State moose numbers fall short of target
Mule deer count is also below goals, but antelope are going strong, Game and Fish survey shows.
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Jackson Hole, Wyo.
May 27, 2009
Moose numbers statewide are down from Wyoming Game and Fish population objectives, an annual report for the agency shows.
The annual 2009 Big Game Hunting Season Recommendation Summary compiled this spring shows the moose census last winter found the population at 44 percent of objective.
Game and Fish counted only six of 10 herds in its annual census, estimating 7,692 moose, far shy of the goal of 13,820.
The uncounted herds are supposed to comprise about 10 percent of the population. That means numbers are still likely low, even though not all herds were counted.
The same study shows pronghorn numbers strong across Wyoming and mule deer populations still depressed. The News&Guide two weeks ago reported the study’s tally of elk numbers.
In the Jackson Hole area, the Game and Fish Commission responded to the low moose numbers by reducing the hunting licenses to be issued in the coming season.
A total of 45 licenses are to be issued for the area, 25 fewer than last year.
Statewide, Game and Fish expect hunters to kill 616 moose this year, down from a recent high of 1,251 in 2001. The goal is to increase the number of animals statewide to 7,891 by next year.
Across Wyoming the agency counted 41 of 44 antelope herds, estimating 526,200 antelope, 14 percent more than the goal of 461,950. Game and Fish anticipates licensing 60,670 antelope hunters this year, up from 56,459 last year.
Hunters should kill 57,239 antelope in 2009, achieving a success rate of 94.3 percent, according to agency goals. In 2008 hunters killed 53,922 pronghorn for a 95.5 percent success rate.
Resident hunters have until June 1 to apply for antelope licenses, almost all of which are limited-quota licenses that must be drawn by lottery. The same date is the deadline for other resident limited-quota applications.
The closest antelope hunting to Jackson will be in the Gros Ventre River drainage where licenses for 15 antelope will be available.
Mule deer are 18 percent below the state’s objective of 564,650, according to the report. Thirty-five of 39 herds were counted for the estimate.
In the Wyoming Range Herd, which utilizes southern Jackson Hole, the agency estimates 29,752 animals, while the objective is 32,303. The Sublette Herd, another that utilizes Jackson Hole, is estimated at 28,700 animals, also below the goal of 29,989.
Biologists counted eight of 15 bighorn sheep herds and estimate 5,322 animals. The goal for the 15 herds is 7,885.
For the Targhee Herd, Game and Fish will issue two resident ram licenses. Last year, one of the two was a nonresident license.
Eight sheep are targeted in the Jackson herd, whose home is the Gros Ventre Range, the same number as last year. Only five were killed in 2009, and it took an average of 21.6 days to make a kill.
Bison regulations in Jackson Hole will be changed in 2009 so that hunters drawing a license for a female bison will receive a cow/calf tag. Last year, regulations stipulated only female bison be shot under that license, and several young males were taken inadvertently.
Most other big game licenses for the female of a species allow the hunter to take a cow or calf. A calf is defined as an animal younger than a year old.
Hunters killed 258 bison from the Jackson Herd last year. The goal this year is 256 animals.
