Wyoming study links wind development, drought and wildfire to lower mule deer juvenile recruitment October 7, 2026 Energies Media
... In a groundbreaking USGS study, 37 populations of mule deer in Wyoming were analyzed over 40 years to see how energy developments, drought periods, wildfire activity, and changing land cover impacted the one and only factor – fawn survival rate... The main factors contributing to the reduction in fawn recruitment included: cumulative droughts, wildfires, presence of oil and gas facilities, and wind turbines. The first three showed almost equally large effect sizes, with no single factor dominating the others...
Game and Fish monitoring seasonal EHD outbreak in Casper Region white-tailed deer, pronghorn October 1, 2026 Wyoming Game and Fish - Wyo.Gov
Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel are actively monitoring an increase in epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) and bluetongue virus cases among wildlife in central Wyoming, particularly around Casper and Glenrock...
Dire financial warning September 29, 2026 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... Less mule deer and pronghorn opportunities have resulted from a recent bad winter with record die-offs and chronic wasting disease. The decrease in opportunities has resulted in less revenue for the Game and Fish Department at a time when inflation is rising the cost of managing and conserving Wyoming's wildlife and habitat...
Oil leases on big game migration corridors headed to court September 22, 2026 Wyoming, Yellowstone Public Radio
... Conservation groups are taking the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to court for leasing 179 square miles in Wyoming for oil and gas development. They claim the agency broke the law when it approved leases in June in areas identified as key migration routes for struggling mule deer and pronghorn populations...
Wyoming Game and Fish confirms chronic wasting disease in moose near Laramie September 21, 2026 WGFD News
... confirmed chronic wasting disease in an adult bull moose in Moose Hunt Area 45, east of Laramie, in the Pilot Hill area ... This marks the second time CWD has been detected in a free-ranging moose in Wyoming. The state’s first documented case of CWD in a moose occurred in 2008 in Moose Hunt Area 23 near Bedford..,
Slowly But Surely, Wyoming's Once-Stunning Aspen Alley Making A Comeback September 19, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... The Mule Deer Foundation has lent its expertise to ensure the rejuvenation creates the ideal habitat for mule deer and other wildlife... That specific undergrowth assemblage is where mule deer prefer to fawn in the spring, seek forage in the fall, and survive in winter...
Game And Fish Facing 'Dire' Financial Trouble, Interim Director Tells Lawmakers September 9, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department budget could hit crisis level within the next few years due to inflation and a decline in deer tags, the agency’s interim director told lawmakers Wednesday. “We’re not dire right now, but we’re going to be,” he said...
Hooray! Ranch Hand Rescues Squealing Elk Calf Entangled In Barbed Wire August 11, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Willson freed the calf in short order. Once it got its feet underneath it, the calf took off running. This time, in the right direction, toward the panel designed to help elk cross the fence safely...
Female biologists in Wyoming responsible for groundbreaking research August 5, 2026 News From The States
... The fawns that she and others had placed collars on ... should have migrated following their mothers. It’s what everyone always says... as Jakopak stared at lines on the wall, about 60% of the fawns followed their moms. The other 40%, well, they did something entirely different....
Wildlife biologist leaves Game and Fish in protest July 27, 2026 Wyoming, WyoFile
... The final straw was the Wyoming State Shooting Complex, being built on ‘critical habitat’ for mule deer and other wildlife ... the project plays right into the department’s efforts to recruit and retain new hunters ...
After Growing Fast Through July, Elk And Deer Antlers About As Big As They'll Get July 25, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... During the peak antler growing-season of spring and early summer, Wyoming bull elk and buck deer can add an inch per day to their antlers thanks to lush foliage. Now that it's the peak of summer, antler growth will grind almost to a halt...
USGS Research Informs Big Game Management—Mule Deer Sensitive to Temperature Extremes and Habitat Quality
USGS.gov
... a study as part of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative assessing drivers influencing mule deer fawn-to-doe ratios over 20 years in Wyoming... Scientists found that temperature had, by far, the strongest effect on age ratios and seasonal habitat suitability had the second strongest effect.
Hotter summers and colder winters hadnegative effects on age ratios, so the number of juvenile mule deer being recruited into mule deer populations decreased in years following extreme temperatures.
High-quality summer habitat and suitable winter habitat had positive effects on age ratios...
Rain Gives Wyoming Mule Deer A Boost, But They'll Need To Pack On Fat For Winter July 11, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... Mule deer conservationists told Cowboy State Daily the high country is looking great, with plenty of protein-packed green shrubbery and forbs. But even with some rainstorms here and there, the low country is drying up..,
Without sweeping policy, volunteers still spearhead Wyoming's fence removal effort June 26, 2026 KHOL 89.1 FM
... From May to October, Pitz leads a biweekly group of stewards in rolling up barbed wire and wrestling fence posts with rusty staples around western Wyoming... A 2005 study found that for every 2.5 miles of fence, an ungulate dies each year. In 2023, thousands of pronghorn died after record snow and fences blocked more typical migration routes...
Incredible Journeys: How Hoofing It Helps Deer and Caribou June 24, 2026 Wyoming, The Revelator
... collar data showed that each summer some of these deer migrate around 200 miles, others about 70 miles, and some never leave the winter range... They found that migrants outperformed residents across the board, says Anna Ortega, who participated in the research as a Ph.D. student at the University of Wyoming ...
Water guzzlers may provide critical relief for wildlife during drought June 20, 2026 Wyoming Tribune Eagle
... a fiberglass tub ... In a good year, this tub would fill with about 500 gallons of rain and snowmelt ... A drought can also prove fatal to Wyoming’s ungulates .. animals can smell water from miles away, and trail cameras positioned at guzzlers prove their utility...
We need a broad approach for conservation to succeed in Wyoming June 19, 2027 WyoFile
... These lands have always been shaped by fire, drought and natural disturbance... When policy becomes focused solely on preserving mature sagebrush at all costs, we risk creating landscapes less resilient and less capable of sustaining wildlife...
Teton County considers testing water for CWD June 11, 2026 Wyoming Public Media
... After Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was detected on the National Elk Refuge in May, it prompted questions about one of Jackson’s water sources, also on the refuge... For CWD, when a sick animal expels bodily fluids, it leaves behind the damaged proteins, or prions. Those can last in soil for years ...
Wyoming Wildlife Biologists Call This Plant "Chocolate for Mule Deer" May 25, 2028 Unofficial Networks
... mountain mahogany, the shrub that mule deer and elk will seek out above almost anything else on the landscape... Mountain mahogany ranks among the most important plants in big game diets across the West, prized for the tender young shoots it produces. Biologists call them leaders and they’re what deer and elk are actually after, flexible and nutrient-dense growth that the animals find more digestible than anything the mature shrub produces...
