Hunt Area 40, Buffalo Creek, Wyoming

Rolling sagebrush-covered foothills and cut-up canyon country at lower and middle elevations, transitioning to rocky ridges, long drainages, and steep canyon walls at higher elevations. The Hazelton Road (Bighorn Divide Road) and USFS Roads 25 and 452 form the high-elevation northeastern boundary near the Bighorn National Forest edge. Elevation ranges from approximately 4,631 feet in the lower Nowood and Upper Nowood drainage valleys to approximately 8,724 feet near the forest boundary. The canyon cuts of Buffalo Creek, Deep Creek, and Lost Creek are defining landforms.

Primary access highway is US Highway 16 along the northern boundary, connecting Worland (west) to Ten Sleep (northwest) and Powder River Pass. Key interior and boundary roads include: Bluebank Road (BLM Road 1411) on the west boundary, Canyon Creek Road (USFS Road 25) and Gold Mine Road (USFS Road 452) on the northeast, Hazelton Road (Bighorn Divide Road) on the east, Cherry Creek Hill Stock Drive Road, and the Nowater Stock Drive (BLM Road 1404) connecting to the Upper Nowood Road in the south. Access is complicated by approximately 45% private land creating checkerboard blocks that can isolate patches of BLM and state land. Washakie County WIA 2 (613 acres, Oct 1–Dec 21) is listed as valid for Hunt Area 40, providing some access to otherwise private land. No Big Horn County Walk-In Hunting Areas were found for Area 40. Maps showing land ownership (such as onX or the WGFD Hunt Planner) are essential for legal navigation. Cell service is spotty across much of the unit.

Lower elevations are dominated by sagebrush-steppe with scattered grasslands and mixed-in agricultural/irrigated land near creek bottoms. Mid-elevation terrain features rocky bluffs, rimrock, and sagebrush with mountain mahogany and juniper in the drainages. The small portion of Bighorn National Forest in the northeast corner transitions to ponderosa pine and mixed conifer. Riparian corridors along Buffalo Creek, Deep Creek, the Upper Nowood drainage, and smaller draws provide shrubby cover important to white-tailed deer. The unit lacks the dense spruce-fir or extensive aspen zones found on the main Bighorn plateau to the north.

Mule deer are present throughout the unit at all elevations, with bucks using higher rocky terrain and moving to lower sagebrush and canyon areas as seasons progress. White-tailed deer are concentrated in lower-elevation riparian corridors and drainages, including the Nowood River bottoms and foothill drainages. The Southwest Bighorns mule deer herd (WGFD herd unit encompassing Areas 35, 37, 39, 40, and 164) has been documented below population management objectives in recent years due to prolonged drought and increasing chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevalence; the 2025 WGFD hunt forecast noted improved fawn production and cautious optimism for recovery. Area 40 is a priority CWD sampling area; hunters are encouraged to bring harvested deer heads to check stations. Pronghorn may be present in the lower sagebrush flats. Black bear may occur near the Bighorn National Forest boundary portion. Elk are present in the broader Bighorn Mountains region but managed under separate hunt area numbers. Upland birds including sage grouse are present in the sagebrush-steppe habitat.

1. The 49.2% hunter success rate is from HuntScore citing 2021 combined data for all species and license types — not mule-deer-specific. Confirm via WGFD annual harvest reports. 2. No distinct muzzleloader-only season exists for Area 40; muzzleloading firearms may be used during the regular rifle season under the same dates. 3. Nonresident general license cap: Region M (Areas 35, 39, 40, 164 combined) is 400 total nonresident general deer licenses. Area 37 is in Region B biologically (Southwest Bighorns herd) but a different nonresident region. 4. Type 3 (50 tags, any white-tailed deer, Oct 15–Nov 30) and Type 8 (300 resident / 150 nonresident, doe/fawn white-tailed deer, Oct 15–Nov 30) are also valid in adjacent Area 35. 5. Type 6 tag (50 tags, doe or fawn, Oct 15–Oct 31) is valid on or within 1/2 mile of irrigated land in Area 40. The draft incorrectly omitted this tag. 6. WIA correction: Washakie County WIA 2 (613 acres, Oct 1–Dec 21) IS listed for Hunt Area 40. The draft claim of no WIA agreements was incorrect. 7. The Southwest Bighorns mule deer herd is below population management objectives as of the 2025 WGFD hunt forecast. CWD is prevalent; Area 40 is a priority sampling zone. 8. Pronghorn and Black Bear listed as potentially present based on habitat and geography; huntable status in Area 40 should be verified through WGFD pronghorn and black bear hunt area regulations separately.