(a) Mountain lions shall only be taken during
open seasons by the use of legal firearms or archery equipment, except as
otherwise provided by statute and Commission regulations.
(b) Use of Dogs. Dogs may be used to take
mountain lions during the open hunting seasons. However, dogs shall only be
used to take mountain lions during open hours for the lawful taking of mountain
lions.
(c) Except as provided in
Section
5 of this regulation,
after a mountain lion has been pursued or bayed, a properly licensed person
shall promptly harvest or release the mountain lion. No person shall in any
manner restrict or hinder the mountain lion's ability to escape for the purpose
of enabling a person who was not present at the time the mountain lion was
bayed to arrive and take the mountain lion.
(d) Bag and Possession Limits. The bag and
possession limit for any person with a proper license shall be one (1) mountain
lion during any one (1) calendar year (January 1 -December 31), except as
otherwise provided in this Section. Hunters may take any mountain lion, except
dependent young and female mountain lions with dependent young at
side.
(e) Reduced price mountain
lion licenses. A person may receive a maximum of one (1) full price mountain
lion license and a maximum of one (1) reduced price mountain lion license
during any one (1) calendar year. A person must possess and exhibit a full
price mountain lion license for the current calendar year in order to receive a
reduced price mountain lion license for the same calendar year.
(f) Reduced price mountain lion licenses are
valid only in hunt areas 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 19, 24, 25, 27 and 31.
(g) Reporting and Registering Kills. Hunters
harvesting mountain lions shall retain the pelt and skull from each mountain
lion harvested for registration purposes. Even if the skull is damaged, it must
accompany the pelt. Visible external evidence of sex shall remain naturally
attached to the pelt.
(i) Within seventy-two
(72) hours after harvesting a mountain lion, the licensee must present the pelt
and skull to a district game warden, district wildlife biologist, or Department
personnel at a Department Regional Office during business hours for
registration. The entire pelt and skull must be presented in an unfrozen
condition in order to allow collection of two (2) premolar teeth to be utilized
to determine the age of the mountain lion and to allow examination of the pelt
to determine the sex of the mountain lion and lactation status of females. At
the time of registration, the licensee shall furnish the Department with their
license, the date of kill and the location of the site of kill, including hunt
area, section, township and range, or UTM coordinates.
(ii) Reporting when taking a mountain lion in
a designated wilderness area. A licensee taking a mountain lion in a designated
wilderness area shall report their harvest by telephone or in person within
seventy-two (72) hours and shall present the pelt and skull to a district game
warden, district wildlife biologist or Department personnel at a Game and Fish
Regional Office during business hours for registration within ten (10) days
from the date of harvest or within three (3) days after returning from a
designated wilderness area. At the time of registration, the licensee shall
furnish the Department their license, the date of kill, the location of the
site of kill to include hunt area, section, township and range or UTM
coordinates.
(A) The licensee making the
telephone report shall contact a district game warden, district wildlife
biologist or Department personnel at a Game and Fish Department Regional Office
and provide their name, license number, date of kill, sex of mountain lion,
hunt area and the location of the kill site (drainage).
(iii) Reporting when taking a mountain lion
in Hunt Area 1. Within twenty-four (24) hours after taking a mountain lion in
Hunt Area 1, the licensee shall report the taking of a mountain lion by calling
toll free 1-800-264-1280. The report shall
include the name and phone number of the person making the report, hunter's
name and license number, residency status of the licensee, date of the kill and
location of the site of kill, including the hunt area.
(h) Any false statement on the registration
form or false reporting of a mountain lion kill is a Commission regulation
violation and punishable as provided by Title 23, Wyoming statutes for
violation of Commission regulations.
(i) Hunt Areas, Season Dates and Limitations.
|
Hunt Area
|
Dates of
Seasons
|
Hunt Area Mortality
Limit
|
Limitations
|
|
1
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
Resident Limit - 20
Nonresident Limit - 4
|
See Section
3 (k)
|
|
2
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
8
|
|
|
4
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
10
|
|
|
5
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
15
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
Apr. 1 - Apr. 30*
|
Valid off national forest*
|
|
6
|
Sep. 1 - Apr. 30
|
18
|
|
|
7
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
14
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
8
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
10
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
9
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
12
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
10
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
10
|
|
|
11
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
4
|
|
|
12
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
8
|
|
|
13
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
5
|
|
|
14
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
30
|
|
|
15
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
Unlimited
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
16
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
6
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
17
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
8
|
|
|
18
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
12
|
|
|
19
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
25
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
20
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
18
|
|
|
21
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
20
|
|
|
22
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
25
|
|
|
23
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
18
|
|
|
24
|
Sep. 1 - May 31
|
Unlimited
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
25
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
12
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
26
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
23
|
|
|
27
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
Unlimited
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
28
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
4
|
|
|
29
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
9
|
|
|
30
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
12
|
|
|
31
|
Sep. 1 - Aug. 31
|
11
|
See Section
3 (e) and (f)
|
|
32
|
Sep. 1 - Mar. 31
|
25
|
|
(j)
Hunt Area Mortality Limit. The mountain lion season in a hunt area shall close
when the hunt area mortality limit is reached. If the hunt area mortality limit
is not reached, the season shall close upon the date specified in subsection
(i) of this Section. Hunt area mortality limits shall be for the biological
year. It is the hunter's responsibility to confirm that the hunt area they
intend to hunt is open. The status of hunt area closures is available by
calling toll free
1-800-264-1280 twenty-four (24)
hours a day.
(k) Resident and
Nonresident Mortality Limits. A separate resident and nonresident mortality
limit shall apply in designated hunt areas as set forth in this Section, and
shall represent the maximum allowable harvest of mountain lions for either
resident or nonresident licensed hunters within a specified hunt area.
(i) A hunt area with a resident mortality
limit shall close to resident mountain lion hunters when the resident mortality
limit is reached or on the date specified in subsection (i) of this Section,
whichever comes first.
(ii) A hunt
area with a nonresident mortality limit shall close to nonresident mountain
lion hunters when the nonresident mortality limit is reached or on the date
specified in subsection (i) of this Section, whichever comes first.
(l) No person shall knowingly take
a mountain lion caught in a trap or snare or within twenty-four (24) hours
after the mountain lion is released from a trap or snare.
