Horrifying number of wildlife deaths expected as wildfires …

State game and fisheries officials are preparing for the difficult task of counting the carcasses of wildlife killed in the raging wildfires in northern Wyoming that have so far burned more than 350,000 acres of land.

According to the agency's Sheridan-area office, Game and Fisheries officials entered the burn areas this week “as far as it was safe to do so” to search for carcasses and kill any suffering deer, elk or antelope they encountered.

However, with most of the worst-hit fire areas still inaccessible on Friday, the conservation officer said it could take some time to determine the death toll and assess the impact of the fires on wildlife populations.

Some antelopes have already been killed, according to an eyewitness report.

Tyler Scales, a rancher from Johnson County, told Cowboy State Daily on Friday: “I've seen dead antelope, antelope running around burning.”

Still, some hunters in Wyoming said that while at least some wildlife casualties are unavoidable, they are not overly worried about a fiery big-game apocalypse.

“I have some good friends who are wildfire fighters, and they've told me stories about how they've occasionally come across burned animals,” outdoorsman and Park County resident Guy Eastman told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

“But I've never heard them talk about mass mortality, like when they get to the mouth of a drain and find hundreds of dead animals trapped and unable to escape the fire,” he added. “Wild animals are usually pretty good at avoiding fire.”

Affected hunting areas

Since Sunday there have been wildfires throughout northern Wyoming more than 430,000 acres burned and it was still going well.

Fires are raging in Johnson, Sheridan, Teton, Fremont and Campbell counties. The largest fire is the House Creek Fire, which covers 70,000 hectares. The Remington Fire in the north of Sheridan County has spread to Montana, where it has devastated 51,000 hectares.

With archery season partially underway, the House Creek Fire impacted several deer, antelope and elk hunting areas, according to Game and Fish.

The areas affected are moose hunting area 129, antelope hunting areas 16 and 22 and deer hunting areas 26 and 29, Game and Fish said.

Antelope bowhunting season began across the state on August 15, and many elk and deer bowhunts are scheduled to begin on September 1.

The rifle hunting season usually begins later, in mid-October or early November.

Good hunting, but nothing spectacular

The burned areas are in some of Wyoming's good hunting areas, but far from the Cowboy State's best, said Eastman and avid hunter Nic George of Sheridan.

George told Cowboy State Daily that he had hunted deer in some of the areas now burning.

“Honestly, stalking is a little more difficult in this area,” he said. “To see deer, you don't have to look 350 yards, you have to look miles.”

It's mostly mule deer territory, and while there are some pretty big bucks there, it's not known for its huge trophies, he added.

Eastman agreed. For years, he helped run the family business, Eastmans' Publishing Inc., a Powell-based media company specializing in stories and videos about fair chase trophy hunting in the West.

It was his job to know the best hunting spots.

The wildfires are raging in areas known for their large numbers of deer, elk and antelope, but those aren't usually home to huge bucks and bulls, Eastman said.

In addition, much of the land is privately owned, so access to hunting grounds can be difficult, adds Eastman, who has hunted antelope in some of the areas now burning.

He does not expect the wildfires to deal as severe a blow to hunting in Wyoming as the devastating winter storms of 2022-2023.

Thousands of animals died in this brutal winter. Eastman described it as one of the the best antelope hunting areas in the world.

Fires can improve hunting

Although the short-term outlook in fire-stricken areas is bleak and some wildlife will die, the fires will improve the situation in the long term, George and Eastman said.

Fire can have a cleansing effect on the landscape and improve the food supply for big game, George said.

“That’s how things regenerate, through fire,” he said.

Eastman said old burn areas can be a magnet for big game in subsequent seasons.

The forage often grows back greener, more tender and more nutritious, he said.

The Fire in Fish Creek One such example could be fires in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in northwest Wyoming, Eastman said.

He had previously hunted there in an old area destroyed by a forest fire, and “it was teeming with moose,” he said.

“Now it's burning again, and while that might ruin hunting in the short term, it will probably make it even better in the years to come,” Eastman said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at [email protected].