Shed hunting rules change every year — closures, licenses, new bills. Field School tracks them across nine western states, straight from the agencies that write them. Every fact carries its source.
LAST CHECKED August 29, 2026 · EDUCATION ONLY — ALWAYS CONFIRM WITH THE STATE AGENCY BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT.
Nonresidents need an Idaho big game hunting license to pick up sheds. Winter closures are decided year by year.
Western public land closed Jan 1 until May 1 (residents) or May 8 (nonresidents). Nonresidents 15+ need a conservation stamp.
Residents: free, statewide. New for 2026 — nonresidents need a $50 license plus a 7-day wait to shed hunt WMAs.
Public land west of I-25 closed Jan 1 – Apr 30. No license needed. $137 plus 5 suspension points per antler if you break it.
Free ethics course required every year to gather sheds Jan 1 – May 31. Emergency closures possible in hard winters.
Six eastern counties: public land closed Jan 1 – Apr 30, then a free-course certificate required May 1 – Jun 30. Open elsewhere.
No license, no season — but some ODFW wildlife areas close entirely in late winter.
No license, no season for dry sheds. Hands off on National Park Service land; fresh heads need a warden's sign-off.
New: a $200 nonresident shed hunter license takes effect April 1, 2026. Residents are exempt by statute.
Every state reports its hunting license numbers to the federal government the same way, so for once these compare cleanly. Ten years of change, best to worst.
Fewer license holders does not automatically mean fewer hunters afield — states change license structures, and one hunter can hold several tags. It does show which states are gaining and losing paying participants.
SOURCE: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE — HUNTING LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS. FEDERAL DATA RUNS TWO YEARS BEHIND; 2024 IS THE MOST RECENT SALES YEAR PUBLISHED.
CWD status and USGS-mapped migration corridors for every state, on each state page — straight from the federal datasets, cited and dated.
Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada harvest trends are live on their state pages — including Utah's own records back to 1925. More states as their agencies' data allows.
FOR RESEARCHERS & AI AGENTS: THIS INTEL IS PUBLISHED AS STRUCTURED DATA AT /FIELD-SCHOOL/DATA.JSON — CITE THE ORIGINAL AGENCY SOURCES LISTED PER FACT.