JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Wyoming Game and Fish law enforcement officers from the Jackson Region conducted a deer decoy operation on the west side of the Teton Range, near the Wyoming-Idaho border, in an effort to reduce the number of hunting violations occurring there. Game and Fish officials have received several complaints of out of season deer hunting occurring in the area over the years. The buck mule deer decoy was set up in Wyoming, two miles from the state line, on October 10 in deer Hunt Area 149, which closed to Wyoming deer hunting on October 7.
During the eight hours the decoy was set up, a total of seven vehicles passed by with four vehicles stopping and three of them actually shooting at it. A total of five citations were given to the shooters for taking a deer out of season, which carries an $805 fine and for shooting from a public roadway.
“We don’t use decoys a lot,” says Jackson Game Warden Kyle Lash. “But when we have certain problem areas such as this, they have proven to be pretty effective. They’re effective in that they put the wildlife, the game warden and the violator all at the crime scene at the same time. They’re just a good tool to keep hunters playing by the rules.”
