Laramie GF meeting

BuzzH

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Joined
Jan 9, 2001
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16,990
Location
Laramie, WY
I went to the Wyoming GF Laramie region season setting meeting last night.

There really wasn't a whole lot of changes with the regulations.

The biggest regulation change was the aircraft/drone regulation. The new regulation will be no flying with the intent of using an aircraft/drone to locate, spot, or aid in the taking of any game animal from 8/1- Jan. 31 of the following calendar year. As a side note, the Wyoming Sportsmen's Alliance is backing this bill and sent a letter of support from the 8 local Sportsmen's groups that make up the Alliance. WYBHA was the major push behind this effort, and there has been great support for the regulation change statewide.

The biggest change to mule deer will be that Statewide, archery hunters will be required to follow the same regulations as rifle hunters (only being able to shoot a 3 point or larger buck where required and no antlerless deer, etc.). In the past, archery hunters could take any deer in a lot of the general areas.

Elk changes were minimal, a few earlier closures for antlerless harvest in area 6 being the most significant change.

Pronghorn quotas were bumped up in a few areas, specifically area 38 will see some increased quotas. Most areas in the Laramie areas are going to see no changes in quotas from last year though.

I talked with both local bio's and they commented that even though they have seen great recruitment the last couple years to both deer and pronghorn, they both said that 2 years of good recruitment does not recover a herd. I agree and supported their idea to gradually increase quotas over time. They are really putting a lot of effort into avoiding the peaks and valleys of quotas in the past by trying to find that sweet spot with level harvest and populations.

The biologists in this region earn their pay and have put a lot of effort into proper management. They also have great support from the Department as well as the public. The results of the collaboration with landowners, sportsmen, and GF is the reason that Wyoming is able to provide the awesome opportunities we all enjoy.
 
Appreciate the update. I am smiling now re pronghorn quota. C'mon leftover pronghorn buck tag!! I know where I want to be in early October and the only thing that can cure what I got is more cowbell and a tag.
 
Thanks for the update! I'll buy you a beer when I'm in WY this Sept with my pronghorn tags for your efforts. 'Course we'll drink that at a dinner that you make which we eat in your house... ;) :D
 
Pointer,

You know you're always welcome here...looking forward to it.

Rumor has it there may be halibut, rock fish, ling cod, and salmon invited to dinner as well...
 
Pointer,

You know you're always welcome here...looking forward to it.

Rumor has it there may be halibut, rock fish, ling cod, and salmon invited to dinner as well...
NICE!! Last fish fry I attended at your house was a great time and something my dad talked about a lot afterwards.
 
One note of interest related to the Aircraft/drone ban; WYOGA(outfitters) have decided to remain neutral on this regulation. While this doesn't surprise many, including myself, I would like to know who those outfitters are that support this ethical attempt at increasing fair chase so I could recommend them when asked.

Those that didn't support, I couldn't care less about them...

Overall a black eye for WYOGA, IMO.
 
Glad to hear about the drone/aircraft ban, wish it was year around or started July 1st instead of August 1st.
 
One note of interest related to the Aircraft/drone ban; WYOGA(outfitters) have decided to remain neutral on this regulation. While this doesn't surprise many, including myself, I would like to know who those outfitters are that support this ethical attempt at increasing fair chase so I could recommend them when asked.

Those that didn't support, I couldn't care less about them...

Overall a black eye for WYOGA, IMO.

I agree. Really this regulation change should be a no-brainer from a fair chase, ethical, hunting perspective. It would be nice to see WOGA get on board with supporting fair chase hunting.

It does speak volumes about WOGA when all 8 of the Alliance groups are backing this regulation and they choose to remain neutral. Its just WOGA trying to keep the peace with those few outfitters that use aircraft for scouting.
 
Glad to hear about the drone/aircraft ban, wish it was year around or started July 1st instead of August 1st.

I agree with you. Trust me when I say that this regulation was nearly a 3 year project up to now.

I think if this passes, and we get something on the books now, we can push to improve it later.

Just an FYI, the reason for the 8/1-January 31 regulation was to justify the flying ban as a hunting regulation. Since the earliest hunts are 8/15, we compromised with the GF to those dates.

WYBHA was asking for a year long ban. We darn near lost the 8/1-1/31 deal about a month ago to another proposal that would have actually allowed scouting 10 days prior to any hunt...

If we can get this approved by the commission, it will largely address our concerns.

If you care to comment, you have until March 25 to do so.

Here is the Chapter 2 specific comment information:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IE...Zej6wFi4jNPQFC90/viewform?edit_requested=true
 
Thanks Buzz. Good work to WY BHA and the other groups that are supporting the drone ban. I agree that it would be even better if it were extended.
 

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