Get Outside! (with Wyoming Game and Fish‪)‬ Wyoming Game and Fish Department

2024 Hunt Seasons were set by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in April, and hunters have reason to be optimistic about success in the field this fall. 

Wyoming Game and Fish Deputy Wildlife Chief Doug Brimeyer joins us to provide a brief outlook on what hunt seasons will look like for hunters this fall.

The summer boating season is soon to kick off, and in some places, watercraft users have already started thanks to the mild winter Wyoming is having. As boaters and other watercraft users prepare for warmer waters, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Aquatic Invasive Species program is already in operation. Many watercraft check stations opened, as they usually do, on March 1. What do watercraft users need to know heading into another boating season, and what happens if an aquatic invasive species like a zebra or quagga mussel is found on your watercraft? Josh
Leonard is the Statewide Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and joins us on today's podcast.

Since the 1930’s disease outbreaks have caused losses up to 50-90 percent of the Jackson Hole Bighorn Sheep herd. What can be done about it? One effort to address the issue is to
reduce the herd size by offering more ewe licenses for hunters. 

Today on “Get Outside”  we’ll talk with two biologists—Aly Courtemanch from the Jackson region, and Daryl Lutz, wildlife biologist from the Lander region, who has similar concerns with the Ferris-Seminoe Bighorn Sheep herd…

Last year, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved $17.5 million to begin research, development, and set-up for raising cool and warm water fish in Wyoming; the existing Speas Hatchery near Casper was selected for expansion. Walleye, Channel Catfish, Bluegill, White and Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Tiger Muskie, and Sauger will be produced there, enabling Game and Fish to produce a reliable and diverse supply of cool/warm water fish species for Wyoming's anglers and eliminating the potential of introducing an aquatic invasive species or prohibited fish pathogen into Wyoming. 

    
In terms of sheer diversity for the number of places to fish in Wyoming, the Laramie region of southeast Wyoming has practically every kind of fishing one might want; from high elevation fishing in the Snowy Range Mountains, large reservoir fishing in Grayrocks reservoir, high plains lakes fishing near Laramie, and multiple rivers and lakes to fish from.  Bobby Compton is the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Laramie Region Fisheries Supervisor.  Today on “Get Outside” we’ll do a drive-around of the Laramie region’s fishing areas, talk about management strategies, and give folks an idea of the variety of fishing opportunities in this region of Wyoming.

 

2023 has been a busy year for the western part of Wyoming regarding mule deer management—a brutal winter that was perhaps one of the most devastating winters on record may have been the most impactful winter to this herd since it was conceptualized in 1982. Wyoming hunters are looking to this winter with interest as a precipitation-rich spring and summer has produced improved forage conditions…while wondering what might happen if we get a repeat winter like last year.

On another front, mule deer in the region will have one less hazard to contend with, and that's the crossing of Highway 189 near Big Piney.   Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Biologist Gary Fralick weighs in to discuss both topics.