National Elk Refuge More than 7,500 elk make the winter range of National Elk Refuge their home from October until May. Adjacent to the north side of Jackson, WY, the 25,000-acre refuge includes nearly 1600 acres of open water and marsh lands, 47 different mammals, and nearly 175 species of birds. The very mention of the the word Wyoming evokes the essence of the American West. Wyoming is all that innumerable movies, novels and legends have tried to capture. This Western Spirit thrives to this day in the Cowboy State. The name Wyoming has its origins in an Algonquin word meaning \"large prairie place \".