Wyoming Wildlife Taskforce to Hold Meeting in Casper

The Wyoming Wildlife Taskforce announced that they will be holding a meeting on Jan. 25 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Casper to discuss "improving public access, private landowner matters, and preference points."

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The task force was formed to study wildlife policy issues that face the state of Wyoming, had its first meeting in June 2021, and will have public input for studies done over an 18-month period.

It is only able to offer recommendations and it does not have any rulemaking abilities on its own.

Throughout its existence, the task force has offered several recommendations to the governor, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, and the legislature about ways to better address the needs of the wildlife and hunters in the state.

In August, the task force recommended unanimously that the legislature pass legislation that would allow for increased hunting of bighorn sheep, moose, bison, and mountain goat, as well as grizzly bears once they are delisted from the threatened species list.

It is unclear if there have been any bills proposed in the legislature based on recommendations from the task force.

In an August letter to Governor Mark Gordon, the task force also recommended that Gordon include at least $85 million in funding for the corpus of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund in his budget proposal.

Gordon's budget proposal included $12 million to the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund.