This data set represents the 2022 bighorn sheep hunt area and herd unit boundaries for Wyoming. The layer was originally digitized at a scale of 1:100,000, using USGS 1:100,000 DRGs as a backdrop for heads up digitizing. Updates are currently done by selecting needed features from other layers, including roads, streams, HUCs, etc. Hunt area boundary descriptions are part of hunting regulations, which are approved and published annually by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. When needed, the 2008 edition (First Edition) of the Wyoming Road and Recreation Atlas (Benchmark Maps) was consulted for road information.

NOTE: A layer of herd units is derived from this hunt area layer by dissolving on the "HERDUNIT" and "HERDNAME" attributes (Dissolve_Fields), and unchecking the box "Create multipart features (optional)". All of the same metadata is used from the hunt area layer except that the citation title is modified so that "Herd Unit" replaces "Hunt Area". The "Dissolve" tool: ArcToolbox > Data Management Tools > Generalization.

NOTE: A layer of "core native herds" is derived by first exporting a selected set (CoreNativeHerd = Yes) and then dissolving on the "HERDUNIT" and "HERDNAME" attributes (Dissolve_Fields), and unchecking the box "Create multipart features (optional)". All of the same metadata is used from the hunt area layer except that the citation title is modified so that "Core Native Herd Unit" replaces "Hunt Area".