Hunt Area 1, Crook, Wyoming

Rolling to moderately rugged mountain terrain dominated by the Bear Lodge Mountains, with long, deep canyons cutting through pine-forested ridges and interspersed sagebrush flats and grassland benches. The Bear Lodge Mountains reach a high point of approximately 6,640 feet (Warren Peak/Bear Lodge Mountain) with valleys and plains dropping toward 3,500–4,000 feet in the western and southern portions of the area. The unit extends into the lower-relief ranch country of far western Crook County approaching Campbell County.

The area is bounded by Wyoming Highway 112 (Montana state line south to Hulett), Wyoming Highway 24, U.S. Highway 14, Crook County Road 116 (Cabin Creek Road), Crook County Road 263 (Oshoto Road), Crook County Road 68 (D Road), and Campbell County Road 85 (Rocky Point Road). The Black Hills National Forest Bearlodge Ranger District (approximately 200,000 acres, office in Sundance at 101 S. 21st Street) provides the core public land block, accessible from Wyoming Highway 24 north of Sundance and from numerous USFS roads off U.S. Highway 14. Forest Service campgrounds at Cook Lake, Reuter, and Sundance serve as staging areas. No Crook County Walk-In Hunting Areas (WIHAs) are designated valid for Deer Hunt Area 1; WIHA 1 (830 acres) permits deer hunting in Area 4 and elk hunting in Elk Hunt Area 1 only. Private land dominates the western plains and ranch country portions of the unit, blocking much of the low-elevation terrain. A GPS with land status mapping is strongly recommended. Four-wheel drive and snow chains are advisable for late-season access. Devils Tower National Monument (NPS) lies northwest of Hulett within or near unit boundaries and is closed to hunting.

Ponderosa pine forest dominates the Bear Lodge uplands and canyon slopes, the primary cover type on the Bearlodge Ranger District. Aspen groves occupy moist draws and meadow margins between forest and grassland. Ravines support wild rose, skunkbush sumac, and chokecherry shrub communities. Bur oak appears on lower slopes and canyon bottoms. The western and southern portions of the area transition to sagebrush-steppe and mixed-grass prairie ranch country. Riparian corridors along creek drainages provide dense brushy cover. The Bear Lodge Mountains lack white spruce, unlike the core South Dakota Black Hills.

Both mule deer and white-tailed deer are present; white-tailed deer are the more abundant species on public Black Hills forestlands while mule deer concentrate more on private ranch country and transitional sagebrush-grass habitat. Both populations were substantially reduced by back-to-back epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) outbreaks in 2021–2022, with the Black Hills mule deer herd declining from a 2017 peak of over 32,000 to approximately 13,500 post-2022 (management objective 30,000), and the whitetail herd falling from a 2017 peak of roughly 62,500 to approximately 28,250. Both herds showed signs of recovery beginning 2023. Elk are present on the Bearlodge Ranger District (governed by a separate elk hunt area number). Merriam's wild turkey populations are strong throughout Crook County's Black Hills and Bear Lodge units. Pronghorn antelope occupy the open ranch country in lower portions of the area. Mountain lion (cougar) is present. Black bear occasionally moves through the area from adjacent ranges. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in both deer species across all Crook County deer hunt areas. Sharp-tailed grouse and ruffed grouse are present in appropriate habitat.

1. Area 1 General license is antlered deer only (OTC, no quota). The combined limited quota row for Areas 1, 2, 8 is Type 3 (doe or fawn white-tailed deer, valid on private land only), quota 350 shared across all three areas — not Type 8 as originally drafted. 2. No Type 1, 2, or 8 tags exist for Area 1; the draft's reference to those types was incorrect. 3. Nonresident Region A general deer license quota for Areas 1–6 combined is 2,000 — the draft's figure of 750 was incorrect. 4. No Crook County WIHAs are valid for Deer Hunt Area 1 deer hunting; WIHA 1 allows elk in Elk Hunt Area 1 and deer in Deer Hunt Area 4. 5. Wyoming does not have a separate muzzleloader-specific deer season for the Black Hills; muzzleloaders may be used during the Sep 1–30 archery season. 6. CWD confirmed in both deer species across all Crook County deer hunt areas. 7. Both mule deer and whitetail populations remain below management objectives as of 2025, in recovery from 2021–2022 EHD outbreaks. 8. Bear Lodge Mountains confirmed to lack white spruce (unlike core South Dakota Black Hills).