Buffalo Season Starts Saturday on Refuge

buffRefuge Manager Steve Kallin issued a reminder that the National Elk Refuge’s bison hunting season will begin this Saturday, August 15 and run through Friday, January 15, 2016. Bison hunt management on the Refuge is designed to achieve optimum herd size as determined through a cooperative effort between the National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park, and Wyoming Game & Fish Department managers.
Reinstating a bison hunt on the National Elk Refuge was approved in the 2007 Bison and Elk Management Plan in order to reach a population objective of no more than 500 wintering bison in the Jackson bison herd. Predation and natural winter die–off do not sufficiently reduce the numbers to a sustainable population; rather, bison numbers increased an average of 10–14% annually during years without hunting.
Large numbers of bison can rapidly deplete winter forage reserves, increasing the need for supplemental feeding of both bison and elk. A key Refuge management goal is to reduce the amount of time wintering animals are on supplemental feed, thus decreasing concentrations of animals and reducing the risk of disease transmission. Currently, the bison population includes approximately 800 animals.
Bison hunting information and regulations can be found on the Refuge’s web site at http://1.usa.gov/1uG8j3m. A map of the hunting areas is included in the information.

Jackson Hole Radio
Latest posts by Jackson Hole Radio (see all)