyoming Range..,

Hunting, fishing numbers stay soild August 9, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... The relative stagnancy of hunting tag sales, he said, came as the overall number of licenses available fell off, partly because of declines in mule deer populations...

Scientists Regroup After Winterkill Wipes Out Mule Deer Herd Fawns August 4, 2017 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... the Wyoming Range mule deer herd in western Wyoming ... Of the 67 fawn radio collared, all of them died. When their moms couldn’t dig down through the snow that piled up to 175 percent of normal, many succumbed to malnutrition ..,

Cow elk found dead with chronic wasting disease in Washakie County July 28, 2017 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press 
...  the elk was found in Elk Hunt Area 48 ... CWD has been documented in most deer hunt areas in the eastern part of the state but has a low prevalence rate in the Sheridan area, however, every year the disease progresses west...

Chronic wasting disease continues to spread July 26, 2017 Wyoming, American Veterinary Medical Association
...  in southeastern Wyoming from 2010-14  [CWD, chronic wasting disease] had caused significant declines in the herd studied...  Dr. DeVivo and her co-authors found that the mule deer herd could be extinct within 41 years, although selection for a known genetic resilience to CWD could preserve a population about one-tenth the size of the original—several hundred deer—through the next 100 years...

... The Red Desert loosely encompasses about 4 million acres in southwest Wyoming... home to the largest desert elk herd in the country and the longest migrating mule deer herd on the continent...

Deer numbers drop almost 40 percent as animals avoid oil and gas wells, new study shows June 23, 2017 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... “Mule deer and energy development—Long-term trends of habituation and abundance,” published recently in the journal Global Change Biology, outlines almost two decades of work documenting mule deer wearing tracking collars. ... Portions of the Sublette mule deer herd in southwest Wyoming that winter on the Pinedale Anticline are almost 40 percent smaller than they were before the oil and gas boom...
... “There is a common perception that deer and other big game quickly habituate to disturbances like energy development, but our research clearly shows that is not the case with mule deer,” says the paper’s lead author, Hall Sawyer... With 17 years of data, this is the longest-running study of oil and gas effects on mule deer...

Environmentalists Sue to Stop 'Harmful' Feeding of Wild Elk June 6, 2017 Wyoming, Courthouse News Service
... endangering the herd and elevating its risk of getting and spreading a chronic wasting disease. In a June 5 complaint ... The practice has been around for a hundred years ...

Strong support for BLM buying land on Wyoming mountain May 30, 2017 Laredo Morning Times
... The land on Sheep Mountain is particularly important in providing wildlife, including bighorn sheep, elk and mule deer, refuge in hard winters, said Katherine Thompson, The Nature Conservancy's northwest Wyoming program director...
... mule deer in the Wyoming Range in western Wyoming say that all the fawns they radio-collared last year died in this year's harsh winter and that 40 percent of the female does also perished. University of Wyoming wildlife biologist Kevin Montieth said usually only 15 percent of does die in winterkills...

Elk antlers lure nationwide bidders to annual auction May 18, 2017 Wyoming, Idaho State Journal
...  nearly 6 tons of elk antlers await bidders Saturday morning during the 50th annual Jackson Hole Boy Scout Elk Antler Auction... Last year, 11,512 pounds of antlers fetched $175,397...

Winterkill In Western Wyoming Shrinks Herd Numbers May 15, 2017 Wyoming Public Media
...   lose between 80 to 90 percent of the fawns that were born last year, but we suspect that the reproductive capacity of the doe deer this year will also be suppressed ...

Elk and deer herds in jeopardy decades after chronic wasting disease was discovered May 13, 2017 WyomingCasper Star-Tribune Online
... New models are showing that in the long term, mule deer numbers, particularly in central Wyoming, could plummet. Instead of raging through like an ancient plague, the disease kills slowly, taking years or even a decade, and spreading in ways no one quite understands... these female elk ...  have rare genetics, which might just prolong their lives...

Shed Antler Hunting Brings In Big Bucks (Both Kinds) May 12, 2017 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... Purser says he wishes Wyoming would just sell an antler hunting permit and put an end to the craziness of opening night. And it is crazy. Two years ago, a boat capsized and a horse was killed crossing the Gros Ventre River on opening night... 

