This week Mountain Pursuit filed a complaint against the US Forest Service in federal court over mountain biking in the Palisades and Shoal Creek Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) in western Wyoming, and over ORV/ATV use in the Shoal Creek WSA.

In 1998, Wyoming allocated 1,032 resident moose tags.

In 2018, Wyoming allocated 248 resident moose tags.

This is a 76% decrease in just 20 years. According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department harvest reports, the entire moose tag allotment has been reduced by 898 tags counting both resident and nonresident tags in the same 20-year period.

Mountain Pursuit founder Rob Shaul, was interviewed last week in the Mountain Journal, an online publication from respected journalist Todd Wilkinson covering the challenges facing the intermountain west. 

From a wildlife management perspective, harassment of big game on their winter range has been a growing concern. Several western states including Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada have implemented shed hunting seasonal restrictions to protect big game from harassment.

Mountain Pursuit submitted a letter to the USFS Bridger-Teton Forest Supervisor challenging exploding mountain bike activity in the Palisades Wilderness Study Area in Teton and Lincoln Counties, and mountain bike and destructive ATV/UTV activity in the Shoal Creek Wilderness Study Area in Teton and Sublette Counties.

Wyoming Game & Fish Department leadership has delayed identifying migration corridors for the Sublette Pronghorn and Wyoming Range Mule Deer herds in response to last-minute concerns raised by industry groups representing ranching, mining and oil and gas.

The issue isn't use of ATV, UTVs, other ORVs or 4WD Vehicles during hunting season - the issue is the illegal use, either travel on closed roads or trails, or worse, creating new trails as depicted in the photo above, from the Polaris website.