Program protecting wildlife migration expands across West May 12, 2026 Wyoming, KNPR
... The federally funded effort to preserve migratory routes that run through private land has been happening in Wyoming since 2022. It then expanded to Colorado and Idaho, and now it’s coming to Utah... In Wyoming, Bruce said there’s 20 conservation easements in the program and that over 500,000 acres have seen some benefit from the initiative...
Space between houses influences movement and habitat selection of ungulates: Width as a novel metric of development May, 2026 Wyoming, Journal of Applied Ecology
... Rural populations of elk, mule deer, pronghorn and moose avoided spaces narrower than 2 km and never used spaces narrower than 50 m between houses, whereas exurban populations of elk, mule deer and moose selected for spaces narrower than 2 km but avoided spaces narrower than 50 m....
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department announce CWD on the National Elk Refuge May 11, 2026 Wyoming Fish and Game
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Game and Fish) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announce that chronic wasting disease has been detected in Wyoming Elk Hunt Area 77 on the National Elk Refuge, which is managed by FWS. National Elk Refuge biological staff humanely euthanized and sampled an adult cow elk suspected of having CWD... This is the first documented case of CWD in the hunt area and the first confirmed case of an elk with CWD on the refuge. ...
CWD detected in new feedground May 4, 2026 Wyoming Fish and Game
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease on the Muddy Creek feedground... This is the fifth feedground in the state to have confirmed positive for CWD among elk... Game and Fish operates 21 feedgrounds in northwest Wyoming where supplemental winter feeding has occurred for more than a century ...
Modeling chronic wasting disease transmission risk in mule deer related to habitat characteristics 2026, Wyoming, PloS one
... Results indicated that key habitat characteristics often selected by mule deer, such as proximity to secondary roads, were also associated with higher risk of testing positive for CWD, which supports the hypothesis that disease risk was correlated to patterns of habitat use by deer. We also found increased risk associated with spatial properties that were not selected-for by deer, such as areas where topography collects moisture, suggesting that prion retention mechanisms also play a role in risk...
Raster maps of relative risk of chronic wasting disease transmission based on environmental covariates for the South Converse Mule Deer Herd, Converse County 2026 Wyoming, US Geological Survey
These spatial layers were created to provide estimates of relative risk of a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) contracting chronic wasting disease (CWD) based on environmental properties of habitat visited by the deer. We modeled relative risk of disease transmission using location data from GPS-collared mule deer in Wyoming that were CWD-tested annually, and used generalized linear models (GLMs) to model the probability a deer contracted CWD within a one year time span contingent on environmental properties extracted from GPS use points....
The price of a mild winter April 30, 2026 Wyoming, Powell Tribune
... From December through March, temperatures across the Cowboy State averaged between 5-10 degrees F higher than the 30-year average. Here in the Big Horn Basin it was at least 10 degrees warmer over the period ... Lacking the snowpack to grow vegetation, which deer rely on coming out of winter and into birthing season, can cause multiple problems, especially for fawns, he said. The forecasted dry summer climate will also increase wildlife diseases ..,
Bighorns mountain lion harvest bucks statewide trend April 30, 2026 Wyoming, Buffalo Bulletin
... As of press time, 270 mountain lions have been harvested statewide during the 2025-26 season so far, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department trophy hunting data. The department’s most recent three-year mountain lion mortality report compiled for 2022 through 2024 notes that, on average, 345 mountain lions are harvested each season..,
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission keeps antler point restrictions on mule deer April 23, 2025 Jackson Hole News & Guide
... The restrictions were put in place following the 2022-23 winter, when persistent snow and cold temperatures killed thousands of animals in the Sublette and Wyoming Range herds. The Wyoming Range Herd dropped from 30,000 to 10,000 animals...
CWD in Elk Feedgrounds: Is Wyoming Just 'Kicking the Can Down the Road?' April 22, 2026 Wyoming, Mountain Journal
... According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, the feeding program reduces conflicts with nearby livestock operations, limits the risk of brucellosis transmission to livestock, maintains elk population objectives, and prevents vehicle collisions... In January 2025, the WGFD confirmed the first CWD case directly on a Wyoming elk feedground, when an adult cow elk was found dead at the Scab Creek feedground near Pinedale...
Wyoming Begins Kemmerer South Wildlife Crossings Work April 15, 2026 Construction Equipment Guide
... on a 30-mi. stretch of U.S. 189 between Evanston and Kemmerer... The work will include the construction of seven underpasses, one overpass and fencing along both sides of the 30-mile stretch of highway. Those features will protect prized Wyoming Range mule deer, Wyoming Game and Fish officials said...
Mild winters support mule deer herd recovery, research shows April 10, 2026 Wyoming, Your Wyoming Link
... The Wyoming Range and Sublette mule deer herds recorded exceptional buck and fawn ratios this winter. That follows the brutal winter of 2022-23, which caused above-average mortality in both herds. Their recovery is supported by high over-winter survival, a result of several consecutive years of relatively mild, snow-free conditions on mule deer winter ranges..,
The interplay of habitat quality and temperature shape demographic patterns of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in North America April 7, 2026 Wyoming, Nature
... Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are declining in abundance across their broad distribution in western North America... We used location data from 1473 female deer over 22 years in Wyoming ... we show temperature had the largest effect on mule deer recruitment with age ratios declining following hotter summers and colder winters. Age ratios increased with higher proportions of habitat with high-quality summer habitat of particular importance. Given the likely increases in summer temperatures and extreme winter weather events, populations may struggle to increase recruitment over the next half-century...
Hunting tweaked to target mule deer departing the world’s most CWD-infected herd April 6, 2026 Wyoming, WyoFile
... One doe mule deer took off from the Pilot Butte area in the middle of the Wind River Indian Reservation and trekked roughly 90 miles northwestbound... “They’re eventually going to pick [CWD] up and take it out with them,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife biologist Zach Gregory said... “The change to a general season this last fall, our attempt is to maintain as high a harvest as we can on bucks,” said Daryl Lutz ...
Game and Fish tests more than 5300 samples for CWD in 2025 March 30, 2026 Wyoming Game and Fish
... tested 5,370 samples from elk, deer and moose for chronic wasting disease in 2025, and CWD was detected in 842 of those samples.., CWD prevalence averaged 21.6% in hunter-harvested mule deer bucks, an increase from 19.4% in 2024. The percentage in hunter-harvested white-tailed buck deer was 32.1%, a slight increase from 29.2% in 2024. The percentage of adult, hunter-harvested elk was 2.4%, compared to 2.3% last year. There was no CWD detected in samples from moose last year. CWD was identified in three new deer hunt areas — 106, 150 and 153 — and in six new elk hunt areas ..,
Mule Deer Conservation Strategy: an elevated approach to an ongoing management priority March 30, 2026 Wyoming Game and Fish Departmen
... the 2026 Mule Deer Conservation Strategy ... Mule deer populations have seen a steady decline in recent decades. Factors including severe winters, disease and loss of habitat ... Building off the past efforts of the Mule Deer and Big Game Migration Initiatives, the strategy takes a three-tiered approach: Conserving intact habitat through coordinated, landscape-scale approaches. Improving degraded habitat by increasing food availability and connectivity. Support the foundation of mule deer conservation through partnerships and fundraising efforts...
