Back when I was a young wildlife biologist, I would occasionally rant and rail about the need to get the politics out of wildlife management. I don't do that anymore. Here's why: The notion of taking the politics out of wildlife conservation is tantamount to taking the role of the people out of wildlife conservation. We cannot and should not do that, because the wildlife resource belongs to them. Let me suggest that no matter how well we do the science, we cannot be any more effective at wildlife conservation that we are at keeping people involved in it.

That's why we are a player at the Wyoming State Legislature. I'm a registered lobbyist and so is Joy Bannon. Both of us have some experience at this game, and speaking for myself, I enjoy doing it. More importantly, we are pretty effective at it.

During the legislative session, one of us is at the capitol nearly every day. Sometimes, we're attending committee meetings, other times we're having conversations with legislators and other lobbyists about our priorities for the session. In any case, we are representing you - the hunters, anglers, and wildlife enthusiasts who treasure our wildlife heritage.

As each session progresses, we'll be sending out periodic updates on the progress of legislation that we care about. Stay in touch, and you'll be able to follow the action!

Walt Gasson, Executive Director
Wyoming Wildlife Federation

The session kicked off today with a bang. If my count is correct, there are some 23 new faces in the ranks of Wyoming legislators, so there will be lots of new contacts to make. As always, I want to invite your active participation in the legislative process. The legislature's website is the most important key to your participation, and I urge you to visit often. The link below will provide you several options for participation: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LEGINFO/HowtoParticipate.pdf.

Now let's look at some bills we will be tracking in this session. For each one, I'll provide a link for anyone who would like to read the introduced version of the bill:

HB0076 - Game and fish -turkey pioneer license - This bill amends the statue dealing with pioneer licenses to include a reduced price turkey license. The numbers of these licenses are very low, and any loss incurred by the Game and Fish Department can be addressed in a recoupment bill. We should support this bill. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/HB0076.pdf

HB0100 - Game and fish-land acquisition - This bill would prohibit the Commission from acquiring land through adverse possession or proscriptive easement. It probably would not change the way they acquire land now, and there may be some constitutional questions here. For now, I'd suggest not taking a position on this bill. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/HB0100.pdf

HB0101 - Vicious animals-interference with game wardens - This bill provides criminal penalties (low misdemeanor) for anyone who fails to control a vicious animal that hinders a game warden in the performance of his or her duties. We should support this bill. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/HB0101.pdf

SF0039 - Aquatic invasive species-reciprocity - This bill empowers the Game and Fish Commission to establish reciprocal agreements with neighboring state on AIS inspection fees on shared waters. This is similar to the existing reciprocal licensing agreement between UT and WY on Flaming Gorge. We should support this bill. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0039.pdf

SF0048 - Wildlife and natural resources trust account board - This bill amends the statute that establishes terms for WNRT board members to establish staggered board terms, similar to those of Game and Fish commissioners. We should support it. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0048.pdf

SF0063 - Game and fish-donation of hunting licenses -This bill would amend the existing statute to allow a person to surrender a valid big game license for reissuance to a disabled veteran selected and sponsored by a charitable organization. We should support this bill. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0063.pdf

SF0071 - Education-hunter safety courses - This bill would mandate Wyoming schools to offer hunter education in the 5th or 6th grade. With the existing demands on educators, this bill is unlikely to go anywhere. We should take no position on it. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0071.pdf

SF0080 - Game and fish-complimentary licenses - This bill would limit the number of Commissioner's tags that could be issued in any given area to no more than 10% of the total license quota in that area. We should take no position on it. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0080.pdf

SF0083 - Game and fish-resident preference points - This bill would establish a system for resident preference points in the issuance of elk, deer, and antelope licenses similar to that currently used for nonresidents. The most recent survey data by the Department suggests that resident hunters are most evenly split on this topic. As such, we should take no position on it. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SF0083.pdf

SJ0001 - Right to hunt, fish, and trap - This is the bill that if passed, would put before the voters a proposal to amend the state constitution to forever preserve the right to hunt, fish and trap while not creating a right to trespass, diminish other private rights or diminish the duty of the state to manage wildlife. We are working very closely with the sponsors on this one, and I am satisfied that it is a good bill. It will be my first priority this session. I have attached a white paper that we produced to provide more information. http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2011/Introduced/SJ0001.pdf