Can a hunter with a Wyoming resident general deer license hunt area 145?

Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general deer license over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved. A resident may hold one general deer license per year and may hunt any general-license area in the state, including hunt area 145.

What deer species are legal on the Type 3 any-deer white-tailed hunt in hunt area 145?

White-tailed deer only. On this hunt, mule deer are not legal whatever their antlers. The other hunts on the area permit different combinations: the Type Gen hunt permits both mule deer (with a four-point minimum) and any white-tailed deer, while the late-season Type 3 and Type 8 hunts are also white-tailed deer only.

Does a nonresident need preference points to draw a general license for hunt area 145?

Yes, for nonresidents only. Nonresidents must draw a Region G general license from a pool where three quarters of the licenses are awarded to the preference-point draw, ranked by points, and a quarter go to a random draw. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points and face no points requirement for any hunt area in the state.

What months do the early-season mule deer and white-tailed deer hunts run on hunt area 145?

Type Gen archery runs September 1–14 and regular rifle runs September 15–October 2. The Type 3 any-white-tailed-deer hunt archery also runs September 1–14, with rifle continuing through November 30. Both hunts span the early fall transition period when bucks are still in the high country but beginning to move in response to pressure.

How much of hunt area 145 is open to public access without special permission?

About 62% of the hunt area, or roughly 299 square miles, is dependably open public land—National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The remaining 38% is private. Roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still apply, and access to public ground often requires backcountry travel.

Wyoming Hunt Area 145 (Salt River) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

62%

Elevation

5,600–10,900 ft

Terrain

Steep

Deer region

Hunt area 145 sits in the Salt River Range, a steep and rugged spine rising from Star Valley to summits above 10,900 feet. The country is dominated by coniferous forest on north-facing slopes and aspen-shrub terrain on south and west exposures, with sagebrush and riparian zones at lower elevations. Roughly 43% of the area is gentle ground, but the hunt lies primarily in steep and moderate terrain where access depends on backcountry travel. The lack of developed roads makes this an area for packstock hunters and those willing to hike; the few motorized routes that exist are concentrated on designated Forest Service roads in the major drainages. About 62% of the hunt area is dependably open public land—National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas—though roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still govern where a hunter can actually reach.

Access points radiate from Star Valley along county roads that approach the west slope of the Salt Range, with major National Forest trailheads in Cottonwood Creek, Dry Creek, Willow Creek and Strawberry Creek drainages. The eastern side of the hunt area can also be accessed via the Greys River Road from adjacent hunt area 144. Walk-in areas are available: Lincoln County Walk-In Areas 1, 2, 3 and 4 allow entry during their open periods without permission. Preseason scouting in July and August is valuable here; the country's complexity and size mean that finding where deer concentrate requires time on the ground before the season opens.

Hunt area 145 offers four hunts with different legal animals and seasons. Type Gen permits both antlered mule deer (with a four-point minimum on either antler) and any white-tailed deer, running from early September through early October with an archery window and a rifle window. Type 3 hunts white-tailed deer only, with an any-deer archery hunt in early September and a rifle season lasting through November. A late-season Type 3 hunt opens in December for antlerless white-tailed deer only, and a Type 8 hunt takes doe or fawn white-tailed deer from November through January. Because three of the four hunts are white-tailed deer only, hunters should recognize that mule deer are legal only on the Type Gen hunt.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 145 (Salt 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 Gen — general licence · Antlered mule deer four (4) points or more on either antler or any white-tailed deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 14Regular September 15 – October 2
Type 3 · Any white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Archery September 1 – September 14Regular September 15 – November 30
Type 3 · Antlerless white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular December 1 – January 31
Type 8 · Doe or fawn white-tailed deer
Legal: white-tailed deer only
Regular November 1 – January 31

Where a hunt above sets an antler requirement on mule deer and then allows any white-tailed deer, that point requirement is a mule deer rule only. And “any white-tailed deer” means any— buck, doe or fawn. WGFD writes “antlered” where it means a buck and “antlerless” or “doe or fawn” where it means a female, so an unqualified “any” sets no restriction on sex or age.

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 Gen — Antlered mule deer four (4) points… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)

The Type Gen archery hunt (September 1–14) and rifle hunt (September 15–October 2) target antlered mule deer with a four-point minimum on either antler, and any white-tailed deer. Early September is the velvet-shed period when mule deer bucks are still in high country above 8,500 feet, though hunting pressure begins to push them into timbered habitat. By mid-September and into October the transition to early fall migration brings cooler weather—highs dropping from 66°F to 52°F—and bucks move into the timbered basins and drainages. September snowfall is minimal, but October can see nearly two inches. Motorized access is limited to designated Forest Service routes; most hunters rely on backpack or packstock to reach the subalpine cirques and basins where bucks concentrate. The antler requirement restricts only the mule deer; any white-tailed deer is legal on this hunt regardless of antlers or sex.

