Input sought on mule deer management

Interested in the future of mule deer management?

Wyoming Game & Fish is hosting “community conversations” across the state to address widespread public concern about populations of the species.

The goal is to gather input and perspectives in an informal setting that will ultimately help guide the departments next steps in managing mule deer.

Game & Fish also collects input from outreach efforts such as season-setting meetings in the spring and hunter field checks, as well as the 2023 Mule Deer Hunter Attitude Survey.

The conversations are in addition to these, with the department hoping to connect with people who are less frequently reached.

The Sundance meeting for the Casper region will be held on December 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the basement of the courthouse.

For the Sheridan region, meetings will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at Rocky Mountain Discount Sports and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Gillette on December 8.

Mule deer populations have decreased sharply since a peak of 578,000 in 1991. By last year, the number of deer was believed to have declined to around 216,000.

This reflects a trend across western North America, according to Game & Fish, which is attributed to habitat loss or degradation and changing weather patterns.

Game & Fish and its partners attempt to address this issue through large-scale habitat projects, minimizing impacts to habitat, highway crossing projects, research and conservative hunting seasons.

The department believes it is critical that these conservation efforts continue and possibly expand, and wants to understand public sentiment towards managing hunting opportunities as part of its decision making.