The first Wyoming grizzly bear hunt in over four decades will target 24 animals if commissioners who oversee the the state's wildlife sign off on a proposal released Friday.
A topic of fierce controversy, the hunt is being devised in a way that state officials hope limits the chance of the bold large carnivore being shot in public view, or killed adjacent to Grand Teton National Park. A no-hunting zone will abut the east boundary of the park, and throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem it will be illegal to kill a grizzly within a half-mile of a named highway, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Chief Warden Brian Nesvik said.
“The intention is to address public concern that was focused on there being hunting and wildlife viewing going on at the same time,” Nesvik said.
Half of the overall statewide quota — 10 male bears and two females — is being distributed among six hunt zones that fall within a 19,279-square-mile “demographic monitoring area” in the Yellowstone region’s core. Another 10 boars and two sows will be targeted outside this area, in outskirts reaches of the ecosystem where the federal government is not imposing limits on hunting.
The rules on hunting outlined in the draft regulations greatly differ inside and outside of the monitoring area, which encompasses Jackson Hole.
To ensure no more than two female bears are killed, a maximum of two hunters at a time will be allowed afield within the monitoring area.
“People will put in for a license, but we will only take the top two on the list,” Nesvik said. “They would essentially be able to choose any of those six hunt areas up until the time either the female mortality limit is reached, or the sub-quota for that particular area is reached.”
Hunters pursuing grizzlies in the monitoring area also must carry a Game and Fish-issued satellite device that sends text messages. When a bear is killed, they’ll be required to report its death and the sex immediately.
“Let’s just say that the first two hunters harvest male bears,” Nesvik said. “When they’re done then we’ll send the next two guys or gals out the door. And we’ll keep doing that until either the season ends, the female mortality limit is reached or the total mortality of females and males is reached.”
Game and Fish will request, but not require, that hunters focus their attention on male bears, which can be tricky to distinguish from females. Those who draw licenses will be required to receive an in-person education on how to best discern between the sexes.
Outside of the monitoring area, the dozen hunters who draw a license will not be subject to the same two-at-a-time system. Carrying the state-issued texting device will also not be required outside the monitoring area.
“Outside the DMA,” Nesvik said, “we’ll issue licenses like we would an elk area.”
The legal season for grizzly bears will be mid-September through mid-November, and the state has for now ruled out a springtime hunt, which exists for black bears.
Hunting grizzly bears is possible because in 2017 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relinquished management of the formerly “threatened” species, which has met recovery goals in the three-state Yellowstone region.
Montana managers have already signaled they will not purse a hunt in 2018. Idaho officials have not yet announced their intentions.
A version of this article with more details will appear in the weekend edition of the Jackson Hole Daily.
Contact Mike Koshmrl at 732-7067, env
jhnewsandguide.com or @JHNGenviro.
