JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) will begin to implement seasonal annual closures of Wildlife Habitat Management Areas (WHMA) in the Jackson, Alpine and Pinedale regions on Dec. 1.
The closures aim to protect wildlife on their winter range. According to a release sent Monday, WGFD maintains over 500,000 acres of land through WHMAs across the state. The areas include access to over 200 miles of streams, 21,000 lake surface acres and over 148 miles of roads.
“Seasonal closures are essential for minimizing stress-causing disturbances to wintering deer, elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife,” said WGFD Deputy Chief of Services Ray Bredehoft. “These closures also reduce the human and recreational impacts to forage, which supports wildlife on their winter ranges.”
All WHMAs are closed to human presence seasonally starting Dec. 1, with the exception of South Park, which is open to foot traffic only for the month of December.
| Greys River | Alpine | Closed Dec. 1 through April 30 |
| Camp Creek | Jackson | Closed Dec. 1 through May 1 |
| Horse Creek | Jackson | Closed Dec. 1 through May 1 |
| South Park | Jackson | Closed Dec. 1 through May 1 *Signed area open to foot traffic during month of December. |
| Half Moon | Pinedale | Closed Dec. 1 through April 30 |
| Soda Lake | Pinedale | Closed Dec. 1 through April 30 |
| Fall Creek | Pinedale | Closed Dec. 1 through April 30 |
| Luke Lynch | Pinedale | Closed Nov. 1 through April 30 *Open to foot traffic during month of November. |
| Black Butte | Pinedale | Closed Dec. 1 through April 30 |
