GUERNSEY – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) met with Platte County landowners in Guernsey last Monday, June 2, regarding the number of available rawhide elk in the region to determine if the elk population was at desired levels or if herd populations needed to be balanced better. This meeting was part of the department’s plan to make adjustments to elk herd policies as required by recent state legislation and a continued effort to consider adjusting season structures, license availability to manage the elk population while continuing to provide opportunities to address damage issues.

Landowner, hunter feedback
Landowners say the elk herd numbers are too low and spotty for most of the county and would like to see improvements. Some sought clarity on how to use the newer landowner hunting tags for elk; others were concerned about how the new changes would affect the landowner and hunter relationship.
The room was filled with local landowners and hunters during the meeting, of which many said, the overarching theme is there are not enough elk which would necessitate a heavy-handed management plan through licenses and harvesting from WGFD.
However, some hunters and landowners in the room said they routinely see elk and have neighbors who consistently deal with property damages from the herds and felt the herd numbers were somewhat on the lower end, but not low enough to make WGFD adjustments.
One unnamed landowner, who did not give his name and left before the end of the meeting, said his issue is the landowners who complain about damage but refuse to hunt the elk on their property and asked the WGFD wildlife specialists how they anticipate to manage this concern.
WGFD acknowledged there are a number of damage complaints and requests from the same areas, but did not have a publicly available number they felt comfortable sharing about those costs during the meeting. The WGFD representatives did say at the meeting that while they would be happy to collect that data and release it to the public at a future time, they did not feel comfortable having an unverified estimate floating around the public sphere.
Transition to population-based management
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing a revision of the management objective for elk herd unit in area 3, which spans most of Platte County, parts of northern Laramie County and some western areas in Goshen County. The management revision aims to change the objective from landowner and hunter satisfaction surveys to a postseason population objective.
This shift in goals and priorities for WGFD would mean, instead of relying on landowners and hunters to help management herd availability on private lands, it would move to a postseason population control in which WGFD would survey the number of sightable elk in the area via flyovers as they already do with other huntable wildlife in the state.
Historically, elk herd management across the state – including in Platte County – has been based on landowner and hunter satisfaction, aiming for a 60% hunter satisfaction and 50% landowner satisfaction.
According to WGFD project managers at the meeting, this shift is due to ongoing legislative changes out of Cheyenne. The new objective change, which will need to be passed at the state commission meeting later this summer, would for the first time make WGFD responsible for counting sightable elk in the area after the new, extended elk hunting season, and report that to the state instead of using feedback from landowners and hunters.
WGFD wildlife biologist and project manager Keaton Weber told landowners this transition aims to standardize elk management across all herds in the state and to align with how WGFD already manages other huntable wildlife in the state. Although the new approach involves estimating the elk population via flyovers, Weber told landowners it can be challenging due to the predominantly private land in this region.
“The reason why we’re moving away from hunter satisfaction-based objectives is we’re pretty much standardizing (the industry),” Webster told the hunters. “We are standardizing that for all elk herds in the state and we’re getting rid of the landowner-based objectives and going to a population-estimate model.”
Weber also said, “We’ve never really estimated this population because it’s predominantly private land and very difficult to survey. It’s very labor flight-power intensive, so it’s really expensive – so getting rid of these objectives from landowner, hunter satisfaction objectives to population objectives is a significant change for us at (Wyoming) Game and Fish.”

Discussion on elk numbers, management
To prepare for the meeting with landowners and to begin implementing the new policy shift, Weber told hunters and landowners the department completed a 45-hour helicopter survey flight of the area during the spring, when elk are most active, and estimated a low-end of roughly 800 elk and possibly a high of 1,200 elk in the area.
Weber provided a detailed map of surveyed areas, which includes where WGFD observed portions of the eastern Wyoming elk herd.
“So, our question to you folks is: are elk herds at desired levels? For you guys, are they above desired levels? Are they below?” Weber asked the group. “On a grand scheme of things, I would say the overarching theme we’re hearing is we have too many elk in this herd unit, and we still need to keep heavy handed management as far as license goes and harvest goes.”
However, contrary to preliminary information and data WGFD collected, the group of landowners and hunters at the meeting stated the opposite.
Many local landowners and hunters said they haven’t seen elk across their property for many years, ranging from two to five years and are not satisfied with the current herd populations.
According to the WGFD map, the elk population seems to consist of four or five herds, most of which appear to be staying close to areas hunters don’t or cannot access. The region in which the elk were surveyed predominately includes areas east of Interstate-25, south of US-18, west of US-85 and north of Interstate-80. According to the map, the elk populations appear to be more concentrated in areas outside of Chugwater and north of Guernsey.
