This is a great question.  Beginning as early as November the Wyoming Game and Fish Department begins to collect classification data for deer and elk from both the ground and aerially using helicopters.  Game and Fish collects a sample of the total population and classifies the animals into the following groups: females, juveniles, and males. 

We use this information in conjunction with other information, like harvest data, to make our population models run.  The population estimates generated by these models along with the raw classification data aid wildlife managers in making season setting recommendations for the following years hunting seasons.