Wyoming hunting report
June 6th, 2006 by Administrator
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Hunters saw an average year in 2005 for bagging big and trophy game in Wyoming, although the number of elk taken dropped below 20,000 for the first time in a decade, according to a state Game and Fish Department report.
The deer, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep and black bear harvests did not show much change from previous years, according to the report, which is issued annually and used by the agency to help set the following year’s hunting seasons and limits.
“It seems to be kind of an average year,” Reg Rothwell, supervisor of biological services with the agency, said Monday. “Success rates are in the ballpark.”
The drop in the number of elk taken by hunters was caused by several factors, including Game and Fish’s goal of reducing the elk harvest, Rothwell said.
The 19,708 elk harvested in 2005 reflected the department's strategy to throttle back the elk hunt in the state, Rothwell said.
The agency had issued additional elk hunting licenses before 2004 because wildlife managers considered the number of elk in the state to be excessive. In 2000, the number of elk taken by hunters peaked at 23,727. It has fallen since as the agency seeks to maintain a population of about 79,000 to 83,000 elk statewide.
In 2005, the number of elk in Wyoming was estimated at 91,000. Rothwell said he didn't have 2006's estimated number yet but the agency has already set a goal of harvesting 21,500 elk this fall.
The moose hunt in Wyoming will continue to be limited while wildlife managers study why the moose population in the northwest part of the state struggles to grow, Rothwell said.
"We're not seeing a lot of moose and neither are the hunters," he said.
Hunters took 677 moose statewide last year, according to the report.
The Game and Fish Department has created an internal working group to study the problem, Rothwell said.
Hunters harvested 35,266 mule deer, 172 bighorn sheep, 39,526 antelope and 277 black bears last year, the report said.
Access to where deer and antelope congregate continues to be the biggest problems for hunters of those animals, he said.
The agency is also working to improve winter habitat for antelope, he said.
By BOB MOEN
Associated Press