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September 11, 2002
Antler-hunting season plan will be reviewed
Associated Press
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A plan to impose an antler-hunting season in parts of Wyoming has been drafted for public review by the state Game and Fish Commission.
After three years of discussion and study, the commission has decided to schedule public meetings on proposed draft regulations that would close some areas of western and southern Wyoming to antler hunting primarily from January to May.
Terry Cleveland, assistant chief of the Game and Fish Department's Wildlife Division, told commissioners Monday that the regulations are designed to protect big game animals from human disturbance on crucial big game winter and spring ranges when animals are most vulnerable to physiological stress and displacement to less productive habitat.
Antlers and horns are routinely gathered each year by collectors, who sell them as decorative items or use them to make furniture. Antlers are also collected to make aphrodisiacs in some Asian countries.
"We're comfortable taking this first step and testing the waters in these areas," Cleveland said.
Cleveland said antler hunters can push big game animals off winter range, when it is critical for animals to conserve energy for survival, sometimes causing them to starve.
He said the antler season would affect only a few areas in the state and would follow the same boundaries as deer hunting areas.
Under the draft regulations, there will be open seasons for the hunting of antlers that have been naturally shed year round, except in the designated deer hunt areas in western and south-central Wyoming.
Under the draft rules, antler hunting would be prohibited from Jan. 1 until May 1 in deer hunt areas 78, 80, 81, 134, 135, 168, 141, 142, 143 and 161. It would also be prohibited from Jan. 1 until April 1 in areas 130, 138, 139 and 140.
The areas are located mostly on public rangelands in Carbon County in southern Wyoming and in Sweetwater, Sublette, Uinta and Lincoln counties in southwest Wyoming.
Cleveland said the agency plans to hold public meetings in November, with an eye toward presenting a final draft for the commission to consider when they meet in December.
"We envision this, if adopted, as something that can be periodically reviewed ... over time areas may be added as the animals are dispersed from these areas to areas that are open," he said.
Antler-hunting season plan will be reviewed
Associated Press
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A plan to impose an antler-hunting season in parts of Wyoming has been drafted for public review by the state Game and Fish Commission.
After three years of discussion and study, the commission has decided to schedule public meetings on proposed draft regulations that would close some areas of western and southern Wyoming to antler hunting primarily from January to May.
Terry Cleveland, assistant chief of the Game and Fish Department's Wildlife Division, told commissioners Monday that the regulations are designed to protect big game animals from human disturbance on crucial big game winter and spring ranges when animals are most vulnerable to physiological stress and displacement to less productive habitat.
Antlers and horns are routinely gathered each year by collectors, who sell them as decorative items or use them to make furniture. Antlers are also collected to make aphrodisiacs in some Asian countries.
"We're comfortable taking this first step and testing the waters in these areas," Cleveland said.
Cleveland said antler hunters can push big game animals off winter range, when it is critical for animals to conserve energy for survival, sometimes causing them to starve.
He said the antler season would affect only a few areas in the state and would follow the same boundaries as deer hunting areas.
Under the draft regulations, there will be open seasons for the hunting of antlers that have been naturally shed year round, except in the designated deer hunt areas in western and south-central Wyoming.
Under the draft rules, antler hunting would be prohibited from Jan. 1 until May 1 in deer hunt areas 78, 80, 81, 134, 135, 168, 141, 142, 143 and 161. It would also be prohibited from Jan. 1 until April 1 in areas 130, 138, 139 and 140.
The areas are located mostly on public rangelands in Carbon County in southern Wyoming and in Sweetwater, Sublette, Uinta and Lincoln counties in southwest Wyoming.
Cleveland said the agency plans to hold public meetings in November, with an eye toward presenting a final draft for the commission to consider when they meet in December.
"We envision this, if adopted, as something that can be periodically reviewed ... over time areas may be added as the animals are dispersed from these areas to areas that are open," he said.
