JACKSON, Wyo. — Winter wildlife closures in Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) begin Friday, Dec. 1.
Areas of crucial wildlife winter range that close to all human presence include Josie’s Ridge, the KC trail, Wilson Canyon, the slopes above the Putt-Putt trail, the slopes north of the Game Creek trail and portions of the Gros Ventre drainage. Exceptions include Lower Spread Creek and Coal Mine Draw, west of the Hatchet Road on the Jackson and Blackrock Ranger Districts. Closures for those areas will begin Dec. 15.
“Some high-use recreation trails go through or directly along the edge of these closure areas,” BTNF says. “It is important to stay on the trails and keep pets leashed to minimize any impacts to our native wildlife.”
Dogs are required to be on a leash, on the first sections of the Game Creek and Putt-putt trails adjacent to the designated wildlife winter range.
Designated winter closure areas are essential to the survival of wildlife, says BTNF. When people or their animals enter closed winter ranges, wildlife is forced to move to new locations. This retreat requires animals, such as deer, elk and moose, to use energy they cannot spare. This leads to a weakened condition, which can have a direct effect on the animals’ ability to fend off disease or predators and can lead to reproduction problems.
Winter wildlife closures also apply to pathway systems in the Jackson Hole Valley. Seasonal pathway closures began Nov. 1.
Winter travel maps and MVUMs are available at district offices or online for your mobile device for Android and Apple operating systems. The free app is available for download through Avenza System Inc. at this link. This application along with the PDF maps are available on the BTNF website under the “Maps and Publications” tab. View additional maps here and learn more about closure areas from each of the responsible agencies.
