Mountain Goat Hunting
Cody
Mountain goat numbers differ between Hunt Areas 1 and 3, with a decrease in overall goat numbers in Hunt Area 1, and an increase in numbers in Hunt Area 3. Despite the decrease in Hunt Area 1 licenses, hunters able to access the rugged terrain should still have opportunities to harvest a mature mountain goat. To minimize hunter crowding in Hunt Area 3, a Type 2 license will again be offered in 2019 valid only for the month of October. Access to mountain goats in the late season can be tricky, but the Hunt Area 3 license should provide opportunity for those willing to put in the extra effort. There were no changes to license numbers in these hunt areas for the 2019 season.
To address resource competition and potential disease issues between bighorn sheep and mountain goats regional managers created a new mountain goat license to reduce goats south of the North Fork of the Shoshone River. The new Hunt Area 5A will provide an opportunity for 16 hunters to go hunt goats this fall. Goat densities within the 5A Hunt Area are low, so managers expect harvest success to be relatively low. The hunt area is primarily mountainous backcountry that will require hunters to utilize horses or backpack hunt to access areas that may have goats.
Jackson
Hunt Area 2 encompasses the Palisades Mountain Goat Herd which is an extension of Idaho’s Palisades mountain goat population that has expanded into Wyoming. A hunting season was initiated in 1999 with four permits. The hunt area was expanded in 2014 to include lands north of Wyoming Highway 22 and west of Grand Teton National Park on Caribou-Targhee National Forest, and in 2015 permits increased from 8 to 12 licenses. This expanded area was created to address mountain goat expansion into the Tetons, an area emphasizing bighorn sheep management over mountain goats.
In response to the lower number of mountain goats observed during the 2016 mid-summer trend count and decreased kid:adult ratios documented during the 2016-2017 winter trend count, the number of licenses issued in 2017 was decreased from 12 to 8. A trend count in August 2018 revealed 129 goats, which is very close to the objective trend count of 120 goats. As some concern exists over the impacts of severe late winter conditions and numbers of goats are near desired objectives, license numbers will remain at 8 for the 2019 season.
Hunters should expect to find goats in steep, rocky terrain with long trips required of more than 10 miles away from any roads. The 2019 season will remain unchanged and run September 1– October 31, and be valid for any mountain goat.
A new mountain goat hunt area was created in the Jackson Region (Hunt Area 4) and will be hunted with the new Type A license for any mountain goat. Hunt Area 4 was carved out of Hunt Area 2, and consists of lands on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Bridger-Teton National Forest north of Wyoming Highway 22. This hunt area and license type was created to reduce mountain goat numbers in the Teton Range and minimize the expansion of mountain goats into high priority bighorn sheep habitats, in this case the Targhee sheep herd. Unlike mountain goat Type 1 and Type 2 licenses, Type A licenses are not once-in-a-lifetime, and a hunter could potentially draw a license and harvest a mountain goat every year. Forty-eight licenses will be offered in 2019. Due to the very difficult terrain, the low number of goats that reside outside of Grand Teton National Park at the current time, and the intent of this license, hunter success is expected to be very low.
Mountain goat numbers differ between Hunt Areas 1 and 3, with a decrease in overall goat numbers in Hunt Area 1, and an increase in numbers in Hunt Area 3. Despite the decrease in Hunt Area 1 licenses, hunters able to access the rugged terrain should still have opportunities to harvest a mature mountain goat. To minimize hunter crowding in Hunt Area 3, a Type 2 license will again be offered in 2019 valid only for the month of October. Access to mountain goats in the late season can be tricky, but the Hunt Area 3 license should provide opportunity for those willing to put in the extra effort. There were no changes to license numbers in these hunt areas for the 2019 season.
To address resource competition and potential disease issues between bighorn sheep and mountain goats regional managers created a new mountain goat license to reduce goats south of the North Fork of the Shoshone River. The new Hunt Area 5A will provide an opportunity for 16 hunters to go hunt goats this fall. Goat densities within the 5A Hunt Area are low, so managers expect harvest success to be relatively low. The hunt area is primarily mountainous backcountry that will require hunters to utilize horses or backpack hunt to access areas that may have goats.
Jackson
Hunt Area 2 encompasses the Palisades Mountain Goat Herd which is an extension of Idaho’s Palisades mountain goat population that has expanded into Wyoming. A hunting season was initiated in 1999 with four permits. The hunt area was expanded in 2014 to include lands north of Wyoming Highway 22 and west of Grand Teton National Park on Caribou-Targhee National Forest, and in 2015 permits increased from 8 to 12 licenses. This expanded area was created to address mountain goat expansion into the Tetons, an area emphasizing bighorn sheep management over mountain goats.
In response to the lower number of mountain goats observed during the 2016 mid-summer trend count and decreased kid:adult ratios documented during the 2016-2017 winter trend count, the number of licenses issued in 2017 was decreased from 12 to 8. A trend count in August 2018 revealed 129 goats, which is very close to the objective trend count of 120 goats. As some concern exists over the impacts of severe late winter conditions and numbers of goats are near desired objectives, license numbers will remain at 8 for the 2019 season.
Hunters should expect to find goats in steep, rocky terrain with long trips required of more than 10 miles away from any roads. The 2019 season will remain unchanged and run September 1– October 31, and be valid for any mountain goat.
A new mountain goat hunt area was created in the Jackson Region (Hunt Area 4) and will be hunted with the new Type A license for any mountain goat. Hunt Area 4 was carved out of Hunt Area 2, and consists of lands on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Bridger-Teton National Forest north of Wyoming Highway 22. This hunt area and license type was created to reduce mountain goat numbers in the Teton Range and minimize the expansion of mountain goats into high priority bighorn sheep habitats, in this case the Targhee sheep herd. Unlike mountain goat Type 1 and Type 2 licenses, Type A licenses are not once-in-a-lifetime, and a hunter could potentially draw a license and harvest a mountain goat every year. Forty-eight licenses will be offered in 2019. Due to the very difficult terrain, the low number of goats that reside outside of Grand Teton National Park at the current time, and the intent of this license, hunter success is expected to be very low.