Comment deadlines June 10th Wyoming Game & Fish changes to Mt Lion and Wolf hunting seasons

    Chapter 42, Mountain Lion Hunting Seasons.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/32271/download?inline

https://wgfapps.wyo.gov/WGFD_WebSurvey/CommentOnly.aspx

    Chapter 44, Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances.

    Chapter 46, Fishing Regulations.

Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/32274/download?inline

https://wgfapps.wyo.gov/WGFD_WebSurvey/CommentOnly.aspx

GREY WOLVES TROPHY SEASON

              We (PHAS) have yet to fully study the proposed changes to wolf regulations to have our own opinion on them – we instead give you Wyoming’s Untrapped talking points that reviews the issue. What we want with respect to wolves in Wyoming requires legislative change, which is outside the Commission’s purview. We want rules and objectives in the predator area – which area abuts SD – changed.

         However they are proposing an increased harvest limit of 38 to 44 wolves, because population estimate is 3 wolves above WGF Departments stable population’s  objective (160 wolves). In some subsets the harvest limit is raised & in other subsets reduced, but cumulatively 6 extra wolves can be killed in the trophy game areas. We are not sure when wolf season will be revisited by Commission.. Here is a newspaper article on increases to wolf & cougar harvests:  https://mountainjournal.org/wyoming-looks-to-increase-wolf-and-mountain-lion-kills

              The wolf habitat in Wyoming is divided into an area with basically unlimited hunting and areas with limited hunting. The only sections that come up for review by the Commission are in the subsets that have limited hunting.  The unlimited hunting is set by the legislature and can only be changed there (most of Wyoming – including the Black Hills – is in this section).  Here is a link to map of Wyomings wolf hunting areas https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/31129/download?inline  or

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/wyoming-wildlife/large-carnivore/wolves-wyoming

Here is a link to Wyoming Untrapped’s talking points for use in commenting on the wolf and mt lion hunting proposals

https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/Wyoming-Untrapped-on-WolvesMt-Lion25.pdf

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COUGARS SEASON – TRIENNIAL REVIEW

PHAS comment letter on Wyoming Mt lion triennial review : https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/PHAS-Wyomings-mt-lion-comments.pdf

Wyoming proposes no changes to harvest limits for the 3 areas that overlap the Black Hills (60 cougars is the cumulative limit). It proposes  no changes to limits to prairie area to the west of the Black Hills (unlimited Sept-May 31st).  It does propose changes in the prairie area to the SW of the Black Hills, down by Lusk, Hartville, Guernsey.   This is the area that continues the Pine Ridge Ecosystem into Wyoming. That ecosystem exists in 3 states (SD, NE & WYO. and across Tribal/non-tribal boundaries). They would be changing a harvest limit from 12 cougars to unlimited from Sept 1st to March 31st. This is thus relevant to 3 states and 2 tribes.

• North East Wyoming lions killed last year were mostly subadults, hunters had a hard time finding them. Few adults killed!
• No emigration from Wyo. to SD. Only immigration coming from SD keeps the population going.
• Black Hills functionally managed as a sink, but the Mt. Lion Management Plan (MLMP) objective is source-stable. MLMP was commission approved
• Pressure on mt. lions needs to be reduced, not increased.  Advances in science show positive results, being replicated across multiple studies, supporting the important role of lions in prey’s disease management.
• Area 25, abutting Nebraska is proposed to become unlimited harvest (unlimited harvest replaces a 12 lions harvest cap)- very few lions are killed there,  so no reason for the new designation, please object to it.
• Areas 30, 32 and 1. Object to harvest limits as too high and needing to be reduced so this area is managed as a stable population,,not a sink.
• =========
• Thus >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.OBJECT TO THE HARVEST LIMIT CAP IN AREAS 1, 30 and 32 and the UNLIMITED HARVEST CAP in AREA 24 & 25.  Express a desire for more mountain lions in the Black Hills (exists in 2 states) and the Pine Ridge Ecosystem (which exists in 3 states, 2 reservations)

Various states further, to the west of us are having some more extreme cougar seasons – changes such as unlimited statewide killing or  increases to harvest limits are recent occurrences.

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PROCESS

 Wyo. Game and Fish will host public meetings throughout the state to present and discuss these regulation proposals. Online comments for the regulations are also being accepted through 5 p.m. June 10, you can submit on-line.

Game and Fish biologists and game wardens will be available to answer questions and discuss the regulation proposals during these meetings. Link to meetings schedule :  https://wgfd.wyo.gov/media/32280/download?inline

There was a virtual meeting on May 19th at 3 pm. The Sheridan meeting was at  5 p.m. May 19 at Sheridan Game and Fish Regional Office, located at 700 Valley View Drive in Sheridan, and cover Chapters 42, 44 and 47.  There is also meetings in Wheatland, May 28th  and Casper June 3rd, These are meetings likely closest to SD

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will hold a final discussion and make a decision on approval during its July 15-16 meeting in Evanston.  Go to that date on calendar for more info on that meeting.  You can testify by Zoom if you ask for permission about a week in advance. There is an approximate time slot for discussion of each item, offered on the agenda.

Some of the links that were operating earlier in the month have changed on June 10th