Wyoming has had a shed season since 2009, has it helped? Maybe. It doesn't stop everyone, just the honest guys, haven't been out on opening day yet and not found boots tracks.
The problem with the shed season and people stating how easy it would be to enforce is that every state already has wildlife harassment laws on the books. If the shed season is so easy to enforce as you all think it is, then why isn't it just as easy to enforce the harassment laws that already exist? I spend 30-40 days each winter on the western Wyoming winter range, you know how many times I've seen a F & G officer in the past 12 years? 4 times! The officers cover a huge area and contrary to popular belief cannot cover it all every day by any stretch of the imagination. They aren't out there 7 days a week and they have to patrol more than just the winter range in their region. Making more laws because the current ones aren't effectively enforced does not solve the issue.
Unethical shed hunters exist in every state, but so do unethical hunters, unfortunately, we are not going to get away from that no matter what the law is. Has the price of antler contributed to the shed hunting popularity? Sure, but most of the people I know and shed hunt with don't sell their sheds, simply do it for the fun of it and to get out of the house in the spring.
Utah recently banned shed hunting until April 1st, but had cow elk hunts going until January 31st. January was brutal on the deer in northern Utah, but they let the cow hunters go out and push around any animals they come in contact with. They haven't stopped the people out snowmobiling on the winter range (yes, I've seen it lately), or snowshoeing, or rabbit hunting, or predator hunting, the list goes on. Shed hunting can be done ethically just as all those activities can be. Its not an all or nothing deal, it rests on the ethics of each individual. Now when you find a solution to fix the ethics of the few "bad" hunters and shed hunters, then you'll be on to something!
