Game & Fish extends some winter closures for big game areas
by Wyoming Game & Fish
April 25, 2011
With winter maintaining its grip on the Jackson area in western Wyoming, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has announced it will extend seasonal closures on the South Park, Horse Creek, Camp Creek and Greys River Wildlife Habitat Management Areas through May 15, 2011.
The decision comes after a similar move was made by the Bridger Teton National Forest to extend their winter travel restrictions to the same date in their Jackson Ranger District. In each case, the decision has primarily been made to afford wintering big game a little extra protection from human disturbance in a year when winter conditions are persisting longer than usual.
"We’re currently still feeding elk at the Greys River and Horse Creek feedgrounds and there are a lot of elk using the South Park habitat area as well," said Jackson Region Wildlife Supervisor, Tim Fuchs. "In a year like this, the elk don’t have many places they can go that are free of snow with something to eat and we don’t want them to end up on nearby private lands."
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is reminding antler hunters there also is a season in place which prohibits the gathering of shed antlers from January 1 through April 30 on public lands west of the Continental Divide. All private and state lands are excluded from the regulation. Game and Fish officials are asking all recreationists to respect the seasonal closures and to use common sense when encountering wildlife after a long, hard winter. "We realize the extensions on the winter closures are an inconvenience for those wanting to get out and recreate," said Fuchs. "But there are still other places one can go and we believe an extra two weeks could make a big difference for wildlife after a winter like we’ve had."
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