At least for now, an unpopular proposal to increase the number of acres people must own to qualify for landowner hunting tags is apparently off the table.
The Wyoming Game And Fish Department recommended against the proposal, leading up to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission’s meeting July 15 in Casper.
“The new draft recommends no change in the minimum size (160 contiguous acres of land) of a qualifying parcel from the current Chapter 44 regulation,” according to a June 16 memo to the Game and Fish Commission.
Proposal Draws Backlash
There’s been discussion of increasing the required number of acres from 160 to 640, and also upping the number of “animal use days,” from 2,000 to 3,000.
That caused a backlash, with critics arguing that would cut hundreds of small-property owners across Wyoming out of the program.
Kevin Christopherson is one of those. He owns a total of 490 acres on two parcels in the Box Elder Canyon area, also south of Glenrock. He and his family have used landowner tags to hunt elk there, and he wants to pass that legacy to his grandchildren.
On Monday, he told Cowboy State Daily that he was relieved to hear that the Game and Fish Commission is backing off on the proposal.
But he’s not sure if the fight is over. The idea could still be brought up before the 2026 session of the Wyoming Legislature, he said.
Also in play is a separate, but related proposal to allow landowner tag holders to put their hunting tags up for sale on the open market.
Christopherson also opposes that idea, as do many Wyoming hunters.
He and others plan to keep voicing their opposition, he said.
“I’m still planning on going to that (July 15) meeting,” he said, “There’s a lot of us planning on going.”
The Game and Fish Commission has the authority to change the acreage required for landowner tags. Only the Legislature has the authority to decide if the tags could be sold on the open market.
How Landowner Tags Work
The Game and Fish landowner tag program allows qualifying property owners to apply for two hunting tags for each of certain huntable species. Those species include elk, deer, antelope and wild turkeys.
To qualify for tags, one needs to own at least 160 contiguous acres in a draw-only hunt area for each species being applied for, according to Game and Fish regulations.
If general hunting tags – which may be purchased over-the-counter – are valid in that area, the property owner can’t apply for landowner tags.
The land must also provide food, cover and water for the species being applied for. And it must provide at least 2,000 days of use each year for the species the landowner is applying for.
What that means, for instance, is if 10 deer occupy the land for at least 200 days a year, that counts as 2,000 days of use.
Or, likewise, if 500 elk are on that land for four days a year, again, that would also count as 2,000 days.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