How Wyoming Game Wardens Cracked The Cody Serial Poaching Case March 23, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... Game wardens sat in the dark for five nights in Cody waiting for a serial poacher to strike again. On the fifth night, they heard the sound of a compound bow. The science that followed tied one man to nine dead deer and a slaughtered cow...
Wolves Are Stealing Cougar Kills in Yellowstone — And the Big Cats Are Quietly Changing Their Hunting Strategy March 20, 2026 Yahoo
... According to a new study published in PNAS ... cougars have had to adapt and change their hunting strategy to keep from having unwanted interactions with wolves... Between 1998 and 2005, both apex predators chose elk as their primary prey... Cougars once had 80% of their diet consisting of elk, but decreased that to 52% in recent years. The proportion of deer targeted as prey increased from 15% to 42%... there were 20,000 elk in the mid-1990s, there are around 8,000 today...
As herd rebounds, wildlife managers may liberalize Wyoming Range mule deer hunting March 19, 2026 Wyoming, Jackson Hole News & Guide
... Three years after a brutal winter crushed mule deer populations in the western Wyoming mountains, the herd is bouncing back — and wildlife managers are considering allowing hunters to chase more young bucks... the past two winters have been relatively mild and the Wyoming Range Herd, in particular, has begun bouncing back ..,
“They felt they’d been deceived.” Was Yellowstone’s celebrated wolf reintroduction all it’s cracked up to be? March 18, 2026 Wyoming, Discover Wildlife
... the so-called ‘landscape of fear’ hypothesis, whereby herbivores come to be afraid in certain areas, and the young trees they might have browsed on survive... It’s a beautiful and uplifting notion but, according to some scientists, total nonsense... People were the apex predator, and that caused a 50 per cent reduction in the elk.” ... not caused by wolves – there weren’t enough of them ..,
Despite CWD surge, northwest Wyoming mule deer hunters, outfitters disregard threat to their fall tradition March 17, 2026 WyoFile
... This year, disease rates ticked up. Again. The nearly 20 happy hunters who stopped at the check station on the deer opener weren’t spared. More than a quarter of them would later learn they had a diseased deer on their hands... Deer populations in the basin’s most-infected herds are now sliding downward, and some are even outright plummeting...
Disease, development, warming climate threaten mule deer, according to Wyoming study March 13, 2026 Wyoming, Montana Outdoor
... Forty years of data collected on 37 Wyoming mule deer populations was the basis for the study ... focused on winter range. Many populations annually migrate to specific places. The quality of that winter habitat, or its loss from development, has a big influence on female reproduction success...
Mild Winter Leaves Wyoming Predators Hungry While Big Game Thrive March 12, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... the winter of 2025-2026 was the polar opposite of the 2022-2023 winter, with its brutal weather that killed deer, elk and antelope by the tens of thousands... There’s been less winterkill, and many of the deer and other prey animals are in great shape, making them more difficult to catch and kill..,
How Many Mountain Lions Are in Wyoming? March 3, 2026 K2 Radio
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department does not publish an official population count, but current estimates suggest there are approximately 2,000 adult mountain lions in Wyoming... They prefer habitats with dense brush, canyons, and steep ridges that provide cover for hunting prey like deer and elk ..,
I-80 severs vast Wyoming wildlife habitat. A UW study aims to optimize how animals avert the deadly crossing February 25, 2026 WyoFile
... A new research project out of the Wyoming Migration Initiative aims to better understand and make life easier for the thousands of elk, mule deer and pronghorn ... “This herd actually still has connectivity across the interstate,” Kauffman said. “It’s not because of purpose-built [infrastructure] — it’s because there just happened to be these machinery underpasses that they’re using.” ...
The farther the walk, the fatter the deer, study finds February 23, 2026 Wyoming, High Country News
... The farther they walk, the more calories they find as they reach lush mountain meadows teeming with high-protein groceries. And because they get fatter, they carry more fawns to term. “The migrating mule deer are the engine” for the whole population, said Anna Ortega, lead author on a recent paper published in the journal Current Biology. “If you sever that migration, you will have far fewer animals.” ...
Mule Deer Conservation Strategy seeks to address significant population decrease February 20, 2026 Wyoming, yourwyominglink.com
... Since 2000, the estimated number of mule deer in Wyoming has fallen from over 500,000 to around 200,000... conserving mule deer primarily rests on the ability to improve the quality and availability of mule deer habitat...
Wyoming Wildlife Fattening Up In Mild Winter, But A Dry Spring Could Be Trouble February 17, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... During the terrible winter of 2022-2023, they were starving and dying by the thousands, while this winter they’re downright chunky ... some wildlife biologists worry that if the next couple of months don’t bring significant snowfall, that could lead to a dry spring and early summer ... that could reverse gains for wildlife..,
Senate Soundly Rejects Landowner Hunting Tag Sales As Supporters Vow To Try Again February 10, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... A bill that would have allowed the sale of landowner hunting tags was rejected before it could be introduced to the Wyoming Senate by a vote of six to 25, effectively killing it for the 2026 Legislative session...
Migration Pays Off: Study Links Long-Distance Movement of Mule Deer to Robust Population Growth February 4, 2026 University of Wyoming
... New research by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Wyoming, published this week in Current Biology, reveals that migrating mule deer access more productive summer ranges, have higher adult survival and raise more offspring compared to resident mule deer that remain year-round in a desert ecosystem...
Mule deer conservation costs a lot of bucks January 29, 2026 Wymong, Powell Tribune
... The population of mule deer in Wyoming has experienced a significant, long-term decline, dropping from a peak of around 578,000 in 1991 to an estimated 216,000 by 2023. The decline is driven by habitat loss, drought, disease, and, recently, severe winter mortality, according to the department. That said, Bruce did say population decreases caused by the 2022-23 winter storm, which killed a significant portion of deer, were bouncing back according to this year’s harvest data..,
Choppers Collide During Wyoming Mule Deer Capture Operation January 21, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... There were no injuries reported in the collision ... The choppers and crews were contracted to capture and collar mule deer for research in the north Bighorn mountains ... Game and Fish frequently hires private aviation companies for wildlife capture operations ...
