Wyoming Eyes Higher Predator Quotas

by Sophie Tsairis 

Wyoming’s top predators could be facing more pressure this fall. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing to raise hunting quotas for both gray wolves and mountain lions, a move that would put more tags in hunters’ hands.

Since 2017, when wolves in Wyoming were delisted from Endangered Species Act protections, Game and Fish has nudged the Wolf Trophy Game Management Area population toward what it says is a stable objective of 160 wolves. As of early 2025, the most recent census showed 163 wolves in the area, just above that target.

While that’s only three wolves, this surplus triggers an important management response. Game and Fish lead biologist Ken Mills told Mountain Journal that when wolf numbers are near that 160 objective, data suggests lower rates of human-caused mortality, aside from hunting, than when the population exceeds that number. Coupled with higher survival and pup recruitment when there are fewer wolves, this dynamic prompts the agency to allow for higher hunting mortality in order to prevent population growth above management goals. Accordingly, department officials say, the agency is proposing an increased hunting quota for the 2025 season.

Under the newly released draft regulations, the state’s wolf quota would increase from 38 to 44 animals for the upcoming season, which runs primarily from September 15 through March 31. In the Jackson-area zones, the allowable take would jump from 12 wolves in 2024 to 19 in 2025. 

According to Game and Fish, gray wolves have a dual-classification management structure as defined in Wyoming state law. In the northwest part of the state, which is considered the wolf management area, wolves are classified as trophy game animals. Outside of this area they are classified as predatory animals. A third management zone in western Wyoming classifies wolves as predatory or trophy game animals depending on the time of year.

The changes will apply specifically to wolf hunt areas within the wolf management area, the only areas where Game and Fish actively manages wolf numbers. Adjustments to quotas are based largely on local population data; more wolves in a hunt area typically lead to a higher mortality limit.

While the wolf hunting season is designed to maintain the population at management targets, the proposed increase in mountain lion harvests aims to bring numbers down.

Chapter 42 of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations states that the policy-making board proposes higher mortality, allowing hunters to kill 398 mountain lions, up from 375, in addition to four unlimited hunt areas. The increases will predominantly take place in the southeast region of the state.

In an email to Mountain Journal, Game and Fish Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson said the proposed increase in mortality limits in the southeast part of the state largely reflect public sentiment that there are too many mountain lions and they have a potential to impact mule deer populations. 

Mountain lion regulations are set on a three-year cycle and Thompson said there has been increased scrutiny of cougars and their management over the past few years, including a bill proposed last winter that would have allowed unlimited year-round take with the inclusion of trapping. 

“The sportspeople of Wyoming testified to maintain the current methodologies and use of the public input process paramount to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation,” Thompson said. “This was something we do not take lightly as an agency and this is why we are seeking input on our currently proposed seasons.”

Game and Fish is inviting the public to weigh in on the proposed changes before 5 p.m. on June 10. After the public comment period closes, all input will be reviewed at the mid-July commission meeting where final season dates, quotas and rules will be adopted. If the commission’s decisions require gubernatorial approval, that will follow next. Once finalized, the new regulations will take effect for the fall 2025 hunting seasons.