Migrating mule deer track 'green waves' of spring forage May 3, 2017 Wyoming, University of Wyoming
     Migratory mule deer in Wyoming closely time their movements to track the spring green-up, providing evidence of an underappreciated foraging benefit of migration ... corridors themselves were not actually understood as habitat... the daily movements of migratory mule deer are closely timed to track spring green-up, known as "surfing the green wave."...

Catastrophic deer die-off causes concern, offers opportunity April 29, 2017 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... on average, a little more than a third of the fawns in the Wyoming Range Herd survive to their first birthdays. This year, they all died. As a winter harsher than locals had seen in decades raged across the western part of the state ...

Ungulate Uncertainty April 25, 2017 Wyoming, Planet Jackson Hole
... In an unprecedented move in late February, the Montana Senate passed a resolution urging Wyoming to cease feeding on 23 sites across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Part of the resolution reads: “This practice results in artificially high populations of elk in these areas ...

... The harsh, cold winter of 2016-2017 heavily impacted the wildlife in Western Wyoming, especially deer. Recent surveys of the Sublette and Wyoming Range herds showed mule deer fawn mortality rates of at least 80 percent... wait to go out on public lands near big game and especially deer...

RMEF Grants Benefit Wyoming Habitat, Research, Public Access April 11, 2017 Elk Network
... The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded $314,629 in grant funding to assist with elk research, habitat enhancement, permanent land protection and improving public access in Wyoming...

Cody, Deer culling hits target, plus 1 April 10, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... police sharpshooters counted 50 dead deer... tested for chronic wasting disease... Of the samples tested, one tested positive... The most recent Game and Fish deer count was taken on Dec. 15 by 10 people counting in 10 zones. Results showed 258 mule deer broken down as 37 bucks, 100 does and 62 fawns...  

... the most significant new developments in the field is the identification of different CWD strains. “The importance of strains is that each prion strain has unique characteristics.” These include different incubation periods, neuropathology and range distribution...

Mule deer and energy development‐NDASH‐long‐term trends of habituation and abundance April, 2017 H Sawyer, NM Korfanta, RM Nielson, KL Monteith… Wyoming - Global Change Biology
...  used telemetry data from 187 individual deer across a 17-year period ... Mule deer consistently avoided energy infrastructure through the 15-year period of development ... Mule deer abundance declined by 36% during the development period, despite aggressive on-site mitigation efforts (e.g., directional drilling and liquid gathering systems) and a 45% reduction in deer harvest...

Migrations will bring CWD to Jackson Hole April 5, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... Jackson Hole is surrounded on three sides by CWD [chronic wasting disease]  Overlay the Game and Fish CWD map on the Grand Teton migration map and Jackson Hole is now connected to the disease in several ways as our mule deer travel to and from their winter ranges...

... will probably consider shortening some seasons this year because of the effects of a hard winter in western Wyoming...

Chronic wasting disease discovery troubling April 3, 2017 Wyoming, Sublette Examiner
... county’s first mule deer to test positive ... [doe]  found dead in a resident’s yard south of town (near the Pinedale airport) late in February ... no plans to cull additional deer, elk or moose, but the department, especially with emphasis in the Pinedale and Jackson Regions will continue to collect and test samples ...

Cody, Deer are part of what makes Cody special April 3, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
...   city council decided to kill half the herd to appease angry residents... urvey basically revealed an even split between pro-deer and anti-deer factions.  ... The deer symbolize an extension of the natural resources that people come to Cody to experience...

WGFD, public debate cause of low deer population March 30, 2017 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press 
... WGFD personnel said the harvest isn’t to blame... wildlife biologist Tim Thomas said the most important factor is an unconducive habitat...  WGFD officials and members of the public did not agree on the impact habitat is playing ... 

Deer Population Survey Complete in Southwest Bighorn Area March 29, 2017 Wyoming, mybighornbasin
... in the Southwest Bighorn Mule Deer Herd Unit... 8,174 mule deer were observed during the surveys ...

Cody Deer Population Control Efforts Complete March 29, 2017 Wyoming, mybighornbasin
... 50 antlerless deer that were taken ... One deer donated to a local resident did test positive for Chronic Wasting Disease – the recipient was notified and the deer was disposed of prior to consumption...

Chronic wasting disease reaches Pinedale March 28, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... CWD has been found in Star Valley, near Dubois and within Green River city limits, but never before farther north in the river basin ... It was a leap across the landscape, without connectivity to other elk, deer and moose hunt areas that have tested positive ...

