Hunt Area 65, South Converse, Wyoming

The area spans a pronounced elevation gradient from roughly 4,600 feet along the North Platte River and Glendo Reservoir bottomlands to approximately 9,200 feet near the high Laramie Range ridgeline. Lower-elevation terrain is open and rolling — river breaks, dissected badlands, and grassland benches. As elevation rises, the terrain becomes increasingly steep and rocky with large granite outcroppings; GoHunt profile data notes approximately 80 percent of the area has slopes at or below 20 degrees. Deer Creek and its tributaries, LaBonte Creek, Horseshoe Creek, and South Fork Creek drain the interior highlands. USFS Road 653 (Esterbrook Road / Converse County Roads 5 and 7) and USFS Road 658 form the primary access corridors through the mid and upper Laramie Range.

Primary vehicle access routes include Interstate 25 with exits at Glenrock and Douglas on the northwest, U.S. Highway 26 along the North Platte River on the north and east, and Wyoming Highway 34 on the south boundary. From Douglas, the Esterbrook Road (Converse County Roads 5 and 7, continuing as USFS Road 653 and Albany County Road 710) provides the main corridor south into the National Forest highlands. USFS Road 658 branches west off the Esterbrook Road toward Fetterman Road (Albany County Road 61). The Glendo-Esterbrook Road (Ridge Road / Platte County Road 135 / Converse County Road 6) runs along the eastern edge connecting Glendo to the Esterbrook area. USFS Road 660 accesses the interior from the Cold Springs Road (Converse County Road 24). County roads are minimally maintained November through May. Public land is limited to approximately 26 percent of the unit (GoHunt); private ranch land dominates the mid-elevation transition zone and river valley floors, physically blocking access to many USFS and BLM parcels. This is one of the most access-challenged features of the unit — hunters without private-land permission or an outfitter contact are effectively limited to the National Forest highlands and scattered BLM parcels accessible without crossing private land. North Glendo WHMA (open to public hunting; WGFD-managed as of spring 2023) provides walk-in river-bottom access near Glendo. Nonresident general license holders must hunt within Nonresident Region J, which also includes Areas 59, 61, and 64; Region J nonresident quota is 750 (2026 draft regulation).

Lower elevations support shortgrass prairie, mixed sagebrush-steppe, and scattered juniper. The transition zone through the foothills carries gambel oak thickets and sagebrush. Higher terrain on the National Forest is characterized by ponderosa pine, limber pine, and mixed conifer stands, with quaking aspen groves in drainages and wet meadows along stream corridors. Riparian cottonwood and willow line the North Platte River, Deer Creek, and other watercourses. The North Glendo Wildlife Habitat Management Area (approximately 2,663 acres on the Converse-Platte county line at the north end of Glendo Reservoir) provides riverbank, wetland, and upland meadow habitat; WGFD assumed management responsibilities in spring 2023. The Laramie Peak WHMA sits south of the unit boundary and provides additional transition grassland and ponderosa-juniper habitat context.

Mule deer are the primary big-game species, managed as the South Converse Herd Unit (Herd Unit 756). The herd has been documented below management objectives for multiple years per WGFD 2025 Hunt Forecast (Casper Region populations remain well below management goals). CWD prevalence among the highest in Wyoming — both the South Converse and adjacent Laramie Mountains herd units carry documented CWD rates of 20 to 40 percent (WGFD Laramie Region). Mandatory CWD sample submission has been required for mule deer harvested in Area 65 (as well as 59, 60, and 64) due to these elevated prevalence rates; check stations have been operated in Douglas and Glenrock during the fall season. White-tailed deer are also present and huntable, occurring primarily in riparian corridors along the North Platte River, Deer Creek, and tributary drainages; the area supports a meaningful white-tailed deer population with both general and limited-quota licenses issued. Elk are present in the Laramie Range highlands (Elk Hunt Areas 7 and 19 span the broader Laramie Range). Pronghorn antelope occupy the open prairie and sagebrush flats at lower elevations and in the river valley — North Glendo WHMA is specifically identified for antelope hunting (antelope areas 11/103). Black bears and mountain lions are present in the forested highlands. Wild turkey occur in riparian areas and foothills. Sage grouse inhabit lower sagebrush steppe, and pheasant are present near agricultural areas and are released at the North Glendo WHMA (released November–December per WGFD WHMA page).