Hunt Area 47, Webber Canyon, Wyoming

The unit transitions from valley floor to mountain foothills. Lower elevations along the Bighorn River, Nowood River, and Shell Creek are river-bottom flats lying at roughly 3,840 feet (unit low). The terrain climbs eastward toward the Bighorn National Forest boundary into rocky steep canyons, long drainages, rocky bluffs, and cedar breaks. HuntScore records a unit elevation high of approximately 4,242 feet. The overall gradient — from broad irrigated valley floor to rugged canyon country — occurs over a short horizontal distance.

Primary road access enters from U.S. Highway 14 in Greybull eastward toward the Bighorn foothills. The official boundary (per WGFD Chapter 6, 2026 draft) runs: from the junction of US Hwy 16-20 and US Hwy 14 in Greybull, easterly along US Hwy 14 to the Paint Rock Lakes Road (USFS Road 17), southeasterly along that road to the Alkali Road (USFS Road 338), westerly along the Alkali Road to the Bighorn National Forest boundary, southeasterly along that boundary to the Cold Springs Road (Big Horn County Road 268 / BLM-USFS Road 344), southwesterly on the Cold Springs Road to Wyoming Highway 31, westerly on Hwy 31 to US 16-20, and northerly back to Greybull. BLM land (approximately 72% of the total) is accessible via a network of two-track BLM roads and ATV trails by four-wheel-drive vehicle. State land (approximately 6%) is interspersed. Private land (approximately 20%) is concentrated in the lower irrigated valley floors along the Bighorn, Nowood, and Shell Creek drainages; hunters should verify ownership before crossing. The WGFD Walk-In Hunting program enrolls some private parcels in Big Horn County — Walk-In Area 47 is a 326-acre enrolled parcel open to public access from mid-August through May 31; check WGFD's current Walk-In map for enrolled parcels each season. No designated wilderness areas fall within the unit boundary.

Lower elevations support sagebrush-steppe flats, native grassland, and intermittent irrigated agricultural fields near the Bighorn, Nowood, and Shell Creek bottoms. Riparian corridors follow the creek and river drainages with cottonwood and willow. As elevation rises the terrain shifts into juniper and Rocky Mountain juniper (cedar) breaks on dry canyon slopes. Sagebrush and bitterbrush dominate mid-elevation benches between the canyon systems. Ponderosa pine and mixed conifer appear on upper slopes approaching the National Forest boundary.

Mule deer are distributed throughout the unit and are the primary big-game species. They are part of the Paintrock herd (shared with Hunt Areas 41 and 46), which WGFD biologists note has seen buck age structure skew younger in recent years, with yearlings and 2-year-olds predominating over mature 3- and 4-year-old bucks. White-tailed deer occupy the lower-elevation riparian corridors and agricultural fields along the Bighorn River, Nowood River, and Shell Creek. WGFD added white-tailed deer (antlered or any sex under specific licenses) to general seasons for Area 47 and adjacent Region R areas. CWD prevalence in the Paintrock herd bucks has climbed but remained below 20% as of recent WGFD sampling — notably lower than interior Bighorn Basin herds to the west where prevalence exceeds 60%. Wild turkey populations are strong in the Shell Creek, Paintrock Creek, and upper and lower Nowood River drainages. Pronghorn occupy sagebrush flats in adjacent lower-elevation areas. Mountain lion are present statewide under quota permits. The Bighorn National Forest boundary along the unit's eastern edge provides connectivity to elk habitat in adjacent Areas 45 and 46.

1. Harvest data (1,712 hunters, 850 animals, 45.6% success) is from HuntScore citing 2021 season data — aggregates all deer and all license types across the area. 2. Elevation corrected: draft claimed ~9,600 ft high citing GoHunt, but HuntScore confirms unit high of ~4,242 ft (low ~3,840 ft); the 9,600 ft figure is unsupported and was removed. Unit area corrected to 556 sq miles / 356,055 acres per HuntScore (draft said 559 sq mi). 3. Boundary description corrected: 'BLM Road 1111' reference in draft not found in official WGFD regulation; official text references only USFS Road 338 for the Alkali Road. 4. Season dates sourced directly from WGFD Chapter 6 Draft 01.06.2026.2 regulation table rows for Area 47. Wyoming has no separate statewide muzzleloader deer season; muzzleloaders are legal during general season (season_muzzleloader left null). 5. Region R nonresident general license cap is 500 total (covers Areas 41, 46, 47, 50-53) per the nonresident quota table in Chapter 6. 6. GoHunt source removed — GoHunt paywalls data and the 9,600 ft elevation figure it provided was incorrect; verified data sourced from WGFD regulation PDF and HuntScore instead. 7. CWD present in Paintrock herd at under 20% prevalence in bucks per most recent WGFD sampling; hunters should check current WGFD CWD carcass transport guidelines.