Sheridan region deer populations may not have suffered as much as southwest

In January of this year, the Wyoming Game and Fish captured and placed GPS collars on 80 does, 30 bucks and 100 juveniles. The collars are collecting and storing location data every two hours, resulting in many thousands of data points that will be downloaded and analyzed when the collar is retrieved.

Although solid numbers will not be determined for some time, Game and Fish biologists in the Sheridan region have been able to use these collared deer and other methods to get a general idea of the winter death rate among local deer populations. 

The Game and Fish Commission heard new hunting proposals from biologists earlier this spring, due to the winter death rate among some populations of deer in southwestern portion of the Cowboy State, the number of hunting licenses to be issued this coming season was reduced in that region. 

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Wyoming Game and Fish Public Information Specialist Christina Schmidt said the winter death rate among the Sheridan region populations appears to be normal or just slightly above average. 

Schmidt does ask the public to not approach or spook deer that they may encounter while out recreating as many of the deer in the region are still recovering from the long winter months.