Hunt Area 60, Pole Mountain, Wyoming

Rolling granite uplands and rocky hills rising to approximately 9,025 feet at Pole Mountain summit, set above the high plains at a base elevation of roughly 6,800–7,000 feet along Interstate 80; characterized by large granite outcrops, shallow drainages, and long open ridgelines interspersed with forested draws.

Primary highway access is via Interstate 80 (southern boundary) and Wyoming Highway 210 (Happy Jack Road), which traverses the Pole Mountain national forest unit east-west between Laramie and Cheyenne. Interstate 25 forms the eastern boundary. The western national forest block is accessible from I-80 exits at Vedauwoo (Exit 329) and Happy Jack (Exit 323), with numerous two-track and gravel forest roads managed by the Laramie Ranger District; some roads require high-clearance vehicles and are impassable in wet conditions. Trailheads include Happy Jack, Summit, Lincoln Gulch, Headquarters East, and Nautilus Rock. Approximately 71 percent of the hunt area is private land — primarily ranches in the eastern lowlands between WY-211 (Horse Creek–Chugwater Road) and I-25 — with very limited walk-in access; hunters must secure landowner permission for the vast majority of the unit. Only the USFS block (~17% of the area) and scattered BLM and state parcels (~8% combined) offer unrestricted public access. The WGFD Type 2 license limitation restricting deer harvest to 'off national forest' reflects the significance of private-land hunting in this unit.

The Medicine Bow National Forest portion supports lodgepole and ponderosa pine stands, scattered aspen, and rocky subalpine meadows with high-elevation forbs. The lower and eastern portions of the unit transition to short-grass prairie and sagebrush-steppe typical of the Laramie Basin, with willow and cottonwood in creek riparian corridors. The mix of conifer edge, open parks, and grassy flats creates diverse browse habitat.

Mule deer and white-tailed deer are both present and constitute the primary quarry; mule deer are more common on the forested USFS land and whitetails concentrate along creek bottoms and agricultural edges in the private-land lowlands. Elk use the national forest portion of the unit but are managed under separate WGFD elk hunt area numbers. Pronghorn occupy open sagebrush and grassland in the lower elevations. Mountain lion occur in forested portions of the unit. The area also supports wild turkey in brushy draws and riparian corridors, as well as coyote, red fox, and raptors. No bighorn sheep or moose are documented within this unit.

1. All deer licenses in Area 60 are limited quota draw (Types 1, 2, 3, 6, 8) — no general (OTC) deer license exists. Type 1 (any deer, quota 100), Type 2 (any deer off national forest, quota 200), Type 3 (any white-tailed deer, quota 100), Type 6 (doe or fawn, quota 50, Oct 15–Nov 30), Type 8 (doe or fawn white-tailed, quota 100, Oct 1–Dec 31). No muzzleloader-specific season established for Area 60. Verified directly from WGFD Chapter 6 regulation PDF. 2. Hunter success (40.6%) and harvest (394) figures are from the 2021 season as reported by HuntScore; these figures include both mule deer and white-tailed deer combined and should be treated as indicative rather than definitive. More recent WGFD harvest data by individual hunt area was not available through public-facing tools. 3. Public land breakdown per HuntScore: USFS ~17%, BLM ~2%, State ~6%, other ~2% — approximately 25% total. Private land (~71%) requires landowner permission. 4. Boundary confirmed from WGFD Chapter 6, Section 7: city of Laramie → Rogers Canyon-Ninth Street Road (Albany County Road 17 / Laramie County Road 228) → WY-211 (Horse Creek-Chugwater Road) → I-25 → I-80 → city of Laramie. 5. Correction from draft: Type 6 quota is 50 (draft omitted this; confirmed from regulation table). All other license types and quotas confirmed accurate.