Goshen County Pheasant Season 2026: Dates, Stocking and Closures

This fall, Wyoming Game and Fish is not releasing pheasants on any Walk-In Area in Goshen, Platte or Laramie counties. In its October 8, 2026 Laramie Region update, the department said the reason is a lack of cover after very little moisture this summer. In this part of the state, released birds will go to Springer Wildlife Habitat Management Area, Table Mountain WHMA and Glendo State Park.

Two of those three are in Goshen County, and they do not run on the same schedule. Springer has October to itself. Both units share November. Table Mountain carries the season alone through December. With the walk-ins off the stocking list, that rotation decides where a released bird is likely to be on any given Saturday.

Why the Walk-Ins Dropped Out

Pheasants need cover to hold, and a release on thin ground does little for the birds or the hunters. The department's update ties this fall's decision directly to "a lack of cover resulting from minimal moisture this summer." Locally, GoCoNow carried the same release on October 12, so many people around the county saw it there first.

The release did not say how many birds will go out this year. For scale, the Torrington Telegram reported in March that the Downar Bird Farm in Yoder raises up to 20,000 birds a year for public release. Last fall, after an above-average hatch, Game and Fish said about 18,000 pheasants were slated for regional release. This year's birds come from the same farm in the same part of the county, and fewer places are receiving them.

October Belongs to Springer

The Springer Special Hunt in Hunt Area 8 runs October 15 through 31. During those weeks, birds are released every day after shooting hours end. Daily stocking is what makes the permit season different from the rest of the fall, and it is also why access is limited.

The 2026 upland game bird regulations cap the Springer permit season at 120 permits per day, with no more than 120 hunters on the unit at once. Drawn hunters must check in by 8:00 a.m. on their permit date. After 8:00, unclaimed permits can go to other hunters at the check station, first come, first served. When a permitted hunter checks out, the department may also issue that spot to someone else. According to the October update, the check station is open from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Game and Fish assigns the parking lots.

Game and Fish lists these requirements for the Springer Special:

• A Springer permit valid for that day
• A valid bird license
• Hunter safety
• A conservation stamp
• A Pheasant Special Management Permit
• A fluorescent orange or pink outer garment
• Nontoxic ammunition

The 2026 regulations list the Pheasant Special Management Permit at $15.50. For the Springer permit itself, the Game and Fish 2026 application schedule shows applications ran April 1 to June 1 and results came out July 15, and applying was free. Under the department's Springer permit rules, 80% of the limited-quota Springer permits go to residents.

Three Springer dates are youth-only this year: October 17, 25 and 31. On those days, only youths can hunt pheasants there. Adults may come along to help a young hunter or to hunt other species. Two of the three are still ahead: Sunday, October 25, and Saturday, October 31.

Table Mountain's Low Ponds Change Its Role

Table Mountain has a waterfowl hunting closure marked around Pond 1, so ducks are part of how the unit is managed. Game and Fish says current drought and low water have left its ponds unsuitable for waterfowl. If those conditions hold, the department will release pheasants on the unit throughout the general season. If water comes back and waterfowl start using the area, release sites will shift to protect waterfowl hunting.

So the same dry summer that took birds off the walk-ins is, for now, opening more of Table Mountain to pheasants. The arrangement depends on the weather, and the department's update explains how it would reverse.

The unit covers about 1,719.6 acres. Releases there are listed from October 31 to mid-December. Hunt Area 7 opens November 1 and closes December 31 with a daily bag of 3. Elsewhere in Area 7, only male pheasants are legal, but the Table Mountain WHMA is open to any pheasant. Shooting hours on the WHMA run 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., shorter than the sunrise-to-sunset hours elsewhere in the area.

November 1 Opens Both, and November 13 Narrows Both

When the general season opens Sunday, November 1, the county has both units in play at once. Springer moves from daily stocking to twice-weekly releases through a general season that ends November 30, a closing date Game and Fish describes as newly extended. Table Mountain and Glendo are stocked twice a week through the general season, as long as cover and birds hold out.

Partway through the month, each unit loses ground. After November 13:

• At Springer/Bump-Sullivan, land south of Goshen County Road 42 and west of Goshen County Road 37 closes to pheasant hunting. The department's update describes the same closure as the areas around Bump Sullivan Reservoir and south of Road 42W.
• At Table Mountain, Pond Number 1 and the adjacent lands marked by colored signs and posts close to pheasant hunting.

The regulations also close the Downar Bird Farm and the Springer Headquarters in Goshen County to pheasant hunting as marked.

The full fall looks like this:

The Springer pheasant season is 3 birds a day with a possession limit of 9, and shooting hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through both the permit and general seasons. Unlike most of Area 7, Springer is open to any pheasant.

December Narrows to One Unit

After November 30, Table Mountain is the only released-bird option left in the county. Its season runs through December 31, and Game and Fish says stocking typically continues through mid-December. With no birds going onto the walk-ins this year, late-season hunting on stocked birds comes down to that one unit and the twice-weekly release schedule.

Both WHMAs have been closed to vehicles since October 1, and the closure lasts until May 15. Foot and horse access stays open all year. Inside each unit, vehicles are limited to roads marked by white arrows. Anyone hunting pheasants on a Game and Fish WHMA must wear at least one fluorescent orange or pink outer garment. The department notes that stocking schedules can change with weather, road conditions or other factors. When a release is postponed, birds go out as soon as possible after the delay.

The Birds Start in Yoder

All three southeast Wyoming release sites are stocked from the Downar Bird Farm in Yoder. Fees from the Pheasant Special Management Permit help pay for raising and releasing those birds. That permit is required on Springer and Table Mountain, at Glendo State Park, and on any Access Yes land open to pheasant hunting in Areas 7, 8, 9 and 11.

Yoder will be busy on opening weekend for another reason too. The GFWC Yoder Woman's Club holds its annual fall dinners at the Yoder Community Building, 215 Main Street, on Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1. Coffee and pie start at 8:30 a.m., and lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The final Springer youth day and the general-season opener fall on the same two days as the dinners.

This post is general information drawn from Wyoming Game and Fish publications, not legal advice. Please confirm current regulations, permits and closures with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department before you go out.

At 307 Realty Professionals, we follow what happens on Springer and Table Mountain because they are part of fall in Goshen County. If you are weighing a property where hunting access, acreage or a short drive to public land matters to you, we are glad to talk it through. And if you are curious what your own place might be worth, ask us for a free home valuation.