Wyoming legislature advances landowner license bills

On Oct. 28-29, the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee convened in Cheyenne to review two major draft bills regarding landowner hunting licenses – an ongoing discussion which has caused its fair share of contention in the state. 

The committee considered Draft Bill 26LSO-0176, Landowner hunting licenses-limitation and Draft Bill 26LSO-0212, Landowner hunting licenses-requirements, ultimately deciding to advance them both. 

Background info

According to multiple sources, the landowner hunting license program was established in 1949 to reward private landowners for providing habitat and forage for Wyoming’s wildlife. 

Under current law, qualifying landowners are able to apply for two hunting tags for each of the eligible species, which includes elk, deer, antelope and wild turkeys. To qualify for tags, landowners must own 160 contiguous acres in a limited-quota hunt area; provide food, shelter and water and at least 2,000 days of use a year for the species being applied for. 

In general hunting areas where tags may be bought over the counter, property owners are not eligible for landowner hunting tags. 

Additionally, licenses can be transferred to a landowner’s immediate family members but may not be sold.

For years, debate over landowner hunting licenses has caused tensions between landowners who believe they should be compensated for providing habitat for wildlife and sportsmen who feel private tags dominate draw allocations in some areas and requires reform.

Landowner license limitations

First, the committee considered Draft Bill 26LSO-0176, which would authorize the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to limit the number of landowner licenses issued in a limited-quota hunt area.

According to Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Director Angi Bruce, these caps would allow more opportunity for the public in certain areas. 

She presented an example of a hunt area with 100 available tags, where, under the present system, 50 might be set aside for landowners and the other 50 for the general public draw. 

However, if the number of tags for the area had to be cut in half – due to something like the large die-off caused by the brutal winter of 2022-23 – it would leave only the 50 tags available for landowners and none for public hunters. 

Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation (WyFB) Executive Vice President Kerin Clark, Wyoming Stock Growers Association Executive Vice President Jim Magagna and Cokeville Rancher Landon Peterson offered testimony on behalf of Wyoming’s ag community, noting, while they understand and are mostly in support of the bill, they believe it should include percentage limitations to ensure landowners are protected. 

“I understand the interest in doing this, but I have two recommendations for this piece of legislation,” Magagna stated. “One would be a minimum percentage, and the percentage we have presented to the commission – and we maintain this position – is no less than 40 percent of tags remain available to landowners.” 

“The second amendment I would suggest at this time is adding language saying ‘when deemed necessary to maintain a public hunting opportunity,’ so it is clearly understood the commission’s ability to impose a percentage quota is only used to assure there is public hunting opportunity and not in the future for some other purpose,” he added.  

After some discussion, the committee settled on both of Magagna’s recommendations, and ultimately voted to advance the legislation including amendments by a roll-call vote of eight yes and four no. 

Landowner license requirements

Separately, the committee approved 26LSO-0212 in a seven-to-five vote. 

If enacted, this bill would set stricter qualification criteria for landowners to qualify for hunting licenses – including Wyoming residency, agricultural land status and minimum gross production requirements – and allow for the possibility of transferring landowner tags under rules yet to be defined, with a sunset of June 2031.

In her testimony, Bruce stated, “There is no real understanding of how this bill would affect our state, but we anticipate landowners will apply for more licenses. Landowners currently apply for about 3,600 licenses a year, but we anticipate this number will go up if they are able to transfer or sell. If there is more interest from landowners, then there could be less opportunity for general hunters in limited-quota areas, just like we talked about with the last bill.”  

WGFD Wildlife Division Chief Dan Smith mentioned the topic of transferrable licenses has made for some of the most contentious meetings he has ever been a part of, and in the past, the public has pushed back hard against the idea.

Clark noted WyFB is in support of allowing landowners to transfer tags, stating, “Ultimately, the goal is to maintain the balance originally intended in compensating landowners for the habitat they provide for wildlife while also providing the opportunity to hunt in Wyoming.” 

Magagna explained, while he supports the concept, he doesn’t necessarily support the way the bill is drafted at this time. Instead, he offered a few ideas. 

“I’m not proposing any amendments, just ideas, such as defining who is eligible, whether one or both licenses will be transferrable or, perhaps, if a landowner chooses to transfer a tag, they only get one that year,” he suggested. 

“Other things we have discussed is if a landowner chooses to transfer their licenses, they have to, in turn, provide public access or, in lieu thereof, contribute some of the proceeds they garner from the license to the department’s AccessYes program,” he added. 

Additionally, several ranchers testified they believe it is only fair to garner revenue off of hunting tags to balance out the feed they sacrifice to wildlife, while representatives of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation warned transferable licenses risk a pay-to-play model which would reduce opportunities for resident hunters. 

Overall, the committee decided both bills will require broader stakeholder input and will be formally introduced in the 2026 legislative session. 

Committee members emphasized the importance of continuing the public comment process and noted any rules adopted by the commission must go through their extensive rulemaking process.

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.