How many elk do Yellowstone wolves eat? March 28, 2017 Wyoming, WyoFile
... may kill up to 2,156 elk in the park each year and as many as 11,600 in the Greater Yellowstone region ... Over the course of a year, an average wolf will kill — mostly with other pack members — and consume 16 to 22 elk a year ... In summer, wolves turn their attention to deer and even rodents ...

Wyoming Woes, fawn survival March 23, 2017 sportingclassicsdaily.com
... winter weather in 2017 ... Of the 70 fawns monitored during the 2016-17 winter, only one survived until March 5, 2017... from Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project ...

... The $4.9 million of yearly general fund money that will be cut from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department could be made up by the license fee increases that sportsmen will pay beginning Jan. 1 ...

... this year’s deep snow has made survival hard for smaller wildlife like pronghorn and deer.  “Moose being larger bodied and longer legs, they can move through deep snow a lot easier and they’re able to withstand those colder temperature ...

Wyoming hunting forecast: The good, the bad and the ugly March 18, 2017 Casper Star-Tribune Online
... On the eastern side of the state, temperatures dropped and snow fell, but most of the deer and pronghorn survived. Hunting seasons may see change slightly in some places ... The western side, however, is a radically different story. It’s possible most of the mule deer fawns born in 2016 in the Jackson and Pinedale areas will have died this winter from record snow and cold ..,

Judge rules in favor of Wyoming wolf delisting March 3, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Wyoming officials should be able to manage the state’s wolf population as they see fit ... “Maybe our moose and elk and deer can take a breather,” ... Park County Commissioner Joe Tilden ...

Volunteers needed for chronic wasting disease panel March 3, 2017 Wyoming, Billings Gazette
     Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking six to 12 individuals to serve on a chronic wasting disease citizen advisory panel to provide input on the agency’s management plan for the disease...

Rawlings, Partnership key in controlling city deer population March 1, 2017 Wyoming, Rawlinstimes
... While community members might be seeing an unusual increase of deer around housing areas, Joseph said the population has not grown so much over the past few months, as much they have come out into the pubic view due to the recent snowfall...

Report shows hunting's economic importance February 27, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
...  report based on 2015 data and examining the value of hunting the animals classified as big game in the state shows an economic contribution of nearly $303 million... The report is in part a response to lawmakers who have introduced bills that would divert license revenue to other government agencies ...

Cody, Chronic wasting disease discovered during deer herd culling February 27, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
...Many deer have tested positive for CWD throughout the Big Horn Basin ... The last time a dead mule deer from the Cody herd was discovered with CWD was in April 2015 ...

Drone Causes Elk Stampede, Man Gets $280 Ticket February 24, 2017, Swerd Media9h
... It’s a crucial time of year for those animals and they don’t need to be burning up additional energy stores unnecessarily ...

Big game hunting in Wyoming a $300 million industry February 21, 2017 Powell Tribune
... Southwick Associates’ report says Wyoming’s outfitters and guides collected more than $45.4 million from thousands of elk, deer, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bison hunters in 2015. The data shows that nonresidents accounted for 84 percent of outfitters’ business that year ...

Winter kills wildlife in western Wyoming February 17, 2017 WyoFile
... watched the deer population near his home in Kemmerer begin to dwindle at the end of December. In early January, the fawns had all but disappeared...  Animals younger than 1-year-old die first. They haven’t had time to put on body fat ...

Harsh winter hits Wyoming wildlife Februry 11, 2017 Casper Star-Tribune Online
... Wyoming’s wild animals, particularly on the abundant western side of the state, face more struggles than normal this winter due to heavy snowfall, strong winds and harsh temperatures... The Jackson region, for example, had between 150 and 200 percent of normal snowpack ... Fawn survival ... will be lower than recent years...

Massive snowfall creates wildlife quandary February 10, 2017 Wyoming, Uinta County Herald
...  deer are starving. This year, not only is there snow (and a lot of it), but fluctuating temperatures have caused it to melt and refreeze... the ethics of feeding deer, especially in town, has been an ongoing debate in Evanston for some time...

Dire winter spurs talk about feeding wildlife February 7, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... A herd that started off winter in the West Bank neighborhood numbering 53 animals has dwindled to 20 or 30 elk ... Wyoming hasn’t fed deer on an emergency basis since the 1970s ... "I have deer literally sleeping up against my house..." [an online discussion about emergency feeding from Game and Fish] ... 

