wyoming game and fish department

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials updated the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on the public engagement process as it looks to update its elk feedground management plan.

Hunters and anglers are required to have a Conservation Stamp when they're in the field. Starting July 1, though, the price of Conservation Stamps will increase 72 percent from $12.50 to $21.50. The $9 increase will generate $1.6 million in additional funds for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) every year.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) refunded $585,000 worth of licenses, permits, and stamps so far to residents and non-residents who were unable to hunt, fish, or boat in 2020. That's more than double its previous record year for refunds in 2019.

The National Elk Refuge stopped its feeding Monday, March 29, two weeks earlier than normal in order to meet management goals.

Hunters and anglers fund Wyoming wildlife conservation and management by purchasing fishing and hunting licenses, and those funds go into the Wyoming Game and Fish Department budget.

But, the number of hunters and anglers is decreasing in the state, although not as much in other places. Still, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is making efforts to recruit newcomers.

For the past couple of years, antler hunting has become very popular. In the Dubois area, Spence and Moriarity Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and Kirk Inberg/Kevin Roy Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) are no exception.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has collaborated with the private company Conservation Vision on their new project: Wild Harvest Initiative. That initiative looks at the full benefits of sustainable wild animal harvests nationally.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has found invasive zebra mussels in marimo balls in several pet stores across the state.

The Wyoming House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources committee has approved a bill that sets up a specific process if the Wyoming Game and Fish Department considers closing one of its 22 elk feedgrounds. There is no written process on how to close a feedground currently.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's (WGFD) grizzly bear management actions decreased in 2020 compared to 2019. However, the number of bears captured involving food rewards increased.

Every year, hunters set out in search of their quarry. Some will be successful, but inevitably, some will be unable to fill their tag, for a variety of possible reasons. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is constantly striving to make sure that the number of tags they sold isn't one of those reasons.

Wyoming's sage grouse population is declining, but reproduction rates held steady this year.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is putting together a new taskforce to tackle wildlife issues that are important to the public.

For years, a wide variety of stakeholders have been working to come up with how to better manage prairie dogs in the Thunder Basin National Grassland. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the U.S. Forest Service announced its final decision for its management plan amendment.

Grizzly 399 is arguably one of the most famous grizzly bears in the U.S. due to the amount of attention she has gotten over the years. This year is no different.

She and her four cubs have been spotted outside of Grand Teton National Park, and Jackson residents started worrying she could be in danger.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is starting the process to rework its elk feedground management plan. The first step is a public comment period.

For the past couple of years, Game and Fish has grappled with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a neurological disease that is deadly to deer, elk and moose. A public process looking at CWD management resulted with the need to examine the management of the 22 elk feedgrounds in northwest Wyoming. 

Wild turkey hunting didn't start in the state until 1955.

But the process began in 1935, when the Wyoming Game and Fish Department traded sage grouse with New Mexico for 15 Merriam's Turkeys. There were nine hens and six toms.

As part of a statewide disease monitoring plan, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is asking hunters in certain areas to submit their animals for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is urging anglers to modify their routine to protect fish. Hot, dry weather can heat up water temperatures and lower the overall dissolved oxygen in the water, which can stress the fish. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) plans to lift endangered species protections for gray wolves across most of the nation by the end of the year. 

Although wolves are already off of the Endangered Species List in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and portions of Utah, Oregon and Washington states, this would remove the animal from federal protections in all states except for a population of wolves in the southwest. 

Wyoming Game and Fish killed four wolves in northwestern Wyoming last week as part of an effort to control their interactions with livestock.

Hunter education is required for all hunters in Wyoming who were born after January 1, 1966. But the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's (WGFD) Hunter Mentor Program enables new hunters who haven't completed their hunter education to experience the hunt with a mentor who has taken the course.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is encouraging kids and their families to get outside and learn more about the state's wildlife with their "Inspire a Kid" program. The program kicked off in June with the release of the "Wyo-100" checklist which features 100 outdoor activities to do across the state.

Grand Teton National Park is asking for the public's help in addressing its non-native mountain goat problem. The park announced Thursday, August 6, it is now accepting applications from qualified volunteers for a culling program. Culling is set to begin mid-September and wrap up by the middle of November.

The Wyoming Game and Fish commission approved a Wyoming Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan with no revisions. Some environmental groups, though, are worried that the plan doesn't address elk feedgrounds.