A Historic Wyoming Grizzly Bear Season on the Horizon

Written by Sy Gilliland, Founder SNS Outfitter & Guides 

The stars seem to be aligning for Wyoming to hold a historic grizzly bear hunting season in the very near future.

Several key Wyoming leaders have been appointed to high-level roles within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), signaling a possible shift in grizzly bear management. Among them is Karen Budd-Falen, a prominent Cheyenne attorney with extensive experience in public land issues and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). She has been named Chief Policy Advisor to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

Brian Nesvik, who had a stellar career with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), has been appointed to lead the USFWS. Nesvik previously served as Director of the WGFD, the department's highest-ranking position, and is currently awaiting final Senate confirmation for his new role. Meanwhile, Josh Coursey, co-founder of the respected conservation organization Muley Fanatics, has been named Senior Advisor to the USFWS Director.

The USFWS currently holds management authority over grizzly bears in Wyoming. However, once Nesvik is confirmed, it is anticipated that the agency will move swiftly to delist the grizzly bear and return management to the states.

The Road to Delisting

Wyoming's last grizzly bear hunting season was in 1974. Since the late 1970s, the species has been federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. In 2004, grizzly bears met and have since far exceeded all federal recovery criteria necessary for delisting.

Despite this, radical organizations have repeatedly used the courts to block state management, keeping grizzlies under federal control. The WGFD has spent over $55 million in sportsmen's dollars managing grizzly bears without receiving compensation or full authority from the federal government.

Grizzly bears have now been delisted twice, most recently in 2017. At that time, the WGFD moved quickly to structure a limited hunting season for 2018. Brian Nesvik, then serving as Chief Game Warden, played a key role in designing the season and leading statewide public meetings.

However, that season never occurred. An activist judge, overruling wildlife biologists, blocked the hunt just before it was set to begin. 

What Future Seasons Could Look Like

When Wyoming regains management authority, it's expected that the structure for future hunts will resemble the one proposed in 2018. At that time, seven hunt areas were designated. Areas 1 to 6 covered the highest concentrations of grizzly populations, while Area 7 encompassed a much larger but less densely populated region.

The plan called for:
- 10 licenses in Areas 1 to 6 with a 1 sow (female) mortality quota
- 12 licenses in Area 7 with no female quota
- A maximum of 22 total bears could have potentially been taken

Licenses were to be issued via random draw, with 90% allocated to residents and 10% to non-residents. Tag fees were set at $602 for residents and $6,002 for non-residents. 

SNS Outfitters is Ready for the Opportunity

At SNS Outfitters, we're well-positioned to offer a top-tier Wyoming grizzly bear hunts should the opportunity arise. Our camps are located in prime grizzly habitat within Hunt Area 4, one of the core zones identified in the original season plan.

While no Wyoming outfitter has yet been able to legally guide grizzly hunts, SNS brings unmatched experience in bear hunting. For over 20 years, we've successfully guided more black bear hunters than any other outfitter in the state.

We know bears, and our seasoned guides are excited at the possibility of contributing to what could be a landmark hunt in Wyoming's wildlife history. 

Please reach out to the SNS Outfitter office with any question you have:

? Phone: 1-307-266-4229 ? Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ? Website: www.HuntWyo.com