Cody, Deer Management February 1 2017 Wyoming, City of Cody, WY
   [this is a link to the city's deer management plan] The City of Cody has established an Urban Deer Task Force to consider methods to handle the deer population within Cody's city limits.  As of September 17, 2016, the approval of a lethal reduction program to address the local urban deer population was under consideration by the Cody City Council, who then instructed the Cody Police Department to draft a preliminary operational plan, develop a first-year budget, and pursue a Chapter 56 permit from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department...

Cold temperatures and deep snow taking a toll on Wyoming big game January 30 2017
Wyoming Game and Fish Department - State of Wyoming
... Much of Wyoming is under a blanket of deeper than normal snow ... Game and Fish biologists and game wardens are seeing an increase in numbers of big game dying than during past winters ...  Wyoming’s big game have faced arctic-like conditions in years past, most recently in 2011...

Cody,  Poacher of town deer sentenced January 30, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
...  shot a mule deer buck with a crossbow ... attention drawn to the incident when the deer fled through downtown streets leaving a trail of blood ...

Cody, Urban deer take a hit January 25, 2017 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... According to Baker, sites are chosen based on factors such as “places of negative deer interactions and collision data.” He did not share exact locations of deer harvests to “minimize concerns.” ...

Model Forecasting of the Impacts of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Jackson Elk Herd NL Galloway, RJ Monello, D Brimeyer, E Cole… - 2017
... Analysis ... indicating a decline in elk numbers over time... Given that the modeled
effects were based on a smaller and presumably less concentrated elk population, CWD may lead to higher disease prevalence and larger impacts of CWD on the population growth rate due to crowded herds returning annually to the same location, as occurs on some feedgrounds..,

Critter carnage plagues South 89 January 23, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
 ... “Pretty darn close” to a mule deer a day is being struck and killed on the stretch of South Highway 89 ...

Cody Police Harvesting Urban Deer January 20, 2017 Wyoming, mybighornbasin.com
... the team that performs the harvest consists of two sergeants and three police officers, along with administrative personnel that assist the team with tracking and documentation...

Fawns dying at a surprising rate January 18, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... In 2015 the surprise cause of death for young mule deer that roam the Wyoming Range was adenovirus ... “We lost over half of the fawns from 2016 by November,” Fralick said. “That’s fairly substantial mortality, and we’re not even through the winter this year... predation was the leading cause of death ...

Managers to meet on deer January 10, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... herds weren’t in a good position for much growth ... fawn-to-doe ratio in the Wyoming Range herd’s northern ranges ... came in at 58 per 100 during a recent aerial survey, the lowest observed in over two decades ...

... would give counties more power to pass wildlife feeding bans... Last year, lawmakers considered a similar measure, but the legislation was narrowly defeated ... 

Monitoring intensifies to detect chronic wasting disease January 2, 2017 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... A grant from the Teton Conservation District and money chipped in by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission enabled wildlife managers to increase staffing and test 502 animals from the Jackson Elk Herd — about 5 percent of the total population...

Game & Fish to Discuss Mule Deer December 30, 2016 Wyoming, For Sweetwater County & Southwest Wyoming
... Since 2010, the WGFD has worked collaboratively with the public to develop the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative, a long term management plan which outlined a number of actions to benefit mule deer and their habitat.  [meetings on January 9 through 12] ...

Year in review for wildlife of Wyoming December 29, 2016 Wyoming, Sundancetimes
... The mule deer and pronghorn populations rose as a result of good spring moisture for the past three years... Mule deer in particular saw good fawn:doe ratios of 75 per 100, exceeding the objective of 66 fawns for every 100 does to maintain or increase the population size..,

Casper Star-Tribune Online
...  Water for Wildlife ... The group raises money to build and install guzzlers — varying types of water tanks sprinkled around the state’s dry, arid landscape... bighorn sheep, elk and deer...

A mule deer doe nicknamed "Jet" is released Dec 6, 2016 after being recaptured to collect data. Jet has worn a GPS collar since March 2015 to study her movements as part of the Wyoming Migration Initiative. - December 23, 2016


Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed Near Gillette December 21, 2016 Wyoming, Sheridan Media 
...  first time Chronic Wasting Disease has been found in Deer Hunt Area 17 ...

