Wyoming
Wyoming Has Plenty Of Elk, But Hunters Aren’t Finding Them This Year
Wyoming has no shortage of elk, and many of the state’s herds are as big as they’ve ever been, but finding them has been supremely challenging for hunters this year.
Massive wildfires that burned more than 850,000 acres struck prime elk habitat in some parts of the state, such as in the Bighorn Mountains above Dayton.
Elk were pushed down out of the mountains there and into mostly privately owned lowlands much earlier than usual, which ruined hunting seasons in that region.
And hunting was less than ideal in much of the rest of the state as well.
“It seems like across the board, everybody had a little harder time hunting elk this year,” Cade Cole, and avid backcountry elk hunter and hunting guide from the Dubois area, told Cowboy State Daily.
There’s still some opportunity for elk hunters who haven’t yet filled their freezers, as some late-season hunts run through the end of December.
Fires Push Hunters Around
Even in areas where the elk herds weren’t directly hit by the fires, there was still a ripple effect. Hunters who had their chances ruined in the burn areas piled into areas in the other parts of Wyoming, upping the competition there.
“The fire that was going on west of Dubois, that really took a lot of the land that people were hunting away,” said Cole, who runs 3C Outfitting. “So there was a lot of hunters hunting in areas where they don’t normally go.
“I think there was increased hunter competition and a lot of hunter displacement, because they weren’t able to hunt where they normally hunt.”
Pat Ginder, owner of At Ease Hunting, offers guided hunts across central Wyoming, from Casper to Rawlins.
He told Cowboy State Daily that he didn’t see an uptick in elk hunters in that region.
That’s likely because the elk hunt areas his company guides in are limited quota. That means hunters must apply ahead of time to draw elk tags that are limited in number and specific to those areas.
He did, however, see a noticeable jump in the number of deer hunters this fall. Many of the deer hunt areas in that region are for general tags, which may be bought over the counter.
He thinks many of the newcomers out after deer might have been displaced from their usual hunting spots by the fires.
Hot Weather Didn’t Help Either
On top of the fires, it was also an usually hot, dry fall, Cole said. That could have thrown off the timing of the elk rut, or mating season.
Archery hunters in particular count on using calls to lure in bull elk during the rut.
Elk are “always on the move” anyway, and the hot, dry conditions could have changed the patterns of their movement, he said.
That could explain why some hunters weren’t seeing elk in areas where they had consistently found herds in the past, Cole said.
Scouting Pays Off
Ginder said he had a good year in central Wyoming, with numerous clients happy with filling elk tags. He credits that to thorough scouting of his hunt areas during the summer, well before the season opened.
Elk move in patterns, but those patterns can change because of a variety of factors, including weather, the availability of forage and water, and pressure from hunters, he said.
Herds also are led by wise, older cow elk.
“The lead cow is always going to take her herd where she feels it is safe,” he said.
Elk patterns changed this year because of a confluence of factors, Ginder said. There was the devastating winter of 2022-2023, during which many big game animals froze or starved to death.
That was followed by the relatively mild winter of 2023-2024, but then a drought came on the heels of that, Ginder said.
Factoring all of that in, scouting this summer wasn’t so much about spotting elk as it was a matter of gauging the quality of the habitat, he said.
“It’s not just electronic (checking online maps). It’s about getting out there and finding where there’s still water, where there’s still feed, and the places off the beaten path where there will be fewer people,” he said.
Competition Won’t Ease Up
Across much of Wyoming, and particularly in the eastern part of the state, elk herds continue to thrive. Some herd units remain well above population objectives set by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
But regardless of what Mother Nature does in terms of fires and weather, the competition among hunters will likely keep increasing too, Cole said.
“It seems almost like elk hunting has become a popular fad. I think there’s a lot of non-residents coming in, and a lot of residents who might not have been interested in it before, but have taken a greater interest in it,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.
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The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.
The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”
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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.
Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.
Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.
Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.
The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.
Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.
A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.
Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.
Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.
The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.
Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.
2A Boys:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm
(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!
Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm
Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place
Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
2A Girls:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am
(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am
(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place
Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
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