A controversial proposal to let Wyomingites put their landowner hunting tags up for sale on the open market might come back before the Wyoming Legislature during its 2026 session.
Dave True of Casper brought the proposal before the Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on Friday.
He suggested landowners with deeded properties of 2,000 or more acres be allowed to sell their tags on the open market.
Each year, special Wyoming governors’ and commissioners’ tags are auctioned off, frequently fetching $20,000 or more each.
Many believe that landowner tags could fetch similar prices on the open market.
Tags Currently Not For Sale
Qualifying property owners can apply for landowner hunting tags for elk, deer and pronghorn (antelope) in specified hunt areas.
The tags may be transferred to a landowner’s immediate family members as gifts, but they may not be sold or given to non-family members.
Proponents of letting landowners market the tags for sale argue that it would be just compensation for the forage and habitat that property owners provide for wildlife.
Opponents say allowing the tags to be sold would amount to monetizing Wyoming’s wildlife. They argue it would go against the North American model of wildlife management, under which wildlife is a public trust.
The naysayers prevailed in the debate during the Legislature’s 2025 session, over a bill that would have allowed for landowner tag sales, which failed.
Certain Conditions
True said the current proposal could reconcile some of the misgivings over previous attempts to let landowners sell their tags.
Certain conditions would apply, he said.
In addition to having at least 2,000 acres, landowners wanting to sell their tags would have to allow at least some public access for hunters and anglers, he said.
The debate over whether to put the tags up for sale was summed up by an exchange during the committee hearing between committee member Rep. Robert Wharff, R-Evanston, and Brian Baker of the Wyoming Game Wardens Association.
Wharff asked, if people don’t have qualms about the big money paid for governors’ and commissioners’ tags, why would they balk at landowner tags selling for similar amounts?
Baker said the proceeds from governors’ or commissioners’ tags usually go back to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, or toward charities in Wyoming communities.
That can’t be compared to a landowner pocketing the profits from landowner tag sales, he said.
Wharff pressed the point of landowners deserving compensation for supporting wildlife.
“Do you not think that the landowners who are feeding our wildlife are a worthy person to obtain some compensation for the wildlife they’re feeding?” he asked Baker.
Baker replied that while “landowners are critical” to maintaining Wyoming’s abundance of wildlife, marketing landowner tags would not be an acceptable way of showing them appreciation.
“It’s not the Wyoming way to be able to sell a license to the highest bidder and have the money go into a landowner’s pocket,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