America's Wildlife Corridors Are in Danger December 14, 2016 Wyoming, The Atlantic
... As mule deer move north for the summer they follow the “green wave” of blooming vegetation, and as the herd moves south in the fall the deer pick over the last remaining greens, hoarding life-saving calories. The danger is that in some areas along the corridor there are huge natural gas extraction sites and the constant activity around them make the deer skittish...

Sublette Mule Deer Migration Corridor Designated December 6, 2016 Wyoming, SweetwaterNOW
... A crucial mule deer migration corridor in north-western Wyoming has been formally designated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The path of one of the three winter range units designated in the Sublette mule deer herd unit is 160 miles long and spans over 830,000 acres ...

... Because many experts fear the disease’s arrival on the feedgrounds could cripple western Wyoming’s elk herds, the National Elk Refuge is hosting a forum explaining the illness... Chronic wasting disease, often simply referred to as CWD, attacks the brains of elk, deer and moose..,

Speed Study To Stop Wildlife Crashes November 29, 2016 Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media
... more than 6,000 deer are hit and killed on Wyoming roads each year ... the speed limit will go down here from 70 mph to 65 mph for a daytime speed limit, and 55 mph at night... 

Game and Fish to study two Wyoming moose populations November 25, 2016 Casper Star-Tribune Online
... Herds near Jackson have been hit by drought and grizzly bears and wolves. Moose in southwest Wyoming are suffering from low pregnancy rates and poor adult survival ... the Game and Fish Commission recently approved two major moose surveillance projects ...

Deer with fatal wildlife disease killed by hunter November 21, 2016 Wyoming, Great Falls Tribune
... This is the third hunting area near Yellowstone National Park where chronic wasting disease has been found ...

Deer count up at Cody check station November 14, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... It was a banner year for mule deer taken in the area with 242 harvested, a significant jump over 2015 when 214 were taken ... The busiest such season was 2007 with 287 deer killed...

Diseased deer killed east of Cody November 14, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... A mule deer harvested Nov. 2 near Heart Mountain tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It’s the first time the disease has been found in Hunt Area 121, east of Cody...

Critical area for mule deer migration permanently protected November 12, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune
... Thousands of deer will migrate through the Luke Lynch Wildlife Habitat Management Area each year. Putting an easement on the parcel was identified as the most important priority on the animals' more than 150-mile journey ... 5,000 mule deer that migrate through it twice a year...

Game and Fish Commission Invests In Moose Research And Mule Deer Projects November 11, 2016 Wyoming, For Sweetwater County & Southwest Wyoming
...  approved projects that will benefit mule deer. Those projects were developed through the Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative... will directly enhance approximately 9,100 acres of important mule deer habitat; reduce invasive cheatgrass and juniper; and study three mule deer migration routes ...

Game and Fish to monitor large Casper deer herd November 11, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune
... Deer numbers in the Bates Hole, Hat six herd south of Casper have long struggled along with other Wyoming herd ... expects to collar 45 does in January or February. The GPS data will allow biologists to track the animals’ movements and migration patterns for three years...

... Across an entire year, long-distance migrants spent approximately 100 more days migrating compared to moderate- and short-distance migrants. Relatedly, winter residency of long-distance migrants was 71 d fewer than for animals migrating shorter distances. Exposure to anthropogenic mortality factors, including highways and fences, was high for long-distance migrants, whereas vulnerability to harvest was high for short- and moderate-distance migrants. By reducing the amount of time that animals spend on winter range, long-distance migration may alleviate intraspecific competition for limited forage and effectively increase carrying capacity...

... Some of the city council wants the deer to be shot, whereas the greater population is against this horrific carnage. The townspeople have no say in the matter. The police are being hired to shoot the deer ...

Cody, Wildlife officials investigate mule deer killings in Cody November 4, 2016 Wyoming, Billings Gazette
... five mule deer were killed and left to waste near Cody... reward of up to $5,000 ...

Deer migration route named after Lynch November 2, 2016 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... More than a half-square-mile of rolling land between Pinedale and the Wind River Range that Wyoming acquired from private landowners preserves a bottleneck along the longest-known mule deer migration in the Lower 48... Luke Lynch, was a Jackson resident and Conservation Fund employee ...

