GREEN RIVER — The regulations for issuance of licenses, permits, stamps, tags, preference points, and competitive raffle chances is a prevalent topic in the hunting community and was a major point of discussion during the public meeting held Wednesday evening at the Wyoming Game and Fish(WGF) Green River Regional Office.

There was a major focus on proposed changes from Wyoming Game and Fish in relation to landowners and hunting licenses. Currently, if a landowner has 160 acres of contiguous land and 2,000 continuous days of animal usage they are allotted 2 licenses if the property meets certain requirements. The requirement change proposes that landowners must have 160 acres of cultivated land or 640 acres of contiguous land and have 3,000 continuous days of animal usage. Immediate family members of landowners could apply for landowner licenses with a proposed change to include step-relatives.

Sportmen concerns included the number of licenses available in draws for non-landowners, the amount of donated licenses from landowners that don’t participate in hunting, nontraditional ownership with a ‘recreation’ emphasis vs. traditional agricultural operation. The intent of the regulation was to reward landowners who provided livable habitats for antelope, deer, elk, and wild turkey.

As Todd Graham of WGF lead this section of the meeting, attendees had many questions. The attendees questioned the statistics behind the numbers produced by WGF and were told that they were not based on any research conducted by WGF. One attendee asked if previous landowners would be grandfathered into the new regulations. Graham said no but that there was a possibility and it was a topic of discussion within WGF.

“To emphasize, we need it in writing,” Graham said. “Those written comments are what goes to the Commissioners and they’re the ultimate decision makers in this process.

Island Richards, who is a Sweetwater County Commissioner, commented on the 160 acres of cultivated land. He said that it encourages the landowner to get rid of the habitat meant for the animals. The controversy requires more work by the WGF, according to Graham. Another attendee noted that the 160 acre landowner cares more about wildlife than the landowner who owns thousands of acres who may own livestock.

Attendees brought up the regulation requirements and how there are some landowners that don’t maintain habitats. They suggested harsher environmental assessments. WGF responded that they didn’t have the manpower to conduct environmental assessments, siting the length of time it takes BLM to conduct the assessments.

The agenda for the final meeting has not been finalized. It will be available on the WGF website under the ‘Get Involved‘ tag. The final meeting over the regulation proposals will be held in Casper on June 15-16.