Game and Fish Commission

Game and Fish Commission Regulations

Effective Date: 04/25/2023 to 08/23/2023

Rule Type: Expired Emergency Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 040.0001.61.04252023

CHAPTER 61

COLLECTION OF SHED ANTLERS AND HORNS

Emergency Rules are in effect no longer than 120 days after filing with the Registrar of Rules.

Section 1. Authority. This regulation is promulgated by authority of Wyoming Statutes § 23-1-103 and § 23-1-302.

Section 2. Definitions. In addition to the definitions set forth in Title 23 of the Wyoming Statutes and Chapter 2, General Hunting Regulation, the Commission also adopts the following definitions for the purpose of this chapter:

1. (a) “Antlers” mean the bony, deciduous appendages protruding from the heads of members of the deer family (Cervidae), including deer, elk or moose.
2. (b) “Collect” means to search for, locate, stockpile, or possess shed antlers and horns of big game animals on public land or attempt to search for, locate, stockpile, or possess shed antlers and horns of big game animals on public land.
3. (c) “Horns” mean the hard, permanent appendages protruding from the heads of bighorn sheep, mountain goats or pronghorn antelope.
4. (d) “Public land” means federal lands and lands owned or administered by the Commission.
5. (e) “Shed” means having become naturally separated from the skull.

Section 3. Collection of Shed Antlers or Horns. No person shall collect shed antlers or horns from big game animals on public land in Teton County from 12:00 a.m. January 1 through 6:00 a.m. May 1, 2023, and west of a line beginning at the Wyoming-Colorado state line at the intersection of U.S. Highway 287, northerly along said highway to U.S. Highway 30-287; northwesterly along said highway to Interstate Highway 80; westerly along said highway to the Pacific Branch of the Continental Divide; northwesterly along said divide to the Teton County line; southerly and then westerly along said county line to the Wyoming-Idaho state line, from 12:00 a.m. January 1 through 6:00 a.m. May 15, 2023.

Section 4. Exceptions. Department personnel and elk feeders under contract with the Department may collect antlers on Department elk feedgrounds during the closed season dates specified in Section 3 only when the collecting of such antlers is part of their official duties. All antlers collected by Department personnel and elk feeders on Department elk feedgrounds are property of the Department and shall be disposed of in accordance with the Commission policy VIIK “DISPOSITION OF ELK ANTLERS”, dated December 7, 1999, and which does not

include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated matter. This Commission policy can be viewed at regional offices and the Headquarters Office of the Department.

WYOMING GAME AND FISH COMMISSION

By:

Ralph Brokaw, President

Dated: April 21, 2023