2024 Black Bear Regulations - 12

BLACK BEAR REGULATIONS
the name and address or current year's outfitter's license number of
the licensed outfitter registering the bait site(s) shall be legible and
permanently affixed to or painted on the outside of the container(s)
enclosing the bait .
SECTION 4. AREAS OPEN AND AREAS CLOSED TO
BLACK BEAR BAITING; RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF
PROCESSED AND UNPROCESSED BAITS; USE OF
CHEMICAL ATTRACTANTS
a . All black bear hunt areas shall be open to the baiting of black bear
except those hunt areas and those portions of hunt areas listed in
this section .
i . Black Bear Hunt Areas 22, 25, 26, 32 and that portion of Black
Bear Hunt Area 23 on U .S . Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management
and State lands, including lands administered by the
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, shall be closed to baiting
.
ii . That portion of Black Bear Hunt Area 27 north and west of the
Wood River on U .S . Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management
and State lands including lands administered by the Wyoming
Game and Fish Commission, shall be closed to baiting .
iii . That portion of Black Bear Hunt Area 28 on the Shoshone National
Forest north of Pelham Lake, Pelham Lake Creek and
Lava Mountain shall be closed to baiting .
iv . Those portions of Black Bear Hunt Area 35 on the Pole Mountain
Unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest shall be closed
to baiting .
v . All designated Wilderness Areas in National Forests shall be
closed to baiting . Hunters should check maps of designated
Wilderness Areas at the Department Headquarters or Regional
offices .
vi . The primary conservation area for grizzly bears shall be closed
to baiting and no bait registrations shall be issued within that
area . Hunters may view a map of the primary conservation area
for grizzly bears on the Department website .
vii . Areas administered by the U .S . Forest Service, Bureau of Land
Management or the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in
which human access has been restricted to protect wintering
wildlife shall be closed to baiting . Such areas, if not already
closed by this section, shall be closed to black bear baiting
during the time period for which the areas have been closed to
human access .
b . Only unprocessed baits shall be utilized for the baiting of black
bears in Black Bear Hunt Area 18 and those portions of Hunt Areas
19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28 and 29 in which bear baiting is not excluded
by Section 4(a) .
c . Processed or unprocessed baits shall be utilized for the baiting of
black bears in Black Bear Hunt Areas 1-17, 30, 31, 33, 35 .
d . Chemical attractants are not considered bait and may be used in all
black bear hunt areas of the state .
SECTION 5. REPORTING USE OF BAIT BY A GRIZZLY
BEAR
Any person registering a bait site, placing a bait, hunting at a bait site or
witnessing the use of a bait site by a grizzly bear shall immediately report
use of the bait by a grizzly bear to the Department (1-877-WGFD-TIP) . Regardless
of the land status whether federal, state or private, no person
shall hunt black bear over a bait site utilized by a grizzly bear for the remainder
of the current black bear hunting season . The bait site(s) shall be
closed for the remainder of the current black bear hunting season and the
bait may be removed as soon as possible by personnel of the Department .
SECTION 6. PROHIBITED BAIT
No person shall place any prohibited bait for the purpose of baiting
black bears . Baiting for black bear with a substance other than those
defined as a bait in Section 2 or in a manner other than as specified in
Section 3 shall be prohibited on federal or state lands, including lands
administered by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission .
SECTION 7. HUNTING REGULATIONS
a . Hunters may take any black bear except dependent young and female
black bears with dependent young at side .
b . Registering Kills . A hunter taking a black bear shall retain the pelt
and skull from each black bear taken for registration purposes .
Even if the skull is damaged, it shall accompany the pelt . Visible
external evidence of sex shall remain naturally attached to the
pelt . Within seventy-two (72) hours, after taking a black bear, the
licensee shall 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 pelt and
skull shall 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 black bear and to allow examination of the pelt to
determine the sex and possible lactation status of the black bear .
A hunter taking a black bear in designated wilderness areas in
hunt areas 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or 28 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 Department
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 . The hunter making
the telephone report shall contact a district game warden, district
wildlife biologist or Department personnel at a Department
regional office and provide their name, license number, date of
kill, sex of bear, hunt area and the general location of the kill site
including drainage . At the time of registration, the hunter shall furnish
the Department their license number, date of kill and the location
of the site of kill to include hunt area, section, township and
range or GPS coordinates .
c . Any person who makes a false statement on the registration form is
in violation of this regulation .
SECTION 8. AREA MORTALITY LIMITS
The black bear hunting season shall close in each black bear hunt area
or group of hunt areas when the female mortality limit specified for the respective
hunt area or group of hunt areas has been reached . If the female
mortality limit is not reached, the season shall close upon the date specified
in Section 10 . If the female mortality limits for the spring hunting season
are exceeded, the additional mortalities shall be subtracted from the fall
mortality limits . Conversely, if female mortality limits in the spring have not
been reached, the portion of the limit remaining shall be added to the fall
mortality limit . It is the hunter's responsibility to confirm that the hunt area
the person intends to hunt is open . The status of hunt area closures shall
be available twenty-four (24) hours a day by calling toll free 1-800-264-1280 .
BEAR WISE WYOMING - STAY SAFE IN BEAR COUNTRY
Wyoming is bear country . Learn what to do in an encounter situation, how to avoid attracting a bear to your home or camp
and how to minimize your risk while recreating in areas occupied by bears .
12
WGF D.WYO.GOV
BLACK BEAR

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wyoming/More-Wildlife/Large-Carnivore/Grizzly-Bear-Management/Bear-Wise-Wyoming https://wgfd.wyo.gov/

2024 Black Bear Regulations

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2024 Black Bear Regulations