The short budget session in Wyoming wrapped up recently with legislators passing several bills that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supported, including:
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SJ9 - Keeping public lands protected and decisions local. This nonbinding resolution declared that “the Wyoming Legislature opposes any state or federal legislation or policy that promotes the broad or indiscriminate sale or exchange of public lands,” and that existing frameworks and land exchange mechanisms remain in place and respect state and local input. This resolution was in line with RMEF’s efforts to oppose wholesale transfers of public land as was recently proposed by some members of the U.S. Senate in the 2025 reconciliation budget process.
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HB78 forest health grant program and SF17 good neighbor authority amendments. These bills provide authority for Wyoming’ s state forester for cost share programs and to expand work on federal lands through the Good Neighbor Authority. Managing habitat across federal-state ownership boundaries provides for more efficient projects. Increased management of federal forests will benefit elk, mule deer and other wildlife.
Other legislation that RMEF was tracking or engaged in did not cross the finish line.
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HB19 corner crossing clarification. As introduced, this bill would have made crossing at the corner of any public land to other public land legal, expanding on the federal-to-federal crossing legalized by recent 10th circuit court decisions. However, the bill was amended in the House that narrowed its application to only federal-to-federal crossings where a person does not touch adjacent private property, aligning with the court's decision. While the court's decision makes corner crossing possible from a general access standpoint, it is not always practical. The complexity of the issue will need to be worked on in the interim, because the Senate chose to let the bill die without the time to work out the complexities.
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SF51 Transferrable landowner tags. Legislation that would have allowed landowners to sell the big game tags they can receive as landowners failed early in session on a 6-to-25 vote in the Senate. The author of the bill has expressed a desire to help offset the costs of wildlife to agriculture producers through this mechanism, but with no history of transferrable tags in the state, the opposition from sportsmen and women is very strong.
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SF25 Landowner license limits in quota areas. As the concept of transferable landowner tags has raised the concern that landowners would have financial incentives to obtain these licenses, the potential exists that in some units, landowners could receive the entire allocation of available big game tags. Competing concepts were discussed in the 2025 interim, and this bill that would have allowed the commission to set caps made the most progress, passing the Senate 23-7, but it failed in the House 29-31.
About Hunt 2 Conserve
Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.