Why Captive Animal 'World Records' Are Banned From Official Hunting Records January 19, 2026 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Big game animals raised in captivity, crammed full of artificial antler-growth supplements and then gunned down in fenced-in enclosures can’t be entered into the official hunting trophy record books, the Boone and Crockett Club reminded hunters... open only to animals that were hunted and taken according to the organization’s fair chase standards ...
'It's Bad Stuff': Aftermath Of Huge Wyoming Wildfires Threatens Wyoming Mule Deer January 11, 2026 Cowboy State Daily
... Mule deer stand to lose roughly two-thirds of their habitat in northeast Wyoming over the next 20 years if cheatgrass isn’t brought under control, according to research from the University of Wyoming. Cheatgrass is particularly aggressive in burned areas ... with habitat fragmentation already a big threat to mule deer, they can’t afford to lose any more ground ...
Deer, elk healthy despite hurdles, managers say December 22, 2025 Wyoming, KHOL 89.1 FM
... Jackson-area ... Deer counts are rebounding. There are still fewer mule deer on the landscape following the 2022-2023 winter that killed more than half the population in the nearby Wyoming Range.“Most people are well aware that our deer populations are lower than they’ve been in a long time,” ..,
Wyoming's wildlife isn't for sale, or at least it shouldn't be December 22, 2025 WyoFile
... Once again, the Wyoming Legislature is considering a bill to allow landowners to sell hunting licenses issued to them to whomever they choose ... The Public Trust Doctrine holds that wildlife is not individually owned but rather held in trust by state or federal governments and managed for the benefit of all citizens. In the United States, the doctrine was first established in the Supreme Court decision Martin v. Waddell, ...
BLM deletes contested, off-limits 'Golden Triangle' parcels from upcoming Wyoming oil and gas auction December 22, 2025 Wyoming, WyoFile
... The auction is positioned to offer oil and gas companies tens of thousands of acres within mule deer and pronghorn migration paths. That includes the designated corridors used by the Baggs, Platte Valley and Sublette mule deer herds, where there will be some protections and stipulations...
Summer elk deaths stoke CWD worries at onset of 'important' winter for western Wyoming herds December 9, 2025 News From The States
... The unusual summertime mortalities added to suspicions that the degenerative, incurable prion disease was continuing to advance in the elk population that uses the Dell Creek Feedground. Infected animals were found within Wyoming’s feedground system for the first time and at four locations in the winter of 2024/’25, but signs pointed toward Dell Creek elk being the farthest along in the CWD epidemic’s curve..,
CWD detected in a new Wyoming hunt area December 8, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease for the first time in Elk Hunt Area 2 in the Sheridan Region ... in a bull elk that was euthanized due to suspected disease. Elk Hunt Area 2 is surrounded by CWD-positive Elk Hunt Area 129, which had its first confirmed case of CWD in 2021... A map of CWD endemic areas, along with more information, is available on the Game and Fish’s CWD webpage...
Game and Fish sends harvest surveys to monitor populations, set future quotas December 5, 2025 Wyoming, yourwyominglink.com
... close to 70,000 antelope, deer and elk hunters have received a harvest survey questionnaire, and additional surveys will be going out ... A harvest survey questionnaire sent to license holders is the best way for wildlife managers to understand how many animals are harvested each year ... critical for monitoring populations ...
Inside Wyoming’s fight against cheatgrass, the ‘most existential, sweeping threat’ to western ecosystems December 1, 2025 WyoFile on MSN
... The ecological scourge made Silver State officials so desperate that they were planting another nonnative, forage kochia, because it competes with less nutritious cheatgrass and offers some nourishment for native wildlife, like mule deer. “They’ll just die, because there’s nothing there,” Mealor said. “That’s why we have to do stuff. Because we could turn into that.” ...
Let's not destroy our wildlife heritage with irresponsible development November 22, 2025 Wyoming Tribune Eagle
... the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that passed earlier this year. It requires the Bureau of Land Management to lease large sections of land, which makes it more difficult for the agency to use its discretion to avoid leasing in sensitive wildlife areas... the oil and gas lease sale proposed here in Wyoming for next June... It offers up 227 parcels totaling more than a quarter-million acres. The parcels overlap with habitat for sage-grouse, including priority habitat; crucial winter habitat for elk, mule deer and pronghorn; calving and fawning areas for elk, moose and pronghorn; and mule deer migration corridors...
CWD detected in two new Wyoming deer hunt areas November 20, 2025 WGFD News
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease in deer for the first time in two new hunt areas: Deer Hunt Area 106 in the Cody Region, and Deer Hunt Area 150 in the Jackson Region..,
Experts warn of animal, vehicle danger during active migration season November 28, 2025 Oregon, Central Oregon Daily
...Wildlife Coordinator for ODOT, Cidney Bowman, says vehicle collisions account for around 20% of known mule deer mortality in an already declining population here in Central Oregon...
Expert issues warning after observing worrying trend on US trail cameras: 'It's kind of a weird anomaly right now' November 17, 2025 Wyoming, The Cool Down on MSN
... tracking elk and mule deer migration routes in the Absaroka Mountains ... almost exclusively used by these two species ... since 2023, Mong has seen more and more whitetail deer appearing on the trail cameras along these routes, including adults and at least one fawn... If the whitetail deer species is changing its migration patterns, there could be many causes, including rising temperatures ...
Wyoming Hunter Saves Elk Tangled In Barbed Wire From A Slow, Miserable Death November 17,2025 Cowboy State Daily
... He initially thought the bull, which had one of its rear legs tangled in a barbed wire fence, was dead because it was completely still ... He retrieved some tools from his truck and spent the next 15 minutes or so freeing the elk’s leg from the tangled wire...
Wyoming to again weigh making landowner tags ‘transferable,’ a step toward pay-for-play hunting November 10, 2025 WyoFile on MSN
... A controversial proposal that could help Wyoming landowners make money from elk, deer and pronghorn that use their property has passed muster with a legislative committee and will be up for debate when lawmakers convene February in Cheyenne...
Looking For Wounded Deer With Drones Blurs Ethical Lines, Hunters Say November 2, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Using drones for hunting has for years been illegal in Wyoming and other states, but some states are loosening those rules to allow hunters to use them to find wounded animals after they’ve been legally shot... “There are going to be people claiming to look for a wounded animal when they’re really out there using heat sensors to look for live animals,” said Newberg ...
CWD detected in a new Wyoming hunt area October 27, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... the presence of chronic wasting disease for the first time in Mule Deer Hunt Area 153 in the Pinedale Region. Game and Fish confirmed the presence of CWD in a hunter-harvested, adult male mule deer. Mule Deer Hunt Area 153 is bordered by CWD-positive Mule Deer Hunt Areas 142 (detected in 2023), 144 (detected in 2021), 152 (detected in 2019) and 154 (detected in 2023)..;
'Energy dominance' meets migration: All Wyoming corridors overlap with proposed oil and gas leases October 24, 2025 WyoFile
... what’s been proposed is to auction more than five dozen parcels totalling 88,000 acres that overlap the state’s first three deer migration corridors ... The Bureau of Land Management is accepting feedback on its 2026 second-quarter oil and gas lease sale for Wyoming through Nov. 17. Public comments can be submitted through an online portal available at ePlanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2040967/570...