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

The Type 3 any-white-tailed-deer archery hunt (September 1–14) and rifle hunt (September 15–November 30) permit white-tailed deer only—mule deer are not legal. Archery in early September coincides with velvet shed when white-tailed deer inhabit similar high basins and timbered areas as mule deer. The rifle season spans the velvet-shed period through the primary rut in late November, carrying hunters through the transition to pre-rut movement and the peak rut itself. Temperatures drop steeply through the season, from September highs near 66°F to November highs near 38°F, and snowfall increases from virtually none in September to nearly 14 inches in November. Motorized access on designated Forest routes exists during season, but most successful hunts here involve footwork and packstock travel into timbered basins and drainages where white-tailed deer concentrate once hunting pressure begins. The long season allows adjustment to conditions as the rut intensifies and movements change.

Type 3 — Antlerless white-tailed deer · whitetail only (December–January)

The late-season Type 3 hunt for antlerless white-tailed deer runs December 1 through January 31, taking doe or fawn only. This is deep winter, when temperatures plummet to lows around 11°F and monthly snowfall reaches 22–25 inches. White-tailed deer have concentrated in their winter ranges, often in more sheltered timbered areas and lower-elevation habitats where snow depth is manageable. Backcountry access becomes more challenging; the same trailheads and motorized routes apply, but snow may slow travel and alter where deer can be found. This hunt rewards hunters able to move through snow and reach wintering concentrations.

Type 8 — Doe or fawn white-tailed deer · whitetail only (November–January)

The Type 8 doe or fawn white-tailed-deer hunt runs November 1 through January 31, spanning the transition from fall movement through the primary rut and into winter consolidation. Early November is relatively mild—highs around 38°F with modest snowfall—but the season carries through peak rut in late November and deep winter by late December and January, when temperatures drop to 11°F and monthly snowfall climbs to 22–25 inches. This extended season lets hunters adapt to shifting deer behavior: early November deer may still be in transition between summer and winter ranges, while by December they are concentrated in winter habitat. Access roads and trailheads remain the same throughout, but snow and cold increase the physical demands of backcountry hunting as the season progresses.

Land and access

National Forest58%

Generally open to public hunting

private land38%

Private

State Trust Land2%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM1%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas1%

Generally open to public hunting

About 62% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas, roughly 299 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 55% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.

This hunt area has 4 enrolled walk-in areas. 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 Range79%

used in summer

Winter Range22%

used in winter

Yearlong Range11%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range10%

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

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

Other cover41%

Sagebrush31%

Conifer14%

Riparian11%

Aspen3%

Mid elevations

Conifer57%

Sagebrush39%

Aspen2%

Riparian1%

Higher elevations

Conifer55%

Sagebrush39%

Grass and meadow5%

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	30°F	11°F	24.7 in
February	33°F	12°F	19.4 in
March	41°F	18°F	14.2 in
April	48°F	24°F	6.7 in
May	58°F	32°F	0.6 in
June	67°F	39°F	0 in
July	77°F	45°F	0 in
August	76°F	44°F	0 in
September	66°F	37°F	0 in
October	52°F	28°F	1.9 in
November	38°F	18°F	13.8 in
December	29°F	11°F	22.3 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter with a Wyoming resident general deer license hunt area 145?: Yes. Wyoming residents buy a general deer license over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved. A resident may hold one general deer license per year and may hunt any general-license area in the state, including hunt area 145.
What deer species are legal on the Type 3 any-deer white-tailed hunt in hunt area 145?: White-tailed deer only. On this hunt, mule deer are not legal whatever their antlers. The other hunts on the area permit different combinations: the Type Gen hunt permits both mule deer (with a four-point minimum) and any white-tailed deer, while the late-season Type 3 and Type 8 hunts are also white-tailed deer only.
Does a nonresident need preference points to draw a general license for hunt area 145?: Yes, for nonresidents only. Nonresidents must draw a Region G general license from a pool where three quarters of the licenses are awarded to the preference-point draw, ranked by points, and a quarter go to a random draw. Wyoming residents have no deer preference points and face no points requirement for any hunt area in the state.
What months do the early-season mule deer and white-tailed deer hunts run on hunt area 145?: Type Gen archery runs September 1–14 and regular rifle runs September 15–October 2. The Type 3 any-white-tailed-deer hunt archery also runs September 1–14, with rifle continuing through November 30. Both hunts span the early fall transition period when bucks are still in the high country but beginning to move in response to pressure.
How much of hunt area 145 is open to public access without special permission?: About 62% of the hunt area, or roughly 299 square miles, is dependably open public land—National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The remaining 38% is private. Roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still apply, and access to public ground often requires backcountry travel.

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