Hunting in Wyoming will get more expensive for some nonresidents, after Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law a bill authorizing significant hikes in special draw license fees, as well as licenses for the “Big 5” trophy game species.
Gordon on Thursday signed House Bill 200, which calls for the fee increases to take effect starting January 1, 2024.
Special Draw Fees Jump
During drawings for nonresident hunting licenses, 40 percent are set aside for the specieal drawing for tags. The remaining 60 percent are for the general draw.
Hunters must apply and pay months in advance of the drawings. Those who fail to draw a tag will have their money refunded, minus a $15-per-tag application fee.
Nonresident hunters going for the 60 percent general draw must pay only the base license fee. For big game, that’s $326 for antelope, $374 for deer and $692 for elk.
Those base fees won’t change under HB 200.
However, hunters applying for the 40 percent special draw licenses must pay a fee in addition to the base license fee. And it is those special draw fees that are increasing.
That includes a jump from $576 to $1,258 for the elk special license draw fee, from $288 to $825 for deer and from $288 to $874 for antelope.
So, for instance, a nonresident going for a 40 percent special drawing elk tag would have to pay the $692 for the license, plus $1,258 for the special draw license fee, for a total of $1,950.
Big 5 Prices Get Bigger
There will also be hikes in nonresident license prices for the “Big 5” trophy game species: Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goats, Moose, Bison and Grizzly bears.
Of those, grizzly bears remain under federal Endangered Species Act protection, and may not be hunted in Wyoming. However, there is an ongoing effort to get grizzlies delisted here, possibly within a year, with Gov. Mark Gordon and the state’s U.S. Congressional delegation involved.
The price of a nonresident bighorn sheep tag will jump from $2,318 to $3,000, mountain goat from $2,160 to $2,750, moose from $1,980 to $2,750, grizzly from $6,000 to $7,500 and bison from $4,400 to $6,000.