Cody, Council proceeds with plan to cull town deer November 2, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Cody City Council Tuesday night directed police to proceed with a plan to cull 50 does from the town-dwelling deer herd... Opposed were Landon Greer and Stan Wolz. While the two men had differing reasons, both cited opposition to the $5,000-$6,000 annual drain on the budget at a time when the city is making cuts....

Wyoming wildlife officials seek help in mule deer poaching case November 2, 2016 KTVQ Billings News
...  five mule deer that were shot and left to waste along the Chief Joseph Highway northwest of Cody last weekend....

Cody, Council to hear Baker's plan to reduce deer October 31, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... would involve using bait to lure deer into areas where they could be safely shot ... Councilman Stan Wolz opposed the reduction program and potential cost, saying he felt the urban deer population was stable and neither a public survey five years ago nor one issued this summer provided a resounding mandate to reduce the herd...

Game and Fish considers land swap near Lander October 30, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... Some Pavillion-area residents worry the swap is not fair since the department will be trading land for an easement, but Game and Fish officials say trades like these are becoming one of the only ways to preserve habitat in a time of tight budgets...

Hunter receives jail time after poaching deer, displaying at expo October 27, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... A Big Piney hunter will serve jail time and pay thousands of dollars in fines after poaching a large, unique mule deer buck and then displaying the mount at a hunting expo...

As Wyo. drilling increased, grouse numbers declined October 21, 2016 Wyoming, WyoFile
... conclusions in the latest peer-reviewed study ... the study says that nearby oil and gas drilling “may also negatively affect other sagebrush-obligate species,” such as mule deer and elk, and that “active management of sagebrush habitats may be necessary to maintain some species.” ...

Wasting disease found in deer near Dubois October 19, 2016 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... the latest indication of the neurological disorder’s [chronic wasting disease] seemingly inexorable encroachment... about 30 miles from the Fish Creek Feedground, is the closest chronic wasting disease has ever been found to three elk feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre River drainage...

Deer decoy sting sluggish October 13, 2016 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... state wildlife officers Monday nabbed one poacher who couldn’t resist a roadside 8-point mule deer buck whose head swung from side to side.  The movements were electronic... The only person who saw the robotic mule deer was the man who shot it ...

Cody, Other ways to control deer population October 11, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Fertility control [for deer management in the city] would not be expensive if the G&F or the city communicated with wildlife researchers at the University of Wyoming’s Dept. of Zoology and Physiology ... G&F has stated that native PZP is not approved for use in deer. However, that is inaccurate. It can be used on an experimental basis while registration by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in process...

Wyoming No. 8 in nation for auto-wildlife crashes Septemer 22, 2016, Casper Star-Tribune Online
...  Wyoming have a 1 in 85 chance of colliding with a large animal like a deer ... West Virginia led the nation with a 1 in 41 chance ...

Hunters' Help Needed for CWD Management September 16, 2016 Wyoming, Basinsradio
... Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal disease caused by prions that impacts deer, elk, and moose has been documented across much of the state... Game and Fish really appreciates all members of the public who submit samples or report unhealthy looking animals ... Information on CWD ...

Cody council deliberates over deer September 13, 2016 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
 ... The council agreed to obtain a permit, but not to take any action until council members reviewed the permit and received public input.  “I feel like the population is stable, and I feel like this is going to be expensive,” said Councilman Stan Wolz. “For that reason, I won’t be supporting that motion.”  ... There are around 263 to 283 deer in Cody ...  its hovering around 300 within the city limits over the last five years. ...
     Council moves forward on plan to cull deer herd September 7, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... The permit process requires a detailed plan; one that should answer many questions posed by opponents who want the estimated 300 deer living in town to remain, with the possible exception of killing sick or injured deer for humane relief from suffering...

CWD cuts whitetails in Converse study September 7, 2016 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News&Guide
... A long-running study near Glenrock foretells a dire future for whitetail deer populations that have been carrying chronic wasting disease for decades. Research headed by Dave Edmunds during his University of Wyoming ... suggests that the diseased whitetail east of Casper are declining 10 percent a year, and face extinction within half a century..,

Game and Fish predicts a solid hunting season September 3, 2016 Wyoming, Laramie Boomerang
... in southeast Wyoming ... forage levels benefited from a wet spring... Mule deer populations in the Laramie Region are below the population objective, even as fawn ratios are above the 10-year average ... about 70 fawns per 100 does...

