G&F to talk wolf, lion hunts at next meeting

Joy Ufford, jufford@pinedaleroundup.com
Posted 5/12/22

With Wyoming Game and Fish’s proposed wolf and mountain lion hunting seasons and quotas out for comment, a public meeting is set for Monday, May 16, 6 p.m. at the Pinedale Regional Office.

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G&F to talk wolf, lion hunts at next meeting

Posted

SUBLETTE COUNTY – With Wyoming Game and Fish’s proposed wolf and mountain lion hunting seasons and quotas out for comment, a public meeting is set for Monday, May 16, 6 p.m. at the Pinedale Regional Office.

This year, Chapter 42, Mountain Lion Hunting Seasons, is paired with Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons.

As of May 4, the 2022 proposed overall gray wolf quota is 47 animals for the state’s trophy-game and seasonal management areas. All but one hunt area open Sept. 15 and all but one run through March 31 or when a hunt area’s harvest quota is filled.

The total is the same as 2021 with slight shifts among hunt areas; only 32 were taken last year in the trophy-game area, according to the Game and Fish 2021 report posted in “Hunting in Wyoming.”

Statewide there were at least 314 wolves in at least 40 packs at the end of 2021, with at least 161 wolves in at least 24 packs in the trophy-game management area, according to the annual 2022 Wyoming gray wolf report.

Mountain lions

The proposed mountain lion season regulation was updated on May 6.

Statewide last year, 319 mountain lions were harvested toward the 2021-2022 quota – in some hunt areas “unlimited” – and 15 mortalities were reported from other causes.

Game and Fish reports do not estimate mountain lion populations for hunting areas, most of which open Sept. 1 through the end of the next March, April or August.

Some areas offer unlimited harvests; others range from three to 25 animals. Hunt areas will close when a mortality quota is reached or on the season’s closing date. Dogs are allowed to pursue lions only during the open hours of the open season.

Mountain lions are managed in three-year cycles; the Game and Fish’s mountain lion mortality report posted for September 2016 through March 2019 (the end of the 2018 season) show trends in age and sex likely to be prevalent. Annual quotas were not completely filled although some seasons show more success than others.

This year’s proposed quotas are part of this next three-year cycle. Age, sex and condition of lions taken are used to model population estimates and propose quotas.

More

For both big-game species, hunters must call the Game and Fish Trophy-Game Mortality Hotline at 800-264-1280 to get a hunt area’s updated status.

Both Ch. 42, for mountain lions, and Ch. 47, for gray wolves, have proposed draft hunting regulations posted at https://wgfd.gov, where comments are also accepted through June 3.