ELK SPECIAL MANAGEMENT PERMIT INFORMATION

Elk hunters! Don’t forget to purchase your Elk Special Management Permit if you plan on hunting in elk areas designated as Elk Special Management Areas. Beginning February 1, 2003 one Elk Special Management Permit shall be required for any person who hunts elk hunt areas 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86,87,88,89,90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 98. These elk hunt areas are associated with Wyoming’s 23 elk feedgrounds. The elk feedgrounds are on private, federal, and state land in the Jackson-Pinedale region. Approximately 30,000 elk live in the Jackson-Pinedale region now; about 22,000 of them use feedgrounds during the winter. In 2000, the bill for running the feedgrounds was $1.2 million, plus several hundred thousand dollars more for associated expenses. Elk feedgrounds are a way to reduce the damage problems while maintaining the number of elk the public prefers. Elk hunters benefiting from the higher numbers of elk, due to the elk feedground program, are helping to defray the costs of the program through the purchase of the elk management permit.

The permit is designed after the pheasant management permit and is stamp-sized so it could be placed on the back of a license. The fee for these permits is $10.00 and may be obtained from WGFD offices and license selling agents throughout the state. Elk hunters still have the option not to hunt in these areas, thus avoiding the additional fee.