Cody, Decision on urban deer herd coming September 2, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... On the question of whether people support the culling method using “best practices” by the CPD, the message was less clear, with 56 percent approving and 44 percent in opposition. For the question of whether they would allow the CPD to access their property to harvest deer, 52 percent marked yes...

... Chronic wasting disease has caused significant declines in east-central Wyoming white-tailed deer populations, according to new research published this week by University of Wyoming scientists... "We found that CWD drastically reduced annual survival rates in the deer population, especially in females," ...

Green River, Residents can solve deer issue August 31, 2016 Wyoming, Green River Star
...gardeners should design their gardens to make it difficult for deer to access, as well as grow plants that don’t agree with a deer’s diet. These more passive approaches won’t be overnight successes, but if continued pressure on the population through their food source continues for an extended amount of time, the number of deer in Green River will naturally decrease...

Injured GR deer helped August 31, 2016 Wyoming, Green River Star
... The buck was laying down and I could see its antler was broken ... tranquilized the deer... set to work cutting the antler off just above the burr... an antiseptic spray was put on the wound to prevent infection ... [later]:   saw the deer, who he now calls “stubby” ... “He was just bouncing around with his buddies,” ...

... Archers can no longer take “any deer” in hunt areas open to hunting with a general license during the special archery season ... 

Let’s stand together on migration corridors August 27, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune
... big game migration corridors in Wyoming are vital to healthy wildlife populations. The public needs to know there is an ongoing effort for all stakeholders to work together toward a solution... With climate change likely to produce more drought years in these key stopover areas in the future, the implications for deer nutrition, fitness, fertility and the long-term welfare of their populations are not good...

The Rock Springs management plan deserves better August 26, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... significant scientific research and updated BLM guidance has emerged, rendering any new management plan outdated by the anticipated 2017 release... n 2014, the Wyoming Migration Initiative revealed extraordinary research concluding that several thousand mule deer migrate 150 miles from the Red Desert to the Wyoming Range every year — the longest known ungulate migration route in the lower 48 states...

Green River, Second deer survey? August 24, 2016 Wyoming, Green River Star
... This would be the second survey sent out to residents on the same subject. According to Green River Police Chief Chris Steffen, the first survey conducted about two years ago showed the city at a pretty even split between those in favor of culling the herd and those in favor of leaving the deer alone...

State wildlife corridors rouse discussion August 23, 2015 Wyoming, Casper Journal
...   A new program to protect wildlife migration corridors raised concerns from the Petroleum Association of Wyoming ...  the Ungulate Migration Corridor Strategy ... to conserve and protect corridors being challenged by encroachment and development...  
Cody, Survey will help determine fate of town deer August 22, 2016 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... Cody people have until Friday to answer a four-question survey that could determine the fate of deer accustomed to living in city limits.  Results will help city officials decide whether to pursue a Wyoming Fish and Game permit for lethal taking of wildlife...

Coal leasing reform benefits wildlife and ranchers August 21, 2016 Wyoming, The Hill 
... Taxpayers could be left holding the bag for more than $3 billion in mine cleanup costs, without which important wildlife species, like mule deer, pronghorn, and sage grouse, will continue to decline due to degraded and fragmented habitat. ... Under the 40-year old Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, many coal companies were originally permitted to “self-bond” ...

Industry group expresses concerns about migration corridor effort August 20, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
...  “Game and Fish has started researching possible corridors, and our concerns are the number of corridors, and how much land they will affect in Wyoming, is very unclear,” ...  its first review, involving the Red Desert to Hoback Junction mule deer corridor in south-central Wyoming ...

Elk poaching case near Hyattville comes to close August 15, 2016 Wyoming CodyEnterprise.com
... The highly publicized death of 16 elk, just seven legally, occurred the day after Thanksgiving in 2015... Cases were brought against hunters who exceeded their limits and left carcasses to rot...

...  cited for her work in the Wyoming Range, particularly prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, research, and invasive species control to enhance habitat for mule deer. ...


Wyoming wildfires put strain on wildlife August 7, 2016 Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune Online
... In the Shoshone National Forest, where the Lava Mountain Fire is burning, Rene Schell of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Lander field office said larger game animals like bears, elk and deer will most likely survive...

