JACKSON, Wyo. — With the 2025 hunt season rapidly approaching, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has released the fall hunting forecast for the state based on data and observations from the field by department biologists and game wardens.

Forecasts were released for the Casper, Cody, Green River, Jackson, Lander, Laramie, Pinedale and Sheridan regions.

WGFD encourages hunters to:

The hunt forecast in the Jackson region applies to pronghorn, mule deer, elk, moose, big horn sheep, mountain goats and bison.

Pronghorn and mule deer

According to the WGFD, the Jackson Region has a small migratory segment of the Sublette pronghorn herd in Hunt Area 85. During the 2022/23 winter, pronghorn wintering in the Pinedale Region experienced extreme winter mortality as a result of unprecedented winter severity as well as an outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis, which is a bacterial disease that can cause pneumonia, arthritis and/or death.

The outbreak prompted an emergency rule to close Hunt Area 85 for the 2023 hunting season. The closure continued for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Regional managers will continue to assess recovery of the Jackson segment of the Sublette herd and could recommend to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to reauthorize hunting seasons in future years as appropriate.

Mule deer are also still recovering from that same harsh winter, including portions of the Wyoming Range herds. There was near average mortality in the Sublette Herd. All data indicates that both herds, which are managed in hunt areas 150 to 152, 155 to 156 and 144 to 146, are on the path to recovery, per WGFD.

Elk

The Jackson region manages four herds — Jackson, Fall Creek, Afton and Targhee — that currently contain more than 16,000 elk. Bull ratios are 30 per 100 cows in the Jackson herd, 18 per 100 for Fall Creek and 22 per 100 in the Afton herd.

“Hunters should expect to see typical elk numbers in most hunt areas,” WGFD wrote in the report.

Permission slips for access to hunt on the National Elk Refuge (NER) must be obtained through the WGFD Public Access web page.

Hunters are encouraged to have their elk tested for CWD by bringing the head to a Game and Fish regional office or hunter check station. Mandatory sampling is required for all elk harvested in Hunt Areas 75 (Grand Teton National Park) and 77 (NER).

Moose

All or parts of the Jackson, Sublette and Targhee moose herds are found in the region, and all are under a special management strategy to provide recreational opportunities while maintaining a harvest of older age-class bulls, says WGFD.

“While moose numbers continue to remain below desired levels, hunters lucky enough to draw a license should experience high success and have a good chance of harvesting a bull,” WGFD said.

Moose hunters are encouraged to submit the two front incisors (lower teeth) from their harvested moose for age data collection. Successful hunters are also encouraged to bring their moose head to the Jackson Game and Fish regional office for sampling to help with ongoing disease surveillance such as CWD, carotid artery worms, etc. 

Bighorn sheep and mountain goats

Bighorn sheep are at their management objective, and populations need to be maintained. The Type 6 ewe season structure is an important management tool, designed to maintain population numbers in an effort to prevent a pneumonia outbreak.

“Ewe hunters should plan for remote, backcountry hunting, with possible success above 9,000 feet elevation or more,” WGFD wrote.

The Jackson (Hunt Area 7) and Targhee (Hunt Area 6) bighorn sheep herds are found in the region. All sheep hunters — including ewe hunters — are reminded that they are required to register their sheep at a Game and Fish office within 15 days of harvest. 

In response to a decline in the number of goats counted during the 2022 and 2024 mid-summer trend counts, the quota for Hunt Area 2 mountain goat licenses were reduced for the third consecutive season.  

Bison

According to Game and Fish, the Jackson bison herd is at the annual trend count objective, with an increasing population trend.

The fall hunt forecast states that “some bull hunting occurs on national forest lands, but bison availability there is intermittent and low, and access can be challenging. For this reason, license holders are encouraged to capitalize on any harvest opportunity that is available as opposed to selecting for bulls only.”

Bison hunters are reminded that they must obtain a harvest reporting card, tooth envelope and blood collection tube at the Jackson Game and Fish office prior to their hunt.