Hunt Area 19, Pumpkin Buttes, Wyoming

Gently rolling to moderately dissected plains of the Powder River Basin with the Pumpkin Buttes rising sharply as isolated flat-topped mesas. Elevation ranges from approximately 4,000 feet on the basin floor to 6,050 feet at North Butte (the highest point in the Powder River Basin). Terrain is generally open with limited topographic relief except around the buttes themselves and drainages feeding the Powder River.

Access is extremely limited. Approximately 86 percent of the unit is private ranchland; public land totals roughly 14 percent (approximately 9 percent BLM and 5 percent state). The legal boundary begins at the I-90/WY-59 intersection at Gillette; WY-59 forms the eastern boundary south to WY-387; WY-387 and WY-192 define the southern boundary; Johnson County Road 135 (Streeter Road) forms the western edge; the Powder River parallels the northwestern boundary back to I-90. There are no National Forests or designated wilderness areas within the unit. Middle Butte is BLM-owned and designated a National Natural Landmark (1976) but is landlocked by private land, making it functionally inaccessible without landowner permission. Hunters accessing public parcels must navigate around large private blocks. Wyoming Walk-In Area (WIA) program parcels may provide additional seasonal access; consult the WGFD public access map annually. Gillette (Campbell County seat) is the nearest city with services; Wright (WY-59 corridor) serves the southern portion of the unit. Nonresidents should budget significant time securing private-land permission or book through an outfitter.

Dominant cover is mixed sagebrush-steppe (big sagebrush, Wyoming sagebrush) over native grassland. Short- and mid-grass prairie occupies the flatter basin terrain. Riparian corridors along the Powder River and its tributaries support cottonwood, willow, and greasewood. The butte slopes and rims carry sparse shrub and grass cover on sandy, Wasatch- and White River Formation-capped soils. Invasive annual grasses (cheatgrass, Japanese brome, ventenata) have replaced native vegetation across portions of the basin, degrading mule deer habitat. Coalbed methane infrastructure and associated roads fragment cover throughout.

Mule deer are the primary big-game species; the Pumpkin Buttes herd unit (Herd 320) has been more than 40 percent below population objective for several years, with approximately 4,700 animals against a revised objective of 9,000 (the objective was reduced 31 percent from 13,000 in November 2023, and the herd remains at only 52 percent of the revised lower target). Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a significant mortality driver. Adult female annual survival has been measured at 0.66-0.79 in GPS-collar studies, well below the 0.85 benchmark for stable populations. Deer-vehicle collisions along Interstate 90 kill an estimated 100 or more mule deer annually along the approximately 42-mile corridor near the unit. Most Pumpkin Buttes mule deer are resident (non-migratory), remaining year-round near the buttes and surrounding basin. White-tailed deer occur in the unit at low numbers, primarily in riparian corridors. Pronghorn antelope are abundant in the broader Powder River Basin and Campbell County. Elk are present in Campbell County but are not a primary target species within the deer hunt area boundaries. Mountain lion is present statewide and occurs in this region. Sage grouse are present in appropriate sagebrush habitat. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) linked to coalbed methane discharge reservoirs has caused periodic deer mortality.

1. Harvest data (mule deer: 266 total, 249 buck + 17 doe, 50.3% success) confirmed from 2023 WGFD Deer Report Table III-A (Area 19 Pumpkin Buttes). 2. The nonresident Region C general license quota of 1,800 is shared across all of Region C (areas 17, 18, 19, 23, 26, 29, 31) and is confirmed from CH 6 Draft 01.06.2026.2 Section 6. 3. Type 8 white-tailed deer quota of 75 confirmed from CH 6 Draft 01.06.2026.2 Section 2 table. 4. Antler point restriction of 3+ points on either antler for mule deer in Area 19 confirmed from regulations. 5. The fawn recruitment figure of 42 fawns per 100 does cited in the original draft was NOT confirmed by any primary source reviewed and has been removed. 6. The I-90 deer-vehicle collision corridor length is approximately 42 miles (per WyoFile citing the Sawyer & Telander study), not 43 as originally drafted. 7. Pumpkin Buttes herd population objective was revised downward 31 percent in November 2023 (from 13,000 to 9,000); current population (~4,700) is only 52 percent of the revised target. 8. Middle Butte (BLM) is a National Natural Landmark (1976) confirmed via Wikipedia. 9. GoHunt lists the unit as 525 square miles; HuntScore lists 1,501 square miles. Discrepancy may reflect different boundary interpretations. 10. Pronghorn and upland bird data are intentionally null as they fall under separate WGFD hunt area numbers.