Challenges with access, depredation
Some challenges and concerns with the shift centered around the effectiveness of the population-based management system, which some hunters and landowners felt could lead to more elk being killed. Another concern centered around the seemingly disproportionate levels of bucks vs. does in the local populations, noting the doe population is much higher. Some hunters asked if WGFD could promote more frequent hunting of the does to help the population. Most landowners acknowledged that both local and non-local hunters who come into the area prefer to seek the more sought after, elder bucks than the younger bucks or does, which is causing an excessive doe population.
Several of the landowners explained their frustration with other landowners who “complain about elk damage [who] are the same ones who refuse to allow hunters on their property.” The newer class of landowner elk tags allow for landowners to issue tags to hunters to help cull the elk population in that area, but many of those residents do not use the tags or do not allow hunters to purchase tags for areas on their property.
A number of hunters and landowners in the room suggested WGFD remove the depredation ability for landowners to seek monetary repairs for damages caused by the elk herd as a means to help facilitate better access for non-local hunters. At this time, WGFD said that was not an option and not something the department is looking into.
“We understand we still have damage issues throughout the herd unit,” Weber explained. “It’s predominantly private land and harvest is dictated off that access. So we want the season structure to be there for folks that need, want it – so still a long, lengthy general season with unlimited tags.”
Still, some local landowner hunters wondered if the increase in season and new landowner tag system reflected a difference in harvest numbers, to which Weber said they did not see a noticeable change. Some of the hunters felt it was due to incomplete knowledge of how the newer landowner elk tags worked. Most were under the impression the tags were available to purchase and use one at a time, and did not understand they could purchase multiple tags for the season at once for use on their own land.
Access, hunting opportunities, public input and objective setting
Regardless of the opinions of landowners and hunters regarding elk herd management in the area, most at the meeting agreed landowners must allow enough access to address damage issues, but some believe the specifics are tied to a monetary value. Meaning, some hunters may believe the monetary value to fix damages is appealing to some landowners who chose not to hunt the elk to prevent damages on their property. WGFD is required by law to pay out damages to landowners who file an application for depredation and that’s not something WGFD has any control or budgeting over.
Another access concern for those at the meeting was the elk populations in, near and around the Wyoming National Guard range in Guernsey, as it relates to the management of that herd on private and public lands.
There are some public access lands in the area, which allows hunters with tags the ability to utilize that area for hunting; however, there are also privately owned lands that prevent hunters from accessing elk in the area. A number of hunters in the room were under the impression those lands were not accessible for them. A Camp Guernsey representative from the area at the meeting explained the boundaries for private and public access lands near the National Guard camp.
The consistent concern for Platte County landowners and hunters remains the limited access to surrounding areas due to private lands and the minimal access to public lands in the jurisdiction. Weber told hunters this is a concern the department will continue to discuss with landowners and hunters as it progresses forward. 
Future management, final thoughts
and next steps
Some concluding thoughts a number of landowners had at the meeting was whether or not WGFD would be looking at making boundary adjustments and noted a section of the area is not within the current boundaries because former and current landowners continue to reject being included in area 3. At this time, WGFD said they did not have any current or future plans to address boundary concerns, as this current meeting was specifically for landowners in the area, which is one of seven WGFD manages across the state.
The department told landowners and hunters it anticipates continued discussion between them and the department as an on-going effort to address other and future concerns. Currently, WGFD is asking local landowners and hunters to think about picking a long-term objective that will be sustainable and supported by them, as well as the state, to discuss at future meetings. This conversation included the need for clear communication, documentation, and public comments – including at the state commission meeting – as well as the continued importance of public engagement.
Weber told the group that WGFD could not continue to address concerns or issues unless residents let them know there is a concern, encouraging continued communication from landowners and hunters.
From the discussion, WGFD took three key-points from the local landowners:
First, it appears elk numbers are too low and infrequent, and the department is being asked to make no changes to the current season or tags;
Second, local hunters would like to keep the same general tag system, but address some of the quota calculations in the future;
Lastly, they would like to somehow see better access to both private and public lands.
The next Wyoming Game and Fish commission meeting is scheduled for July 15 and 16 in Evanston, and commissioners are expected to make a final rule on the elk herd management. Residents interested in either speaking or providing public input are asked to reach out to Wyoming Game and Fish via their website (www.wgfd.wyo.gov) and fill out an online submission form.