Wyoming Game and Fish Update: Office Closure, AIS Station Hours, and Invasive Mudsnail Discovery

The Sheridan Regional Office will close at noon on July 11, for the WYO Rodeo and will reopen at 8 a.m. on July 14.

The Sheridan AIS watercraft check station will remain open regular hours at the Travel and Tourism Center on 5th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wyoming Game and Fish are reminding the community that check stations do not sell AIS decals. Those can be purchased at license selling agents or through the Game and Fish website.

Game and Fish also urge residents and visitors to stop at all AIS check stations. 

Thanks to the awareness of local anglers, recently the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has verified the presence of New Zealand mudsnails in Gelatt Lake and Wheatland Reservoir #3 near Laramie.

The initial detection at Gellat Lake occurred in late April while a member of the public was angling and noticed small black dots covering the vegetation and rocks. Following the report, samples were taken and sent to the University of Wyoming for confirmation. Similarly, at Wheatland Reservoir #3, an angler report came in earlier this summer and Game and Fish staff confirmed the presence of New Zealand mudsnails on Monday.

According to the Game and Fish, native to New Zealand, these mudsnails are a small aquatic invasive snail and are not a food source for fish as they are low in nutrients and can pass through a fish’s digestive system unharmed. Once introduced into a body of water, these snails are functionally impossible to remove.