Private Land Elk Hunting Opportunities near Pinedale
Big Piney and Chimney Butte areas
November 8, 2005
Thanks to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department's Private Lands, Public Wildlife access program (PLPW) and some local cooperating landowners, there are additional elk hunting opportunities for some limited quota license holders.
There are two Hunter Management Areas (HMA) this year involving private lands near Big Piney and Boulder. The Big Piney HMA contains 26,080 private acres and the Chimney Butte HMA (south of Boulder) has 9,330 acres. There is also previously land-locked public land available within the HMA.
An HMA is composed of one or more large ranches that enter into an agreement with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department to allow free hunting access. The Department takes on the responsibility of managing the hunters by giving out permission slips to eligible hunters. Permission must be obtained prior to hunting.
Big Piney HMA
The Big Piney HMA is west and northwest of Big Piney and provides hunting for elk in hunt Areas 92 and 94. Hunters wishing to participate in this hunt must have an unused Area 94 type 1 or type 6 elk license, and an access permit obtained from the Pinedale Game and Fish office. Access permits will be limited to 100. The season for this area will run from Nov. 16, 2005 through Jan. 31, 2006 for antlerless elk only on those lands enrolled in the Big Piney HMA.
Chimney Butte HMA
Chimney Butte HMA is north of Big Sandy and southeast of Boulder and allows hunting for elk in hunt Area 98. Again, hunters must have an unused Area 98 Type 1, 2 or 6 elk license and an access permit to hunt the private lands within the Hunter Management Area. The season for this area will run from Nov. 16, 2005 to through Dec. 31, 2005 for antlerless elk only in that portion of Area 98 between East Fork River and Silver Creek.
Access permits for both HMAs will be given out at the Pinedale Regional Office on Saturday, November 12 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Permits will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. Hunters will need to bring their valid unused elk license with them in order to get an access permit. Leftover access permits will be available during regular business hours at the Pinedale Regional Office beginning November 14.
Information on all Hunter Management Areas is available online at http://gf.state.wy.us under the PLPW Access Program. Interested people can also contact the Regional Access Coordinator, Dan Smith in Cody, at (307) 527-7322 ext. 27 or the Statewide Access Coordinator, Matt Buhler, at (307) 473-3428.
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