Whitetail deer, not known for migration, spotted traversing Yellowstone region high country October 21, 2025 Wyoming, WyoFile
...One of the cameras is even trained on an open ridge around 8,000 feet in elevation, where seeing a whitetail is especially perplexing ... also a spotted fawn ...“These are on what we would consider true migration routes for mule deer and elk,” ... in 2023, they began appearing — during both the spring and fall migration seasons...
CWD detected in a new Wyoming Hunt area October 20, 2025 WGFD News
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease for the first time in Elk Hunt Area 61 in the Cody Region. Game and Fish confirmed the presence of CWD in a deceased cow elk found in the hunt area. Elk Hunt Area 61 is bordered by CWD-positive Elk Hunt Areas 58 (detected in 2023), 59 (detected in 2022), 52 (detected in 2025) and 66 (detected in 2018). Elk Hunt Area 61 is part of the Cody Elk Herd. CWD was first detected in this herd in 2018...
CWD detected in a new Wyoming hunt area
Wyoming Game and Fish October 13, 2025 State of Wyoming
... Game and Fish confirmed the presence of CWD in an adult cow found in the hunt area in the northeast corner of the state. Elk Hunt Area 116 is bordered by CWD-positive areas 117 (detected in 2008) and 129 (detected in 2020). The hunt area is within the Black Hills Elk Herd ...
Software code for simulating elk and chronic wasting disease dynamics on the National Elk Refuge (version 2.0)
PC Cross 2025, Wyoming, US Geological Survey (USGS) Software
... This software release contains the code necessary to run the chronic wasting disease (CWD) and elk population models used to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision on whether to continue to continue supplemental feeding of elk on the National Elk Refuge (NER)...
Baiting Elk With Salt Licks Was Once OK Wyoming, But Is Now Illegal September 30, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... Baiting big game with corn, salt licks and other treats is illegal and frowned upon as unethical across the West. But it didn’t used to be, and was once standard practice in Wyoming. It’s still allowed in other places, such as Texas...
Experts issue warning on rapidly spreading plant wreaking havoc in US region September 26, 2025 Wyoming, The Cool Down
... A new study out of the University of Wyoming has revealed just how destructive an invasive grass called cheatgrass could be for mule deer ... if left unchecked, researchers said deer in northeast Wyoming could lose up to half of their usable habitat within the next two decades...
The state halted proposed migration safeguards for Wyoming Range mule deer 6 years ago. Are protections coming? September 26, 2025 WyoFile
... in 2019 the Wyoming Game and Fish Department proposed to protect the 130-mile route that braids across the Wyoming and Salt River ranges from Star Valley and the Hoback Rim to Kemmerer and La Barge. But within the year, that proposal was pulled back indefinitely after an alliance of industry groups urged Wyoming to hit the brakes ...
Wildlife crossing groundbreaking set for Thursday in Kemmerer September 17, 2025 Wyoming, Torrington Telegram
... a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the U.S. Highway 189 Kemmerer South Wildlife Crossing Project ... Officials expect the crossings to eliminate 80% to 90% of wildlife-vehicle collisions ... will benefit the Wyoming Range and Uinta deer herds and the Carter Lease pronghorn herd...
‘Hunting Influencer’ Hit With Felony Charges, Raises Questions About Social Media & Hunting September 14, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... known as the StHealthy Hunter... faces two felonies for alleged grand theft by deception and the unlawful killing and possession of a trophy-class mule deer buck ... has sparked an ethics debate in the Wyoming outdoors community, and beyond...
Invasive Grasses Threaten Mule Deer but Strategic Action Can Turn the Tide, UW Research Suggests September 3, 2025 University of Wyoming
... The study, published this week in the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management, found that mule deer avoid places where invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass, are overtaking sagebrush and grassland habitats. If the spread of these weeds goes unchecked, the study predicts that mule deer may lose more than half of their high-quality habitat in northeast Wyoming in the next two decades...
The Bridger-Teton National Forest Released a Plan Revision Assessment for Public Comment. August 19, 2025 Wyoming, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
... Wyoming’s 3.4-million-acre Bridger-Teton National Forest stands out as one of America’s crown jewels. It’s one of few places left in the Lower 48 where long-distance mule deer, elk, and pronghorn antelope migrations have persisted for centuries... the Draft Assessment ...
Five Wyoming elk herds have remained relatively unknown and uncounted — until now August 6, 2025 WyoFile
... according to a Western EcoSystems Technology report that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department published in its annual update for the Laramie Region. Military training activities displaced elk, especially in winter, and during those times they sought out rugged areas. Surprisingly, animals tended to choose higher elevations during the coldest months of the year...
Game & Fish highlights Rozet poaching case August 6, 2025 Wyoming Sundance Times
... the man ultimately admitted not only that he had killed the buck he was at that moment butchering, but also another buck in 2023. ... Both pled guilty and were fined $2460 and ordered to pay $4000 in restitution...
Runs in the family: Study shows most mule deer learn to migrate from moms August 4, 2025 Wyoming, WyoFile
... through millions of data points covering hundreds of deer’s lives, former University of Wyoming researcher Rhiannon Jakopak was able to uncover some truths: More than 60% of mule deer really do learn their migratory paths from their mothers... published earlier this month in the journal Current Biology ...
Wyoming approves major hunting regulation changes for 2025 July 16, 2025 Torrington Telegram
... In Hunt Area 84, Type 1, the elk quota increased from 50 in 2024 to 100 for the 2025 season. In Hunt Area 84, Type 6, the elk quota increased from 350 in 2024 to 400 for the 2025 season... House Bill 200 increases the special elk license fee from $1,283 to $1,965 ...
Outcry causes Wyoming to back off plan to curb 'landowner tag' advantages July 8, 2025 WyoFile
... Those proposed regulation changes are all no longer being recommended, according to a “public comment summary and response” memo that agency staff sent the Game and Fish Commission on June 19. The memo shows that about 70% of the 380 comments the department received opposed the proposed changes. Just 9% of respondents stated support...
Migratory routes are inherited primarily from mother in a terrestrial herbivore Wyoming, Current Biology, 2025
... we evaluate whether daughters inherit migratory routes from their mothers by following 16 mother-daughter pairs of mule deer ... Adult routes for two-thirds of daughters overlapped with their mother’s route, suggesting that they inherited migratory routes from their mothers. The adult routes for the remaining daughters, however, bore little or no similarity to their mother’s routes ...
