Weather takes a toll on game

KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
 
A Wyoming Game and Fish Department public meeting was held Monday, Mar. 25, at the Newcastle VFW Post 2516. Joe Sandrini, a wildlife biologist with the department, addressed a chief issue in this region, which is that fawn production and survival of big game animals, notably deer and antelope, has been dropping the past three years. Overwinter survival of these same fawns is also down, he said. 
Antelope numbers in the Black Thunder herd are estimated to be around 40,900, while their management objective sits at 49,000, Sandrini said. The Black Hills mule deer population is about 28,100, with its objective being 30,000, he said. 
According to Sandrini, the populations of these game animals will most likely stabilize or decline in the coming years. The white-tailed deer in the Black Hills and mule deer in the Cheyenne River herd are experiencing similar trends, he said.
Sandrini provided recent numbers: Last year’s estimated prehunt sex ratios for Black Thunder antelope was at 58 fawns per 100 does and 48 bucks per 100 does. Black Hills mule deer, post-hunt, numbered 66 fawns per 100 does and 22 bucks per 100 does. While the buck ratios are what is expected, the fawn ratios are low, as is the situation with other local herds, Sandrini said.
“It is mostly weather driven,” Sandrini said. 
Contributing factors to these trends include drought and other factors, Sandrini said, such as the dry summers in 2016 and 2017, and the winters of 2017 and 2018, which were average to “tough” in places. Sandrini said the available food for the wildlife wasn’t stellar. The spring of 2018 also was somewhat hard on the populations, and this winter is leading to increased mortality as well, he said. 
“We’re still doing okay,” Sandrini said. 
The impact on the hunter will probably not be seen for a couple of years. Because most hunters target older deer and antelope, Sandrini said, hunters probably won’t be affected until further down the road. At that point, there could be relatively smaller numbers of older-age-class game animals, possibly warranting future cuts in hunting licenses, according to Sandrini.
Sandrini said that landowners can always look for ways to improve habitat quality and quantity, but, ultimately, weather conditions are the major factor of decreased fawn production and survival. 
Increasing awareness as to what is happening to the game animal populations and the reasons for it, Sandrini said, is why the department has public meetings. Another reason is to present the hunting season designed to manage our game animals, he said.
“Hunting is our primary management tool,” Sandrini said. Educating the public on proposed hunting season changes is another purpose of Monday’s meeting, as well as getting public input, he said. 
Numerous changes to deer, antelope and elk seasons have been proposed, but for the most part license numbers and season dates are fairly similar to last year’s, according to Sandrini. 
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is directed in its duties by regulations set by the seven-member Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The commission votes on any season change proposals, and public awareness and input could sway those decisions, Sandrini said. 
The mission of Game and Fish is to conserve wildlife and serve people, which the department said it does by trying to manage for healthy herds, while also trying to appease the needs and desires of the people, Sandrini said.