The number of hunting tags available exclusively to landowners could be capped under a draft bill forwarded Wednesday by a Wyoming legislative committee.
The bill would give the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission authority to cap landowner hunting licenses at 40% of the available hunting tags under certain circumstances.
That might include emergency situations, such as the massive die-off of big game animals during the harsh winter of 2022-2023. Game and Fish cut hunting tags in some parts of the state in the wake of those die-offs.
The Legislature’s Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources voted to forward a draft bill to potentially cap the number of landowner tags under such circumstances.
An identical draft bill is up for consideration next month before the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee.
Hunters have expressed concern over most, if not all, available hunting tags in some limited-quota areas going to landowners and cutting out the public.
The Wyoming landowner hunting tag program was launched in 1949 to reward farmers and ranchers for the food and habitat they provide for big game animals.
There have been eight known instances of 100% of available tags in a hunt area going to landowners, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce told the committee.
How Caps Might Work
Allowing the Game and Fish Commission to call for percentage caps would be a change from the current system, which deals only with the total number of tags, Bruce said.
For example, a hunt area might have 100 hunting tags available, she said.
Under the present system, 50 might be set aside for landowner tags, and the other 50 for a general public tag drawing.
If the number of tags for that area had to be cut by half, that could leave 50 for landowners, and none for public hunters, Bruce said.
Allowing for caps based on a percentage would give Game and Fish more flexibility in such situations, Game and Fish Wildlife Division Chief Dan Smith told the committee.
Landowners would not be put into “direct competition” with public hunters for tag drawings, he said. There would be one drawing for landowner tags and a separate drawing for the public.
The initial bill draft didn’t specify a percentage for the landowner tag caps.
Committee member Sen. Laura Pearson, R-Kemmerer, introduced an amendment to make the split 70% for landowners and 30% for the public. That amendment failed.
The committee later settled no fewer than 40% going to landowners, should a cap be implemented in a hunt area.
An Ongoing Debate
Discussions and debates over possible reforms to the landowner tag program have been ongoing for the past few years.
Earlier this year, the Game and Fish Commission rejected proposed changes to the acreage and animal use requirements that qualify landowners to apply for the tags.
But the commission doesn’t have the statutory authority to settle two other controversies over landowner tags.
Those being, whether landowners should be able to put their tags up for sale on the open market and whether to cap the number of landowner tags.
The issue of whether landowners should be able to sell tags has already been hotly debated in interim legislative committee hearings, and could come before the full Legislature in 2026.
Ranchers’ Concerns
During Wednesday's hearing, some questioned whether identical bills regarding the caps are needed in both the Agriculture and Travel, Recreation and Wildlife committees.
Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, said she decided to vote against the version in the agriculture committee.
She also sits on the Travel, Recreation and Wildlife Committee, and said that group should deal with it, as a wildlife issue.
Agriculture Committee member Sen. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, said he agreed with that assessment.
However, Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Cheyenne, said that the bill was appropriate for the Agriculture Committee because it concerns the interests of farmers and ranchers.
Pearson agreed. She also expressed concern over landowners losing access to hunting tags in some circumstances.
That wouldn’t be fair, given the amount of forage and habitat that farmers and ranchers provide for wildlife, even when those animals damage their property.
“I think it’s important to recognize that the ranchers deal with a lot of damages (from wildlife) that maybe aren’t always compensated for,” she said.
She proposed an amendment to exempt landowners from hunting tag caps if they were Wyoming residents operating in the state, had their land classified as agricultural on county tax rolls, and generated at least $100,000 in gross yearly income from agricultural products.
That amendment failed.
Game and Fish Commissioner John Masterson told the committee that the commission and Game and Fish Department greatly value what ranchers and farmers do for Wyoming’s wildlife.
The intent of landowner tag caps would be to keep the public from being cut out of hunting tag drawings.
So far, instances of landowners getting all the hunting tags in an area have been rare, but that might not always be the case, he said.
“I think the statistics and the trends show us that will continue to grow,” Masterson said.
What Are Landowner Tags?
The 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 bought 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 if 500 elk are on that land for four days a year, again, that would also count as 2,000 days.
Tags can be given to a landowner’s immediate family members, but may not be sold.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
