WYOMING — After gathering extensive public comment, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) released its final draft of the Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Management Plan, which will guide the long-term approach to elk management, including the 21 Game and Fish-operated elk feed grounds in western Wyoming.
An earlier draft of the plan was released in June, 2023 for public review, and WGFD stated on its website that, “Many helpful comments were received, which resulted in substantive changes in the final plan.”
WGFD announced that a goal of the draft plan is to feed elk in a way that limits disease transmission while also working to reduce elk’s reliance on supplemental feed.
“Feedgrounds maximize hunting opportunity while limiting winter mortality, elk damage, disease risk to cattle and competition with other wintering wildlife,” WGFD announced in a statement. “However, feedgrounds present significant concerns for disease transmission, habitat management and the long-term health of these elk populations.”
According to the WGFD, the plan also addresses the history of feedgrounds in Wyoming, how management has evolved, social and economic considerations, feedground-related disease management, elk populations and harvest strategies and the future management direction of elk feedgrounds.
The department has established certain guidelines for the plan:
- Adhere to the standard department process for elk herd unit population objective review with public process and Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approval for any proposed changes
- Prioritize hunting opportunities as the primary tool to manage elk populations toward the Commission-approved herd unit objectives
- Minimize elk damage to private property, disease transmission to livestock and negative economic impacts to livestock producers
- Minimize competition with other wintering wildlife species
The elk feedgrounds public collaborative effort has been conducted in consultation with the National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management and impacted landowners.
The draft plan will be presented to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission for approval during the agency’s meetings in Pinedale on March 12 and 13. A summary highlighting the main points of the Plan is also available online.
