§ 23-1-302 — Powers and duties

(a) The commission is directed and empowered:
(i) To fix season and bag limits, open, shorten or
close seasons including providing for season extensions for
hunters with disabilities as established by commission rules and
regulation, on any species or sex of wildlife for any type of
legal weapon, except predatory animals, predacious birds,
protected animals, and protected birds, in any specified
locality of Wyoming, and to give notice thereof;
(ii) To establish zones and areas in which trophy
game animals may be taken as game animals with a license or,
with the exception of gray wolves, in the same manner as
predatory animals without a license, giving proper regard to the
livestock and game industries in those particular areas;
(iii) To acquire lands and waters in the name of
Wyoming by purchase, lease, agreement, gift or devise, not
including powers of eminent domain, and to develop, improve,
operate, and maintain the same for the following purposes:
(A) Fish hatcheries, rearing ponds, game farms,
and bird farms;
(B) Management of game animals, protected
animals and birds, furbearing animals, game birds, fish, and
their restoration, propagation, or protection;
(C) Public hunting, fishing, or trapping areas
as places where the public may hunt, trap, or fish in accordance
with law.
(iv) To acquire easements and construct suitable
access roads leading to public lands and department lands and
waters acquired pursuant to W.S. 23-1-302(a)(iii);
(v) To sell, exchange, lease or assign any fee
ownership interest in any land, water, or other property
heretofore or hereafter acquired;
(vi) To capture, propagate, transport, buy, sell, or
exchange any species of game animal, bird, fish, fish eggs, or
furbearing animal needed for propagation or stocking purposes,
and to exercise control over undesirable species and protected
species;
(vii) To direct the capture of any of the wildlife of
Wyoming in localities where species are abundant and to
transport and distribute any wildlife as in the judgment of the
commission is for the best interests of Wyoming;
(viii) To authorize the chief game warden or his
designee to kill any wildlife in Wyoming when in the judgment of
the commission the killing is necessary or when the animals or
birds are doing substantial damage to property. The animals or
birds so killed may be sold or otherwise disposed of within
Wyoming;
(ix) To make suitable provisions for the feeding of
elk subject to the requirements imposed under W.S. 23-1-305, and
other game animals, birds, and fish of Wyoming in such
localities as may be deemed necessary;
(x) To enter into cooperative agreements with
educational institutions and other agencies to promote wildlife
research;
(xi) To enter into cooperative agreements with
federal agencies, corporations, associations, individuals, and
landowners for the development of state control of wildlife
management and demonstration projects;
(xii) To supervise the protection, management, and
propagation of fish and all fish culture of a public nature and
the fish hatcheries now owned or established in the future by
Wyoming;
(xiii) To grant licenses for scientific or
educational purposes to capture, take, or ship out of Wyoming,
under the supervision of the commission, such wildlife or nests
or eggs of nonpredacious birds as the commission may deem
proper. The commission shall limit the number of any species so
taken and establish appropriate compensation;
(xiv) To prescribe the requirements and form,
including electronic licensing format, for the licenses, stamps
and tags provided for in this act, to issue licenses, stamps and
tags under the provisions of this act, including through
electronic licensing, to make regulations for the sale and
record of licenses, stamps and tags, including sale by
electronic licensing, and to distribute licenses, stamps, tags
and electronic equipment and software programs associated with
electronic licensing only to persons authorized by the
commission to issue licenses, stamps or tags;
(xv) To require record keeping and the submission of
reports of any specified information from any type of commercial
operation or business authorized under this act;
(xvi) To provide for the enforcement of this act;
(xvii) To provide for the employment of office and
field help to administer this act. Salaries shall be determined
and fixed as provided by law;
(xviii) To open game preserves for hunting when they
are overstocked or a serious shortage of feed exists. These
preserves shall be so managed that they do not cause
overstocking or other damage to the surrounding area;
(xix) To designate as protected, game, or predatory,
any species not designated in W.S. 23-1-101, and to establish
rules and regulations necessary for control of the species so
designated. The designation may apply to portions of or the
entire state;
(xx) To authorize the collection, classification, and
dissemination of such statistics, data and information as in its
discretion will tend to promote the objects and purposes of this
act;
(xxi) To establish check stations to check licenses
and to establish kill or catch reports, and to designate the
location of check stations in yearly hunting regulations;
(xxii) To promulgate such orders as the commission
considers necessary to carry out the intent of this act;
(xxiii) To create new divisions or abolish any
existing divisions within the department as necessary to
effectively administer and enforce this act;
(xxiv) To approve and make public budgets and
establish policy for the department;
(xxv) To regulate the use of power vehicles on land
owned or leased by the commission;
(xxvi) To regulate or prohibit the importation of
exotic species, small game animals, furbearing animals,
protected animals, game birds, migratory birds, protected birds,
and fish into Wyoming, and to regulate and permit the
importation of big or trophy game animals into Wyoming only for
exhibition purposes or for zoos;
(xxvii) To designate individual bison or identifiable
herds of bison as wildlife when the action is subsequently
approved by the Wyoming livestock board;
(xxviii) To reject or to accept and expend for
purposes authorized under this section any and all gifts of
cash, stocks, bonds or any other form of monies. Gifts shall be
deposited and expended as provided in W.S. 23-1-501;
(xxix) After the date gray wolves are removed from
the list of experimental nonessential population, endangered
species or threatened species in Wyoming as provided by W.S.