Wyoming’s Golden Age Of Mule Deer Is Gone, With Fewer Than Half Of Peak Numbers June 6, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... from 2024 counts, Wyoming has about 213,000 mule deer scattered across the state.
... Mule deer are declining across the West due to a variety of factors, he said. Those include weather-related problems such as drought and winterkill, deer getting hit on highways, habitat loss, competition with other species, disease and predation..,
Wyoming Eyes Higher Predator Quotas June 5, 2025 Mountain Journal
... Game and Fish Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson said the proposed increase in mortality limits in the southeast part of the state largely reflect public sentiment that there are too many mountain lions and they have a potential to impact mule deer populations...
State biologists warned of wildlife conflicts at proposed shooting complex site. Wyoming approved the location anyway June 5, 20225 Wyoming, WyoFile on MSN
... even days before the 12-member task force voted 8-4 in favor of the location, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department issued a memo that effectively recommended the complex go elsewhere... outside of “core” sage grouse habitat and “crucial” range for struggling mule deer, which exhibited “high use” of the site throughout the year according to GPS collar data ...
Dubois wildlife crossing project faces hurdles with federal funding sources on pause June 4, 2025 Wyoming Public Radio
... State agencies want to build wildlife crossings on a stretch of highway around Dubois, to make it safer for drivers and deer alike. But federal grant freezes have created a bit of a roadblock for the potential project, which has a $28 million dollar price tag...
As Tough As Moose Are, Tens Of Thousands Of Ticks Can Pile On One And Kill It June 1, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... It’s a miserable way to go through blood drainage, horrific skin irritation and the loss of huge patches of hair as moose can be infested with ticks by the tens of thousands... they don't groom as effectively as other ungulate species ...
Golden era of northwest Wyoming elk hunting slides toward expected but undesirable end May 27, 2025 WyoFile
... chronic wasting disease. It’s an incurable, transmissible neurological condition that shrinks the lifespan of its wapiti hosts from 15 or so years down to just a few... For months at a time during the winter, thousands of these animals are parked on feedgrounds, eating hay and alfalfa in small spaces where scientists have learned that feeding drives up contact rates between animals and accelerates the spread of diseases. Chronic wasting disease is just now reaching the region ..,
Wildlife Health Lab tests more than 5,200 CWD samples in 2024 May 19, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish News
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Wildlife Health Laboratory tested 5,276 samples from big game animals for chronic wasting disease in 2024. Testing was completed earlier this year and samples were submitted from throughout the state. CWD was detected in 726 of those samples submitted...
Agencies continue work to secure funding for Dubois wildlife crossing project May 12, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish
... The project, which proposes a series of strategically placed underpasses, an overpass and fencing along a critical stretch of U.S. Highway 26/287, has received public support and early funding commitments. However, additional funding is necessary to move the project into construction and the agencies are actively working to secure that funding as opportunities arise...
A day in the life of a migrating mule deer May 9, 2025 Wyoming Public Radio
... our mule deer herd here with the Upper Shoshone, those numbers actually increase over the last seven to eight years. What we've seen in this herd is an increase in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) rates from about zero to 5% in 2017, to over 20% this last year. Some of that we're trying to understand why that is occurring..,
We want your input! FWP hosts statewide workshops to get input for new mule deer management plan May 2, 2025 Wyoming FWP
... Over the past several years, mule deer populations in Montana have fluctuated, and in many areas declined. The three main drivers for mule deer populations are weather, habitat and disease...
Mapping Countless Miles Of Fence Could Save Wyoming Wildlife From Gruesome Deaths May 1, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... Wyoming deer, elk and antelope can suffer gruesome deaths when they get entangled, so mapping out the state's countless miles of fences are can help save wildlife, researchers believe... It’s hoped that study is just the beginning of a comprehensive inventory of fences across Wyoming and the West ...
After the Smoke Clears May 1, 2025 Wyoming Game & Fish Department
... HOUSE DRAW FIRE: ...No deer or elk carcasses were located ...likely some perished immediately and others later from pneumonia or other respiratory complications from smoke inhalation ... ELK FIRE: “The fire will likely benefit mule deer by promoting growth of forbs and shrubs, but it will take at least a few years to realize it,” ... one mule deer was reported to Game and Fish with fire-related injuries and was euthanized...
WGFD releases new edition of wildlife-friendly fencing guide for landowners April 29, 2025 Wyoming, Buckrail
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has published the third edition of the “Wyoming Landowner’s Guide to Fences and Wildlife,” a comprehensive guide to wildlife-friendly fencing solutions and resources... Downloadable electronic copies are available here...
Cody area hunters share concerns about CWD in mule deer community meetings April 23, 2025 Wyoming Public Radio
... Mule deer populations in some parts of Wyoming have been declining for decades... Corey Class, Wildlife Management Coordinator who works out of the department’s Cody office, said the top concern in his region was chronic wasting disease (CWD)...
Mountain Lions Blamed For Killing More Deer Than They Actually Do, Hunters Say April 14, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... it’s widely assumed that an adult mountain lion kills about a deer per week...a recent study that followed several mountain lions in New Mexico and kept track of what they were preying on. The results seemed to indicate that the mountain lions were killing relatively few deer. As far as large prey, they seemed to skew more toward feral horses and elk. And the mountain lions also killed more beavers than just about anything else ..,
Game and Fish tests more than 5,000 samples for CWD in 2024 April 7, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... tested 5,276 samples for chronic wasting disease, and 726 came back positive — 13.7% statewide — and saw CWD prevalence for mule deer increase throughout the state... Of those samples tested, 19.4% came back positive in hunter-harvested mule deer bucks, 29.2% in hunter-harvested white-tailed bucks and 2.3% in adult, hunter-harvested elk. The percentage of mule deer bucks increased from 2023 at 18.9%. The percentages for white-tailed deer and elk decreased from 2023 at 30.3% and 2.8,% respectively. There were no positive CWD samples from moose..,
Mulling mule deer: Residents air top concerns April 2, 2025 Wyoming, Riverton Ranger
... For the Lander region, which encompasses most of central Wyoming, chronic wasting disease (CWD) rose to the top of the list of concerns for area residents... residents pointed to several suggestions to address the disease. First, there’s a need for increased sampling ...
Sheridan Region raises mule deer habitat, hunting management concerns in WGFD report April 1. 2025 Wyoming, Oil City News
... population declines statewide ... residents seemed primarily concerned with habitat degradation, improving winter ranges and migration corridor management ... some debate was observed over ... allowing hunters to harvest pregnant does on private land is counterproductive..,
Deer with lid on neck successfully immobilized in Sheridan March 19, 2025 Wyoming, The Sheridan Press
... “Immobilizing an animal is a risky venture and should only be considered as a last resort,” said Sheridan Region Wildlife Coordinator Tim Thomas... The deer, an adult mule deer doe, was first reported to Game and Fish on Jan. 27...
