Hunting Season Setting Meeting in Rawlins - Bigfoot 99 Radio

Photo - Movie cover about Big Horn Sheep - Courtesy Wyoming Game and Fish Wyoming Game and Fish is hosting a hunting‑season setting meeting and a bighorn sheep documentary screening in Rawlins. On Wednesday, March 25th, Game and Fish biologists will be at the Carbon County Higher Education Center to screen Carrying Capacity: The Hunt for Resilience. Lander Information and Education Supervisor Rene Schell said the 13-minute documentary film contrasts the different strategies required to manage the Jackson and Ferris-Seminoe bighorn sheep herds. Schell said the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, Teton Conservation District, University of Wyoming, and several industry partners worked together to create the documentary. The Game and Fish information and education supervisor said the Wild Sheep Foundation has taken the lead on the statewide screening tour. Carrying Capacity: The Hunt for Resilience focuses on management of the Jackson and Ferris-Seminoe bighorn sheep herds. Schell explained that the Seminoe herd is the last group not yet exposed to domestically introduced diseases such as pneumonia, making it critical for repopulating other sheep herds around the country. Schell said the Ferris-Seminoe herd is doing well enough that its numbers have grown too large and sheep have begun to wander outside of the wildlife management area. Those sheep are likely to have encountered domesticated animals in their travels and may have contracted a disease that cannot be brought back to the Seminoe herd. Schell said to control the size of the herd and lower the chances of sheep leaving the area, Game and Fish now issues ewe and ram harvesting tags. While the bighorn hunting tags may be controversial to some, Schell said they are considered necessary to keep the herd free of disease. Following the film, Game and Fish biologists will hold a question‑and‑answer session, giving wildlife enthusiasts and sportsmen the opportunity to ask questions, review the data, and provide comments that directly influence upcoming hunting regulations. Schell said the event is not just a film screening but also serves as a season‑setting meeting. Unlike traditional season‑setting meetings, Schell said Wednesday's presentation will give the public a chance to better understand how Game and Fish manages the state's resources. The information and education supervisor encouraged anyone interested in wildlife to attend the Rawlins meeting. The Game and Fish screening of Carrying Capacity: The Hunt for Resilience and 2026 season setting meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25th, in the Carbon County Higher Education Center, located at 1650 Harshman Street in Rawlins. Free snacks and refreshments will be available during the presentation.