Hunt Area 123, Yellowtail, Wyoming

Small unit (~38 sq mi) in Big Horn County at the base of the Bighorn Mountains west slope, centered on the Horseshoe Bend reach of the Bighorn River immediately upstream of Yellowtail Reservoir. Elevation ranges from approximately 3,700 ft (river bottom) to 4,618 ft. Dominant landforms are cottonwood-lined river bottoms and irrigated agricultural benchlands near the river, transitioning to high-desert sandstone breaks in the northern and eastern portions. The unit contains one of the largest cottonwood riparian systems in Wyoming. Vegetation is primarily riparian woodland and wetlands along the river with sagebrush-grassland uplands.

low

CWD PRIORITY MONITORING ZONE: Hunt Area 123 is part of the Shoshone River deer herd (Hunt Areas 121-123), designated as a priority CWD sample-collection area by WGFD. Preliminary 2025 data show prevalence exceeding 60%. // Wyoming uses the same number (123) for different species in different geographic locations — Deer 123 = Yellowtail (Big Horn County, Cody Region); Elk 123 = a geographically separate northeastern Wyoming unit. // General deer licenses in Area 123 are OTC for residents with no land restriction. The Type 6 private-land doe/fawn license (quota 25) is proposed to be renumbered Type 7 in the 2026 draft regulation — verify with WGFD before applying. // The nonresident combined-license claim (Areas 121-127) could not be confirmed by any official source and has been removed.