Alabama man convicted in 25-year-old Wyoming wildlife case March 18, 2025
Wyoming Game and Fish
... Game and Fish began investigating Craig in the fall of 1999 ... A bench warrant was issued in February 2000, but Craig remained outside Wyoming until his recent arrest... “There is no statute of limitations for wildlife crimes in Wyoming,” ...
Governor's Big Game License Coalition allocates $1.5 million for conservation projects March 17, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish - State of Wyoming
... Funds were generated through the sale of the Wyoming Governor's complimentary big game licenses in 2024 ... The coalition allocates funds for various wildlife conservation projects through committees that focus on species-specific initiatives: elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, moose and an all-wildlife committee...
New CWD cases detected in Elk Hunt area, new feedground March 17, 2025 Wyoming Fish and Game News
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has reported two new cases of chronic wasting disease: Elk Hunt Area 62 in the Cody Region and on the Horse Creek Feedground, which is located in Elk Hunt Area 84 in the Jackson Region... Horse Creek Feedground is the fourth feedground in the state to have confirmed positive for CWD among elk. Elk Hunt Area 84, which had previously tested positive for CWD, is bordered by Elk Hunt Area 87 which is also CWD-positive..,
CWD found in new hunt area March 11, 2025 Wyoming, WGFD News
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has detected chronic wasting disease in an adult cow elk from Elk Hunt Area 93 at the Black Butte Feedground... located in the Pinedale Region and is bordered by two CWD-positive elk areas: 87 and 92. This is the first documented case of CWD in the hunt area and the first confirmed case of an elk with CWD on this feedground..,
CWD cases 'concerning' for Jackson Elk, biologist says March 7, 2025, Wyoming Public Radio
... [Ben Wise, a state wildlife biologist]: We had assumed that when we started detecting CWD in elk in western Wyoming, it would be pretty slow. Kind of like what we've seen in other parts of the feedground system... To have it pop up at Dell Creek in multiple animals in the same year, in the same fairly short time span. We're kind of past that point at that particular feedground. We're past that slow build... It's coming from all directions..,
'Absolutely concerning': More CWD-killed elk found at second Wyoming feedground February 18, 2025 Wyoming, WyoFile
... Chronic wasting disease prions that bind with soil and grass are accumulating in Wyoming-run feedgrounds, contaminating sites that have provided refuge for slews of close-packed elk each winter for generations... there are many questions, Binfet said, about how the disease will behave and propagate in western Wyoming where elk are being fed ...
Five Moose Spotted During UW Biodiversity Institute’s Winter Moose Day Weekend February 18, 2025 Wyoming, University of Wyoming
... The 2024 number was 12 -- 11 adults and one calf. The winter record sighting was in 2022 with 19 moose -- 15 adults and four calves... biologists use the data collected by community scientists to further their understanding of the population densities of local moose, their reproductive rates, their winter ranges and how these variables change over time...
Mule Deer Population Monitoring within the Pinedale Anticline Project Area: 2023 Annual Update 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... Compared to the baseline population of 2,856, as outlined in the 2008 Record of Decision, the 2022–23 detections represents a 13% population decline. The total population for the Sublette
mule deer herd, post-harvest 2022, was estimated to be 22,965 animals and represented a decline of 5% when compared to the 2006 baseline population of 24,165. Therefore, a net 8% population difference was observed for the 2022–23 monitoring period ...
CWD found in new Wyoming hunt area February 14, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish News
... confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease in two adult female elk from Elk Hunt Area 87. The first elk was found dead in January, followed by the second in early February. Both elk were discovered at the Dell Creek feedground..,
Are Wyoming Mountain Lions Better At Killing Each Other Than Hunters Are At Killing Them? February 9, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... “I can attest to the herd of deer on my property in the last four years has gone from 30 down to about 10 left. We find the lion kills, so I know they are lethal,” ... A study of mountain lions in the Snowy Range Mountains during the 1990s suggested that the big cats can control their own population just as well, or better, than hunters can ..,
More Than 200 Big-Game Migrations Now Mapped Across American West February 6, 2025 Wyoming, University of Wyoming
... The maps were released in “Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 5,” published by the USGS. The new edition brings the total migrations mapped in this report series to 218, along with many more separately mapped by individual states. This edition of the report features migration and seasonal range maps for mule deer, elk and pronghorn in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming and the Navajo Nation...
Southwest Wyoming Habitat Conserved February 3, 2025 The Cheyenne Post
... the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation protected 6,987 acres of habitat in southwest Wyoming... it protects diverse, yearlong elk habitat that also benefits mule deer, pronghorn antelope, grouse and other species ...
Game and Fish conducts annual mule deer surveys January 30, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish - State of Wyoming
... relatively mild and snow-free winter conditions over the last two years have resulted in high over-winter survival... The average birth mass of newborn fawns was 7.7 pounds, the largest measurement recorded since 2016, and nearly 1 pound larger than average birth mass across all previous years..,
Senate kills bill to create separate mule, whitetail deer seasons January 28, 2025 Wyoming, Yahoo
... the state Senate rejected Senate File 3, “Mule and whitetail deer-separate hunting seasons,” in a 19-12 vote ... “We are struggling with mule deer statewide, and virtually every (mule deer) herd unit across the state has declined,” Driskill said ..,
No limit, year-round lion hunting? Wyoming lawmaker looks to end science-based management January 27, 2025 WyoFile
... House Bill 286, “Mountain lion hunting season-changes,” would throw out the fundamental structure of current lion management regulations: Cougar killing would be fair game 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would be prohibited from imposing any limits on cats killed at the local and statewide levels...
The effectiveness of harvest for limiting wildlife disease: Insights from 20 years of chronic wasting disease in Wyoming - Ecological Applications, 2025
... Although high harvest is unlikely to completely eradicate CWD, our analysis suggests that maintaining hunting pressure on adult
males is an important tactic for slowing CWD epidemics within mule deer herds ...
Should Wyoming 'landowner tags' be for sale? A bill proposes big bucks for big bucks. January 22, 2025 WyoFile
... would task the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission with creating rules and regulations governing the resale of landowner tags. Critics, including hunting and wildlife advocacy groups, say the changes could overwhelm Wyoming’s license allocation system, giving wealthy non-residents an unfair advantage over ordinary resident sportspeople...
