Can a hunter draw a general deer licence for hunt area 135, and what residency do they need?

Wyoming residents buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points—the resident deer draw is random, with no point cutoff, and residents do not build points for deer. Nonresidents must draw a Region G general licence, valid across all general-licence hunt areas in deer region G; the nonresident draw allocates three quarters of Region G licences to preference points (awarded top-down) and a quarter to a random pool. Nonresidents with preference points have a significant advantage.

Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each season here?

Type 3 hunts (September through November) are white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal on these hunts. The Type Gen hunts (September–October general archery and rifle seasons) permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer under those different rules. A hunter should confirm which hunt type applies to their licence.

How much of hunt area 135 is open to public hunting, and where is access best?

About 71% of the hunt area, roughly 1,709 square miles, is public ground a hunter can generally count on. Access is rated good to the forested western half, which is mostly Forest Service and BLM land; hunters can reach mule deer habitat there by hiking or horses. The eastern checkerboard has little deer habitat and most public land is landlocked by private sections, requiring landowner permission to cross.

What terrain and country should a hunter expect to hunt here?

The area spans sagebrush flats and low rolling hills in the south and east to steep ridges and high forested mountains in the northwest, with ground generally graded Gentle overall. Elevations range from 6,100 to above 10,700 feet. Mule deer occupy mountain shrub, aspen, juniper and forested ground, while white-tailed deer are rare, confined to small riparian areas near creeks and towns.

Are there walk-in areas or other public access programs in hunt area 135?

Lincoln County Walk-In Area 6 is available during its posted open season; a hunter may walk in without permission or application during those dates. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should verify its status before planning a hunt. The Hunter Management Area program also operates in the region—check the hunt planner map for available lands.

Wyoming Hunt Area 135 (West Green River) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

71%

Elevation

6,100–10,700 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 135 spans 2,402 square miles from sagebrush flats and low rolling country in the south and east to steep forested ridges and high mountains in the northwest, with elevations reaching above 10,000 feet. Ground here is graded Gentle overall, with 74% gentle slope, though the terrain roughens as a hunter climbs toward the higher ranges. The lower elevations are dominated by sagebrush, with scattered grass and riparian growth along creeks; mid elevations mix sagebrush with conifer and aspen; higher elevations become increasingly forested, with sagebrush giving way to spruce, fir and aspen. Mule deer occupy the mountain shrub, aspen, mahogany, juniper and forest habitats throughout, though their densities are very low in the flatter southeastern country. White-tailed deer are uncommon here, found only in small riparian pockets such as lower LaBarge Creek and lower Fontenelle Creek and around Kemmerer and Cokeville. Much of the western half is accessible public land—Forest Service and BLM ground—requiring hiking or horses to reach good mule deer country; the eastern half is a checkerboard of alternating public and private sections, with most of the public land landlocked by private holdings and deer rare in the sagebrush lowlands anyway. Roads throughout the area become difficult or impassable when wet or snow-covered.

Roughly 71% of the hunt area is public ground a hunter can generally count on—BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land—about 1,709 square miles. Private land makes up 25% of the area. Access to good mule deer habitat on public ground is rated good, particularly on Forest Service and BLM lands in the western half; hunters can use Lincoln County Walk-In Area 6, open during its posted season. The eastern checkerboard holds little mule deer and most of its public land is cut off by private sections; crossing private land to reach landlocked public parcels requires permission from the landowner. Seasonal closures and private inholdings on both public and private ground still apply, and a hunter should scout access carefully before the season.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 135 (West Green River) is a general-licence hunt area, and how a hunter gets a licence for it depends on where they live.

A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter — unlimited statewide, on sale from mid-July. No draw, no application, no preference points.
A nonresident cannot buy one. They must draw a Region general licence — for this hunt area, deer region G, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region and nowhere else.

A hunter may hold only ONE general deer licence in a year, so a general licence is a single choice rather than something to stack.

Wyoming residents have no preference points for deer — the resident deer draw is random, and no resident point cutoff exists for any hunt area in the state. For nonresidents points matter a great deal: Wyoming awards 75% of each nonresident pool through the preference-point draw, top-down by points, and the remaining 25% at random. Nonresidents also choose between the Regular and Special pools — the same hunts at two price points, competing separately.

Seasons (2026)

Type 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 30
Type Gen — general licence · Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 10

The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “doe or fawn” hunt is not a deer hunt in general, and a hunt limited to part of the area is not valid across it. Confirm every hunt in the current regulations before applying.

Hunting each season

Type 3 — Any white-tailed deer · whitetail only (September–November)

Archery season for white-tailed deer runs September 1–30, when bucks are shedding velvet and early fall transition is underway; expect warmer weather with highs around 67 degrees and clear conditions. White-tailed deer are scarce across most of the hunt area, confined to riparian pockets near lower LaBarge Creek, lower Fontenelle Creek and around Kemmerer and Cokeville; a hunter targeting this species should focus on those specific drainages. The regular rifle season runs October 1–November 30, spanning early fall migration, the nocturnal buck phase, early pre-rut staging, the primary rut and late rut; during this window temperatures fall steadily from highs near 53 degrees in October to 39 degrees by November, and snowfall increases from 1.5 inches in October to 9.3 inches in November, often making roads difficult or impassable. White-tailed deer remain very rare; this hunt is effectively for the small resident populations in riparian areas only.

