Rep. Cyrus Western, R-Big Horn, has sponsored a bill that is looking to gain more public access in the state. House Bill 122 was approved by the Wyoming Legislature’s House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee on March 4th. If this bill can move forward Rep. Western hopes it will provide access to millions of acres of public land.
“If you go up to a hunter on the streets of Sheridan and say ‘Name your top five issues for hunting,’ without exception, they’re going to say public access or a lack thereof. It’s a really big deal especially in the eastern half of the state, where it’s pretty rough.” – Rep. Cyrus Western
Wyoming Access Program
The bill will give Wyoming Game and Fish leverage while talking with landowners. It does this by better funding the department’s AccessYes program. The program works with landowners to develop walk-in areas and hunting management areas across the state.
The bill looks to fund the AccessYes program by increasing the cost of the Wyoming conservation stamp. Under the new bill, the conservation stamp would be raised from $12.50 to $21. Currently, Wyoming requires every person that wants to hunt and fish to buy the conservation stamp.
“There have been multiple instances in my hunting career where, say I’m on a piece of public land and not too far away — a mile or half-mile — is another really good chunk of public land. I know there is high-quality game, I see it through my hunting scope, I want to get over there. But obviously, I can’t walk in a straight line across private property. I can still access it by staying on public land, but I have to hike all the way around just to get where I want to go. One specific instance, I had to hike 10 extra miles, down a canyon, up a canyon, through some timber, just to get where I wanted to go because it was difficult to access.” – Rep. Cyrus Western
The Legislative Office believes that the changes would generate roughly $1.6 million a year. The large majority of this funding will go directly to the AccessYes program.
So, what are your thoughts on this bill? Do you think hunting access is an issue in Wyoming? Let us know in the comments!