23-1-108, to set seasons and bag limits for gray wolves
designated as trophy game animals pursuant to W.S.
23-1-101(a)(xii)(B)(I) and (II), and to regulate the number of
gray wolves which may be taken under a license issued under this
act or as necessary to carry out the commission's duties under
this act;
(xxx) To prohibit and regulate the administration of
any chemical or biological substance or physical procedure to
wildlife under the management and jurisdiction of the commission
for the purpose of controlling fertility or reproduction;
(xxxi) To regulate and control the collection of shed
antlers and horns of big game animals for the purpose of
minimizing the harassment or disturbance of big game populations
on public lands west of Interstate 90 from the Wyoming-Montana
state line to Buffalo and west of Interstate 25 from Buffalo to
the Wyoming-Colorado state line any time during the year,
subject to the provisions for bighorn sheep horns in W.S. 23-3-
117. Pursuant to this paragraph the commission shall establish
by rule:
(A) A requirement for nonresidents to obtain a
conservation stamp for the collection of big game animal shed
antlers and horns on designated state or public lands and dates
when this requirement shall be applicable. A conservation stamp
shall not be required for residents of Wyoming or any person
under fifteen (15) years of age;
(B) Seasons for the collection of big game
animal shed antlers and horns on designated state or public
lands. Any season to collect big game animal antlers and horns
shall begin for residents seven (7) days before the start of the
season for nonresidents.
(xxxii) To adopt rules regulating, limiting or
prohibiting the use of hunting technologies and the selling of
wildlife geographic locations. "Hunting technologies" shall be
limited to those technologies specified in subparagraphs (A)
through (C) of this paragraph. No rule adopted pursuant to this
paragraph shall apply to the taking of predatory animals as
defined in W.S. 23-1-101(a) or to the use of hunting
technologies by USDA APHIS wildlife damage management personnel
when acting in their official capacity. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be interpreted to limit any other authority of
the commission provided in this act to regulate the taking of
wildlife. Before promulgating any rule under this paragraph, the
commission shall submit the proposed rule in writing to the
joint travel, recreation, wildlife and cultural resources
interim committee and appear before the committee upon request.
Rules promulgated under this paragraph shall only apply to:
(A) Thermal or infrared imaging or other imaging
outside the normal visible light spectrum;
(B) Real time video photography equipment or
video imaging viewable remotely; or
(C) The selling of wildlife geographic
locations.
(xxxiii) To consider establishing and regulating
resident mountain lion pursuit seasons. In any areas of the
state where mountain lion hunting has been authorized and during
a mountain lion pursuit season, a resident may use dogs to
pursue a mountain lion but no mountain lion shall be killed.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section:
(i) The commission shall not ban the use of lead shot
except in areas where shotgun shell pellets will exceed twenty
thousand (20,000) per acre as determined by sampling methods
approved by the commission. Banned lead shot areas shall not
exceed areas reasonably necessary for practical enforcement of
the ban;
(ii) This subsection does not apply if federal
regulations are adopted forcing the designation of areas in
addition to those specified in paragraph (i) of this subsection
as nontoxic shot zones. The commission shall negotiate with the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize the extent
to which lead shot is banned;
(iii) The commission shall not assert any claim based
upon adverse possession or a prescriptive easement as a basis to
acquire any interest in real property. Provided, however, that
the commission may assert a claim of adverse possession or
prescriptive easement as a basis for correcting or interpreting
a defect in a written grant of an interest in real property.
(c) Repealed by Laws 1988, ch. 79, § 11.
(d) Repealed by Laws 1988, ch. 79, § 11.
(e) Repealed by Laws 1988, ch. 79, § 11.
(f) Repealed by Laws 1988, ch. 79, § 11.
(g) Repealed by Laws 1988, ch. 79, § 11.
(h) For purposes of promoting the maintenance of wildlife
habitat and attaining wildlife management objectives pursuant to
W.S. 23-1-103 and in addition to duties prescribed under
paragraph (a)(xiv) of this section, the commission shall
promulgate rules and regulations governing the issuance of elk,
deer, antelope and turkey hunting licenses to Wyoming landowners
without subjection to prescribed means of competitive public
issuance. Fees assessed for licenses authorized under this
subsection shall be equal to fees prescribed under W.S.
