[Wyoming] Legislator Proposes All-You-Can-Kill Elk Permits For Ranchers

[bucdoego]

Legislator Proposes All-You-Can-Kill Elk Permits For Ranchers
CowboyStateDaily | October 31, 2023

To alleviate elk over-population, a Wyoming legislator on Tuesday proposed an all-you-can-kill elk permit for $20 each for ranchers from Aug. 1 through April 1.

https://cowboystatedaily.imgix.net/Wyoming-elk-big-herd-10.31.23.jpg

Legislator Proposes All-You-Can-Kill Elk Permits For Ranchers

To alleviate elk over-population, a Wyoming legislator on Tuesday proposed an all-you-can-kill elk permit for $20 each for ranchers from Aug. 1 through April 1.

cowboystatedaily.com

 

[rogerthat]

Any reason these private landowners can’t just let cow hunters on? I’m constantly dumbfounded by the private landowners inability to come up with a solution. Makes me pretty suspicious if it’s actually a problem

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

What became of that program in area 7 where WGFD had an employee that assisted hunters in gaining private access on ranches with elk trouble? Still active, problems?

 

[Farmerj]

Sounds like guides and ranchers a problem for themselves and now Want the government to bail them out?

 

[SaskHunter]

“This is our last chance to help these people in these areas. They haven’t been helped in 30 years,”

Hunters:

 

[perma]

“Last chance”? What in the world does that even mean?

@BuzzH

 

[smw110136]

Any reason these private landowners can’t just let cow hunters on?

I know there's multiple answers to this (property damage, getting a vehicle stuck, lost, leaving gates open, etc.), but if there was a "Master Hunter" type program do you think that would create more comfort with landowners to let hunters on to cow hunt specified private land? Or is it all just about controlling the hunting for the money? Genuinely curious what the more informed residents think. I am on the outside looking in here.

 

[wytex]

Hard to say but I'm betting if I called and asked about hunting cow elk they would say no, even though we work for a rancher and hunt in area 6 now, it is all who you know with this problem.
Several ranchers back in the day, say 30 years ago, wanted trophy bulls to hunt so they made their ranches sanctuaries for elk most of the season.
Now elk still go to those ranches and adjacent ones and guess what. too many elk.
Fellow ranchers need to put pressure on these guys to allow hunting and it would help but the population is so big now not sure numbers can get knocked back without something catastrophic happening.
Hunted 8500 acres there this weekend, saw 1 elk. Wonder where the rest are, lol.

These elk herd up into herds of thousands, hundreds very frequently. Open country and hard to sneak up with that many eyes but it can be done.
Not sure it is the money, more just folks not wanting strangers on their place in some instances. Money, yes for some.

 

[smw110136]

Hard to say but I'm betting if I called and asked about hunting cow elk they would say no, even though we work for a rancher and hunt in area 6 now, it is all who you know with this problem.
Several ranchers back in the day, say 30 years ago, wanted trophy bulls to hunt so they made their ranches sanctuaries for elk most of the season.
Now elk still go to those ranches and adjacent ones and guess what. too many elk.
Fellow ranchers need to put pressure on these guys to allow hunting and it would help but the population is so big now not sure numbers can get knocked back without something catastrophic happening.
Hunted 8500 acres there this weekend, saw 1 elk. Wonder where the rest are, lol.

These elk herd up into herds of thousands, hundreds very frequently. Open country and hard to sneak up with that many eyes but it can be done.
Not sure it is the money, more just folks not wanting strangers on their place in some instances. Money, yes for some.


View attachment 299829

Was hoping you would chime in with some perspective. Thanks

 

[MTLabrador]

“This is our last chance to help these people in these areas. They haven’t been helped in 30 years,”

Hunters:

View attachment 299824

You mean let the peasants hunt elk on their property? Are you insane?

What we need is to get some good, honorable paying clients to help these poor landowners out. Maybe we should get them enrolled in Land Trust or some other leasing system.

 

[thomas89]

As many programs are out there to get hunters on to private lands (for free), I think some of this is self-inflicted at this point.

Hunter Management Areas, Landowner Assistance Programs, Walk In Areas, , social media, word of mouth. There are plenty of hunters willing to help kill these elk, but if landowners don't want to participate to charge their own trespass fees, or lease their lands to outfitters, I don't think it's right to give them preferential treatment and come up with an entire special program for them.