Wyoming data:  About 425,000 deer in 2017 based on harvest data.  2019 Forecast.  A hard 2018-19 late winter with three-quarters of the fawns dying from starvation in the southwest.  In 2019 populations haven't recovered from the 2016-17 winter.  An estimated 353,000 mule deer and about 70,000 white-tails in 2015, total population of 423,000.  A mild winter and wet spring is allowing the deer herd to recover into 2018 after the severe winter of 2016-17 west of the continental divide reduced deer populations, mortality rates close to 25 percent in the Wyoming Range.   Good deer survival in other areas, but an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease.  Applications for deer hunting far exceeded available licenses in 2018.  From about 1988 to 2019 the mule deer population fell by 31 percent.
      An estimated 353,000 mule deer and about 70,000 white-tails in 2015, total population of 423,000.  About 340,000 mule deer and 60,000 white-tails in 2014, total population of 400,000. The 2016 Hunting Forecast provides details. Deer populations were generally somewhat up in 2015 and 2016 after three mild winters that resulted in good fawn survival.  Good rainfall in 2016.  
      Deer populations are in fair shape in the north. Mule deer populations are up in the central part of the state but down in the west.  White-tails numbers are up in the Black Hills, but still down in some other areas from the 2014 EHD outbreak.  Mule deer antler restrictions were lifted in many regions. Mule deer populations are up in the Green River area and the northern Big Horn. Populations down in the southern Bighorn Basin from habitat decline, weather, and disease.  Follow the Wyoming Migration Study
     In 2013 the state had an estimated 63,000 white-tails and 374,000 mule deer, 369,000 mule deer in 2012.  The harsh winter of 2013-14 reduced the herd.  A total population of about 578,000 in 1991. Mule deer populations in Wyoming have been on the decline since the late 1980s. According to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies mule deer populations "declined by an estimated 168,000 (31 percent) since 2000. After the 2011 hunting seasons, it was estimated there were 376,000 mule deer in the state."  About 544,000 mule deer in the year 2000. Harsh winters in 1978-79, 1983-84 (resulting in a population crash), and 1992-93, reduced populations, also a severe outbreak of EHD in 2012 reduced white-tail populations.  Few fawns survived harsh winters in 2010 and 2011.  
     A study as part of the Mule Deer Initiative has explored why mule deer are not reaching their population goals. Reasons include drought, development, chronic wasting disease, and poor fawn production which has declined by about 20 percent in the last 25 years. To sustain hunting the herd needs about 66 fawns per 100 does, but the ratio has been below that since 1990. In 2012 it was at 63. The state is about 35 percent below objective.  Reduced stands of mahogany, a crucial winter food supply, has contributed to the mule deer population decline.
      Some deer migrate 170 miles in the Wyoming range. Over hunting on public land, habitat loss and fragmentation, and energy development are all thought to be contributing causes of the decline. Mule deer populations are generally in better shape on private land. Antelope populations have been on a steady decline over the last few years.  Hunting statistics
     Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was first identified in 1978 in deer at the Wyoming Fish and Game Department’s Sybille wildlife research facility.  In 2016 CWD was moving west toward Yellowstone.  A recent study concludes that "diseased whitetail east of Casper are declining 10 percent a year, and face extinction within half a century."
     History:  The mule deer population was about 50,000 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but a series of bad winters and hunting pressure reduced the population to about 30,000.

     Wolves  At least 544 in 2015.  The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in the 1920's then reintroduced starting in 1995.
     Moose populations are generally in decline with an exception of the Snowy Range herd.

The Stop Poaching Tip Line is 877-WGFD-TIP.  Or report online.

Other useful links:
- Wyoming Mule Deer Plan  - 2014 Mule Deer Migration on Pinedale Anticline 
- MuleyFanatic.com Mule deer organization in southwestern Wyoming
- Platte Valley Habitat Partnership's (PVHP) Mule Deer Habitat Plan April, 2013
- Citizens for the Wyoming Range    - BLM Mule Deer Habitat Program
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department    - Facebook page
- Wyoming Migration Initiative. Advancing the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of Wyoming's migratory ungulates by conducting innovative research and sharing scientific information through public outreach. 


The mule deer has been the most abundant big game animal in the west for nearly a decade. Now the species is in crisis and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is conducting a study to find out why. Deer Project leader Matt Hayes of the University of Wyoming sees that mule deer populations in an area south of Rock Springs are declining while elk populations are rising and investigates this dynamic. - June 21, 2016