◆ Deer, elk, sheep, moose and bear hunts reviewed.

As the numbers come in for the deer hunt of 2019, Wyoming Game and Fish Biologist Gary Fralick is anticipating a successful hunt after a mild winter on the east side of the Wyoming Mountain Range.
The area serves as the winter home to most of the Greys River deer.

“We are anticipating a good hunt this year,” he said in an interview with SVI Media. “We had a high winter survival rate for the Greys River herd.”

Speaking of the Big Piney La Barge area, he said, “There just wasn’t the [heavy] winter over there and this was good for the mule deer herd.”

He added, “Even here in Star Valley the deer came through in good shape.”

The deer hunt started in mid September and concludes Sunday, Oct. 6. “As in past years we want to close that [hunt] before the migratory season begins,” he said. “That way, we can minimize the vulnerability of some of those bucks while they are migrating.”

As the fall hunt is underway the Game and Fish sets up a check station at the Greys River Road Parking Lot in Alpine.

Fralick said it is a pleasure to visit with hunters at the station. “This gives us a good count on the elk herd,” he said. “We are anticipating another typical hunt, with three days in the Lower Greys and then, of course, Oct. 15 through the 31st, in Area 90 where we sustain a higher harvest. We think we’ll have another good hunt in Greys River.”

Fralick said the Antelope hunt has gone well in western Wyoming and he noted “some of the Star Valley folks” stopped in at check station on Hoback Rim. “Those in the Green River found abundant Pronghorn,” he said.

The Game and Fish biologist said interest in Big Horn Sheep is increasing.

“A lot of people around Star Valley that like to look for and hunt Big Horn Sheep if they can draw one of those difficult licenses,” he said.

Fralick suggested that hunters put in for the hunt next year “if they have max points.”
He also said some of the sheep from Jackson population sheep are starting to inhabit the north end of the Wyoming Range.

“Hunters that are chasing sheep are finding them as well,” he said.

With the weather turning cold, Fralick anticipates the Moose hunt to improve. “Moose are always a tough hunt he said of the warmer fall temperatures. “When the leaves fall off the trees and the rut is still on,to some degree and the temperatures cool down, moose will be more active.”

The bear hunt has gone through changes in recent years, Fralick advised, with more interest in fall bear baiting. He said, “We have more and more people are hunting over bait for the fall black bear hunt.”
He encouraged hunters to enjoy the fall hunts in the Star Valley area.

“We want a successful but safe hunt as well,” Fralick concluded, “The foliage is changing and it’s an awesome time to be on the mountain.”