Bill To Split Whitetail And Mule Deer Seasons Passes, But Some Hunters Not Sold January 21, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Advocates for the bill say the Wyoming Game and Fish Department managing the two deer species separately would help conserve the state’s struggling mule deer herds... Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, who says that whitetails have driven mule deer off his family’s ranch..,
Deer captures in the Riverton area beginning next week January 17, 2025 Wyoming Game & Fish Department
... This is the third year of a research project focused on the reasons behind the high prevalence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the Project Deer Herd (Hunt Areas 157 and 171). 82 mule deer were collared in the previous two years, including two collars with cameras. This year an additional 52 collars will be placed on deer 32 on mule deer and 20 on white-tailed deer)..,
CWD found in Elk Hunt Area 98 January 15, 2025 Wyoming Game and Fish News
... an adult female elk from Elk Hunt Area 98. The elk was found dead on the Scab Creek feedground at the end of December. Department personnel investigated and removed the carcass after sampling the elk..,
Bill Would Hike Wyoming Hunting License Application Fees By 300% To 400% January 14, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... House Bill 2 would boost resident hunting license application fees from $5 to $20. Fees for nonresident hunters would jump from $15 to $75...
Bill Splitting Deer Seasons Would Just Get More Mule Deer Shot, Biologist Says January 13, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
... Advocates for splitting hunting licenses for Wyoming’s mule deer and white-tailed deer argue that would help conserve prized mulies, but a retired biologist said it would have the opposite effect...
Predictions of elk and chronic wasting disease dynamics at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, and surrounding areas 2025 USGS
... The increased CWD prevalence and transmission associated with the continue feeding alternative resulted in lower elk population sizes by year 20 ...
Mutant Blue-Eyed Wyoming Mule Deer Fawn With A Light Coat Causing A Stir January 6, 2025 Cowboy State Daily
... likely has a genetic mutation called leucism... a lack of pigmentation in a deer’s skin and coat ... doesn’t seem to have affected the fawn’s health ...
BLM Pinedale and Kemmerer Field Offices announce big game winter range closures January 6, 2025 Wyoming News
... will close BLM-administered public big game winter ranges to all motorized vehicle travel from Jan. 1 through Apr. 30, 2025. ... necessary to protect elk, moose, pronghorn, and mule deer from disruptive human activities during the difficult winter months ...
Rare Whitetail-Mule Deer Fight Highlights Conflict Between Wyoming Species January 2, 2025 Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily
...A video recently shot in South Dakota of a mule deer and whitetail buck that fought until they fell over in complete exhaustion encapsulates a region-wide conflict between the species. In the bigger picture, whitetail seem to be winning the war ... because whitetail breed like rabbits...
‘Very confused’ mountain lion investigates reindeer Christmas decoration in Wyoming December 28, 2024 East Idaho News on MSN
... The predator pauses for a moment before it approaches the fake reindeer from the rear, sniffs at it and raises a paw to its hindquarters, the video shows. It then walks to the front of the fake animal and stands on its hind legs to further investigate the reindeer’s face and neck...
An emerging, chronic challenge for Jackson Hole elk Decenber 27, 2024 Wyoming, WyoFile
... The CWD confirmation was a first for an elk from the Fall Creek Herd and Game and Fish’s hunt area 84, which sprawls south of Jackson ... will factor into wildlife managers’ decisions about the future of feedground operations. Elk congregating around human-supplied feed can inflame the spread of the disease..,
CWD found in new Wyoming hunt area December 23, 2024 Wyoming Game and Fish Department News
... a cow elk from Elk Hunt Area 84. The elk was reported by a member of the public who found it dead on public land... Elk Hunt Area 84 is located in the Jackson region and has no surrounding CWD-positive elk areas. However, its corresponding deer area (Deer HA 152) has had previous CWD detections, as have surrounding deer areas ..,
Wyoming’s wildlife, conservation & hunting efforts get $7.8 million funding boost December 23, 2024 Wyoming News
... The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partner organizations allotted $7,817,641 in 2024 to help elk, mule deer and other wildlife ... from restoring riparian habitat and treating invasive weeds to removing or modifying old fencing ...
Collaborative efforts enhance mule deer habitat on southwest Wyoming's Little Mountain December 19, 2024 Wyoming Game and Fish - State of Wyoming
... The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has been working with numerous entities to improve mule deer habitat across Wyoming... “The project aimed to maintain the integrity and value of sagebrush-grassland and mixed mountain shrub habitats for mule deer and other wildlife by removing encroaching juniper trees. Treatment results expect to maintain a blend of quality deer feeding areas in proximity to bedding and security cover provided by established juniper woodlands,” ...
Increasing development threatens mule deer habitat December 11, 2024 Wyoming, Cody Enterprise
... “It’s a massive collision of wilderness and human-influenced landscape,” wildlife biologist Tony Mong said. “We’re at a crossroads. We’re paper-cutting our wildlife to death.” ... Wyoming herds, which numbered 450,000 during 2005-2010, have declined to about 200,000 currently..,
Disease and migratory tactic mediate the nutritional benefits of irrigated agriculture to mule deer 2024 Wyoming, The Journal of Wildlife Management
... Proximity to agriculture in winter, however, decreased adult survival for migrants and residents (29 percentage points decreased probability of survival for every 1-km closer to agriculture) and increased the probability of having CWD at time of death...
Wyoming research challenges benefits, highlights pitfalls of mowing and spraying sagebrush December 10, 2024 WyoFile
...Generations of Wyoming wildlife managers have mowed over swaths of the sagebrush sea ... The technique, which often leaves behind a mosaic pattern, has historically targeted species like mule deer ... An award-winning University of Wyoming study, co-led by ecologist Jeff Beck, found that mowing or spraying the herbicide tebuthiuron on Wyoming big sagebrush had no benefits whatsoever ...
Wyoming Game and Fish tackle mule deer population decline December 9, 2024 KULR
... "We think the causes are pretty varied, habitat loss, changes in predator dynamics, changes in weather patterns, all of those things sort of feed into why we see those different dynamics, and that's one of the goals of this project is to hone in on those different conditions, and the management levers we can pull to help change these decline, or reverse these declines," Hall said...,
Hunters in Worland are concerned about chronic wasting disease impacting mule deer December 5, 2024 Wyoming Public Radio
... There are nine herd units in the Big Horn Basin. According to WGFD, two of the nine herds have averaged around 49-54 percent prevalence of CWD between 2021 to 2023. The prevalence rate is the percentage of animals testing positive for CWD from samples gathered via hunter harvested mule deer bucks...
Wyoming's big game migration program conserves over 510000 acres December 2, 2024 Wyoming News Now
... Five priority areas were identified in Wyoming, the Sublette, Baggs, and Platte Valley mule deer migration corridors, the Wind River Indian Reservation area, and the Absaroka Front near Cody. The five priority areas were mapped by using GPS collar and migration data on big game over the last 20 years...
Kemmerer Wildlife Crossing project on track for summer 2025 construction December 2, 2024 Wyoming Game and Fish Department
... The project is possible thanks to a $24.3 million Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program discretionary grant the Federal Highway Administration awarded to the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Wyoming Game and Fish Department in December 2023...