Years ago there was a HMA requiring us to fill out vehicle information, personal information, on top of having to attend an orientation before being allowed to hunt. Hard to imagine a landowner isn't comfortable with that level of vetting....especially if the problem is that dire.

I also proposed years ago in the area mentioned above to allow hunters who drew type 1 / type 4 tags to be allowed to fill type 6 tags without the boundary restrictions on those tags. Allows the same amount of access on the NF, but would potentially increase harvest of elk in the overpopulated herd. Their response was something along the lines of, "elk on the NF are not the elk we're worried about being overpopulated." Even though I've watched some of these massive herds bounce back and forth from NF to private.

 

[SaskHunter]

You mean let the peasants hunt elk on their property? Are you insane?

What we need is to get some good, honorable paying clients to help these poor landowners out. Maybe we should get them enrolled in Land Trust or some other leasing system.

Have you tried not being poor and gross?

Maybe cancel your Disney+ subscription and one day you can get on one of those $2k cow hunts!!!

 

[Djfan]

Been out a lot this year. Haven't seen one elk. Super frustrating.

 

[np307]

Yeah the landowner that cussed us for camping on blm said he was suing the game and fish commission for not letting him kill all the elk he wanted. Said it was costing him half a million in crop loss.

Then he turned around and had his family herding elk away from public back to his private.

 

[wyoboypt]

As many programs are out there to get hunters on to private lands (for free), I think some of this is self-inflicted at this point.

Hunter Management Areas, Landowner Assistance Programs, Walk In Areas, , social media, word of mouth. There are plenty of hunters willing to help kill these elk, but if landowners don't want to participate to charge their own trespass fees, or lease their lands to outfitters, I don't think it's right to give them preferential treatment and come up with an entire special program for them.

Years ago there was a HMA requiring us to fill out vehicle information, personal information, on top of having to attend an orientation before being allowed to hunt. Hard to imagine a landowner isn't comfortable with that level of vetting....especially if the problem is that dire.

I also proposed years ago in the area mentioned above to allow hunters who drew type 1 / type 4 tags to be allowed to fill type 6 tags without the boundary restrictions on those tags. Allows the same amount of access on the NF, but would potentially increase harvest of elk in the overpopulated herd. Their response was something along the lines of, "elk on the NF are not the elk we're worried about being overpopulated." Even though I've watched some of these massive herds bounce back and forth from NF to private.

Much of the national forest, probably most, is vacant of elk during the winter months. Of course they’re down lower on private land. That’s a classic example of typical wy game and fish response. Moronic, and know it all’s.

 

[kiwi hunter]

Hard to say but I'm betting if I called and asked about hunting cow elk they would say no, even though we work for a rancher and hunt in area 6 now, it is all who you know with this problem.
Several ranchers back in the day, say 30 years ago, wanted trophy bulls to hunt so they made their ranches sanctuaries for elk most of the season.
Now elk still go to those ranches and adjacent ones and guess what. too many elk.
Fellow ranchers need to put pressure on these guys to allow hunting and it would help but the population is so big now not sure numbers can get knocked back without something catastrophic happening.
Hunted 8500 acres there this weekend, saw 1 elk. Wonder where the rest are, lol.

These elk herd up into herds of thousands, hundreds very frequently. Open country and hard to sneak up with that many eyes but it can be done.
Not sure it is the money, more just folks not wanting strangers on their place in some instances. Money, yes for some.


View attachment 299829

Easy peasy, open her up to youth hunts, ranches get no say. Problem solved.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

i think this is a terrible idea,,ranchers should enroll in the hma and walk in systems that Wyoming has,both very good public access options

 

[CoHunter1991]

Agreed, you want to push the elk off your property allow walk on access. There are some many programs curranty that offer these land owners solutions. All they want is guided hunt money, has nothing to do with crops.

 

[Treeshark]

“Allemand introduced the idea of issuing unlimited “lethal take” permits to ranchers, which they could either use themselves or hand off to people of their choosing.”

Interesting. I wonder how they would choose?

 

[Farmerj]

Easy, you want an “unlimited kill” tag….


First show you’ve allowed 100 SUCCESSFUL cow hunts to the public for 2 consecutive years first.