The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will open the bighorn sheep hunting season beginning August 1 through August 31 in the Owl Creek drainage portion of Bighorn Sheep Hunt Area 5. The new early opening date for the select area is to provide hunters an opportunity to harvest any bighorn sheep to minimize commingling with domestic sheep. Domestic sheep pose a disease risk to bighorn sheep.

Governor Mark Gordon granted Game and Fish authority for the new season dates through an emergency rule that amended Chapter 9 - Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Hunting Seasons. The emergency rule for extending hunt season dates was necessary to address the time period when domestic sheep are present in the Owl Creek drainage.
 
Each licensed Bighorn Sheep Hunt Area 5 hunter will receive a letter from Game and Fish with additional information. Hunters with questions about the August 1 opener, the Owl Creek drainage limitation or access should contact the Cody Regional Office at (307) 527-7125.