CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission met in Casper on April 21 and 22 to review regulations and seasonal date changes for hunt areas in the state. The 2025 hunting season regulation changes will not go into effect until approved by Governor Mark Gordon, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD).
The WGFD wrote via press release that the Commission’s proposed changes will have an affect on archery season as well as the regular season. These changes follow an almost year-round process of field managers collecting stakeholder input, surveying wildlife populations, holding public meetings and accepting written comments. The Commission also listened to updates from WGFD personnel, including the State Wildlife Action Plan.
The proposed regulation changes include seasonal dates, harvest quotas, limitations and boundary cutoffs for all of the hunt areas in the state. The changes specifically apply to antelope, big horn sheep, bison, mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, moose and mountain goat hunting seasons.
WGFD Public Information and Education Specialist Raegin Akhtar shared with Buckrail the 2025 dates and quotas for hunting mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep in hunt areas surrounding Jackson Hole. According to Akhtar, there won’t be an increase to nonresident quotas for hunting mule deer in Region H. The quota will revert to the 2024 nonresident region quota of 350.
Akhtar said that in hunt Areas 84 and 85 there are no proposed date changes for hunting elk during the general season. The elk season is still slated to end on October 31. In Hunt Area 84, Type 1, the elk quota increased from 50 in 2024 to 100 for the 2025 season. In Hunt Area 84, Type 6, the elk quota increased from 350 in 2024 to 400 for the 2025 season. There weren’t any quota changes for elk in hunt Area 85.
In Hunt Area 7, Type 6, the archery dates for hunting bighorn sheep were adjusted to October 15 through November 15. There are no changes to the bighorn sheep quota of 50.
The regulations adopted by the commission can be found by species on the WGFD’s regulations webpage.
The WGFD encourages hunters who have already applied to check hunt areas to see if any of the season-setting changes affected their licenses. All hunters are advised to consult the final Commission-approved regulations for complete details. Residents have until June 2, to modify or withdraw their licenses, and nonresidents have until May 8.
During the April meetings, the Commission also voted to approve WGFD’s proposed list of species with greatest conservation need for the 2027 State Wildlife Action Plan. A full recording of the April Commission meeting and all past meetings are available online.