Type Gen — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

The general-licence mule deer and white-tailed deer hunt splits into archery (September 1–30) and a short regular season (October 1–10). During archery, bucks are shedding velvet with early fall transition underway; weather is mild, with highs around 67 degrees and minimal snow. Mule deer are found throughout the hunt area but concentrate in mountain shrub, aspen, mahogany, juniper and forested habitats; the western half of the area, mostly Forest Service and BLM ground, offers ample opportunity but requires hiking or horses to access. The regular rifle season (October 1–10) falls during early fall migration and the nocturnal buck phase, as temperatures drop from highs near 53 degrees toward lows near 29 degrees; October brings about 1.5 inches of snow. The eastern checkerboard country and southeastern flats have very low mule deer densities and are poor choices; focus on the western mountains and forested ridges where most mule deer habitat lies.

Land and access

BLM49%

Generally open to public hunting

private land25%

Private

National Forest17%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land5%

Generally open to public hunting

unclassified ownership3%

Ownership unclassified

About 71% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 1,709 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

State trust land counts toward the open figure above. Wyoming extends hunting on legally accessiblestate trust land to the public unless a parcel is specifically closed — the catch is the access itself, since crossing private ground to reach it still needs the landowner’s permission. Camping, fires and off-road vehicles are not allowed on it.

This hunt area has 1 enrolled walk-in area. That is private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Walk-In Area needs no permission slip — a hunter may walk in during the open period, subject to its posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where deer are mapped

Summer Range41%

used in summer

Winter Range32%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range15%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

Yearlong Range14%

the only layer that means year-round use

Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where deer are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Lower elevations

Sagebrush80%

Other cover13%

Grass and meadow4%

Riparian3%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush85%

Conifer7%

Riparian3%

Other cover3%

Grass and meadow2%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush52%

Conifer43%

Aspen2%

Grass and meadow2%

Other cover1%

Shares are of each elevation band, not of the whole hunt area — they describe what grows up there, not how much of the area sits at that elevation.

Weather through the season

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Snowfall
January	31°F	11°F	18.2 in
February	34°F	12°F	15.5 in
March	42°F	18°F	10.5 in
April	49°F	25°F	4 in
May	59°F	33°F	0.4 in
June	69°F	39°F	0 in
July	78°F	46°F	0 in
August	77°F	45°F	0 in
September	67°F	38°F	0 in
October	53°F	29°F	1.5 in
November	39°F	19°F	9.3 in
December	30°F	11°F	17 in

Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.

Common questions

Can a hunter draw a general deer licence for hunt area 135, and what residency do they need?: Wyoming residents buy a general deer licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points—the resident deer draw is random, with no point cutoff, and residents do not build points for deer. Nonresidents must draw a Region G general licence, valid across all general-licence hunt areas in deer region G; the nonresident draw allocates three quarters of Region G licences to preference points (awarded top-down) and a quarter to a random pool. Nonresidents with preference points have a significant advantage.
Which deer species can a hunter legally take in each season here?: Type 3 hunts (September through November) are white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal on these hunts. The Type Gen hunts (September–October general archery and rifle seasons) permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer under those different rules. A hunter should confirm which hunt type applies to their licence.
How much of hunt area 135 is open to public hunting, and where is access best?: About 71% of the hunt area, roughly 1,709 square miles, is public ground a hunter can generally count on. Access is rated good to the forested western half, which is mostly Forest Service and BLM land; hunters can reach mule deer habitat there by hiking or horses. The eastern checkerboard has little deer habitat and most public land is landlocked by private sections, requiring landowner permission to cross.
What terrain and country should a hunter expect to hunt here?: The area spans sagebrush flats and low rolling hills in the south and east to steep ridges and high forested mountains in the northwest, with ground generally graded Gentle overall. Elevations range from 6,100 to above 10,700 feet. Mule deer occupy mountain shrub, aspen, juniper and forested ground, while white-tailed deer are rare, confined to small riparian areas near creeks and towns.
Are there walk-in areas or other public access programs in hunt area 135?: Lincoln County Walk-In Area 6 is available during its posted open season; a hunter may walk in without permission or application during those dates. Enrollment is renegotiated annually, so a hunter should verify its status before planning a hunt. The Hunter Management Area program also operates in the region—check the hunt planner map for available lands.

Sources

Wyoming Game & Fish — Hunting & Trapping — licence types, general and limited-quota hunts, and season structure
WGFD Hunt Planner — hunt-area boundaries, season dates and the unit descriptions
WGFD — Draw results and odds — how the resident random draw and the nonresident preference-point draw work
WGFD — Regulations — the legal limitations on each hunt, and the statewide licence rules
USGS National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021) and 3DEP elevation — land cover and terrain by elevation band

Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.

All Wyoming deer hunt areas