23-2-101(j) for each species for which the license is issued.
(j) For the purpose of attaining and maintaining wildlife
management objectives, the commission may designate funds not to
exceed four percent (4%) of all license fees under this title
annually plus any amount collected under W.S. 23-2-101(q) to be
used for management and control of predator populations.
(k) Upon receipt from the department of family services of
a certified copy of an order from a court to withhold, suspend
or otherwise restrict a license issued by the commission, the
commission shall notify the party named in the court order of
the withholding, suspension or restriction in accordance with
the court order. No appeal under the Wyoming Administrative
Procedure Act shall be allowed for a license withheld, suspended
or restricted under this subsection.
(m) The commission shall by rule and regulation provide
for the issuance of a disabled hunter companion permit. An
individual acting in accordance with a permit issued pursuant to
this subsection shall not be in violation of any provision of
this act or rule or regulation of the commission prohibiting the
taking of a game animal without a license. The permit shall:
(i) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 54, § 2.
(ii) Authorize the permit holder to reduce to
possession any animal the disabled hunter has lawfully wounded
or killed under authority of a license issued under this act
which he is physically incapable of pursuing;
(iii) Require that the licensed hunter or the permit
holder tag any animal retrieved under authority of the permit,
if otherwise required by this act;
(iv) Be issued in accordance with commission rules
and regulations specifying the physical limitations which must
be met by the disabled hunter and the requirements for the
permit holder;
(v) Be issued for a fee established by the commission
in an amount not to exceed five dollars ($5.00).
(n) In order to mitigate detrimental impacts to Wyoming
from wildlife species including endangered species, which have
been or may be introduced, planted or propagated in Wyoming,
excluding Yellowstone National Park, by any federal agency, the
commission shall demand reimbursement from the federal
government for damages to Wyoming wildlife and wildlife habitat
caused by any species, including endangered species, introduced
within Wyoming under federal mandates or programs.
(o) The commission may, by rule and regulation, establish
an electronic licensing system and prescribe the manner of
payment for any electronic payment accepted by the department.
For purposes of facilitating the implementation of an electronic
licensing system, the commission may:
(i) Enter into agreements with the state treasurer to
establish an electronic funds transfer system;
(ii) Permit license selling agents to authorize an
electronic funds transfer to a collection account as set forth
by commission rule and regulation;
(iii) Charge the license selling agent an additional
fee of not more than thirty dollars ($30.00) for each
nonsufficient funds debit from the license selling agent's
account; and
(iv) Promulgate all other necessary rules and
regulations to effectuate electronic licensing.
(p) The commission may, by rule and regulation, establish
a process by which big game licenses, trophy game licenses and
wild bison licenses may be issued by a competitive raffle and
prescribe the manner of payment for which raffle chances are
sold and the amount of payment for each raffle chance. No more
than two (2) licenses for each big game species and trophy game
species and no more than two (2) wild bison licenses shall be
issued under this subsection. Each license issued for bighorn
sheep, moose, mountain goat, grizzly bear or wild bison through
a competitive raffle shall, when applicable, be counted against
any nonresident quota. The five (5) year restriction imposed on
the receipt of a moose or bighorn sheep license by W.S. 23-1-
703(b) or the lifetime restriction imposed on the receipt of a
grizzly bear, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, wild bison or moose
license by W.S. 23-1-703(c), and any restriction imposed on the
receipt of a wild bison license by W.S. 23-2-107 shall not be
applicable in any manner to a license issued pursuant to this
subsection. The commission shall issue licenses upon receipt of
the proper license fee by the successful competitive raffle
winner. Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the issuance
of a license to any person whose privilege to procure, purchase
or possess a license has been suspended pursuant to this act or
by operation of law.
(q) The commission shall, by rule and regulation,
establish a process for issuing a resident lifetime fishing
license and conservation stamp at no cost to any resident who is
permanently and totally disabled. As used in this subsection,
"permanently and totally disabled" means the presence of a
permanent physical or mental condition that prevents a person
from engaging in substantial gainful activity.
(r) The following shall apply to information collected by
the commission or the department:
(i) Personally identifiable and geographic
information associated with the legal taking of wildlife within
this state is solely for the use of the commission, department
or appropriate law enforcement office and is not a public record
for purposes of W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205;
(ii) Information subject to paragraph (i) of this
subsection shall not be released or otherwise publicly
disseminated by the commission or department for any purpose
unless authorized in writing by the person legally taking
wildlife;
(iii) Subject to paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this
subsection, information related to legally taking wildlife on
private land shall not be a public record for purposes of W.S.
16-4-201 through 16-4-205 and shall not be released or otherwise
publicly disseminated by the commission or department unless
authorized in writing by the landowner or manager of the land
where the taking occurred;
(iv) The department shall promulgate rules necessary
to implement this subsection.