§ 23-5-111 — Game bird farm-certification to raise greater sage grouse; authorization; requirements; limitations

(a) No person shall possess live greater sage grouse or
propagate, breed, sell, raise or release greater sage grouse
unless licensed as a game bird farm and certified to be in
compliance with the requirements of this section.
(b) The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations
for the administration of this section. The rules and
regulations shall establish a system to certify game bird farm
licensees to possess, propagate, breed, raise, sell, gather eggs
of and release greater sage grouse and to take greater sage
grouse within the boundaries of the game bird farm. A licensee
shall be issued an annual certificate of compliance under this
section by providing evidence to the department that:
(i) The licensee has successfully raised from eggs or
chicks at least two (2) other species of game bird in accordance
with this act for not less than three (3) consecutive years;
(ii) An adequate enclosure exists at the game bird
farm to confine and handle greater sage grouse physically
separated from other game birds;
(iii) The enclosures for greater sage grouse include
vegetation consistent with the needs of the grouse;
(iv) The facility is disease free; and
(v) The licensee demonstrates the capacity to meet
requirements specified in this section and commission rule for
continuing operation as a certified greater sage grouse
facility.
(c) To maintain certification under this section the
licensee shall:
(i) Submit an annual national poultry improvement
plan certificate and annual avian influenza free certification
by a licensed Wyoming veterinarian to the department;
(ii) Report within the time period established by
rule the detection of any disease at the game bird farm to the
department and undertake and report to the department remedial
acts taken to mitigate the effects of any disease.
(d) Before release, greater sage grouse shall be banded
for identification in accordance with rules and regulations of
the commission and held in a holding pen separate from any sage
grouse not being released and separate from any other game bird
species for at least thirty (30) consecutive days immediately
prior to release. Any greater sage grouse that dies within the
release holding pen during this period shall be reported to the
department within the time period and in accordance with the
procedures established by rule shall be sent to the Wyoming
state veterinary laboratory for necropsy at the expense of the
licensee. Any release of greater sage grouse within the state
and not within the boundaries of the game bird farm shall be in
coordination with the department. Commission rules may restrict
areas of release as necessary to protect existing wild
populations of greater sage grouse.
(e) A game bird farm licensee holding a current
certification under this section may collect greater sage grouse
eggs for the purpose of establishing a captive breeding
population, subject to the following restrictions:
(i) All collections shall be conducted by the
licensee or his agent under the supervision of a professional
wildlife biologist and in coordination with the department;
(ii) No more than two hundred fifty (250) eggs may be
collected by any game bird farm licensee in any calendar year;
(iii) No more than forty (40) nest sites in a single
collection area may be disturbed by the game bird farm licensee
in any calendar year; and
(iv) Eggs may only be collected in April and May;
(v) Rules shall establish:
(A) Time of day and restrictions on methods of
collection of eggs;
(B) The number of licensees authorized to
collect eggs;
(C) The areas approved for collection of eggs;
and
(D) Other limitations on egg collections,
including the complete suspension of egg collections as
determined by the commission to be beneficial to prevent the
listing of or facilitate the removal of greater sage grouse as a
candidate species under the Endangered Species Act.
(f) The department may suspend, revoke or not renew any
certification issued to a licensee under this section if, after
notice and opportunity for a hearing, the department finds:
(i) The licensee has violated any provision of this
act or any rule promulgated under this act which relates to the
licensee's game bird farm operations;
(ii) The licensee's facilities no longer provide
secure holding facilities to contain and separate game bird
species as required under this section;
(iii) The licensee's facility has not remained
disease free and the department reasonably believes the native
greater sage grouse population of this state may be harmed
thereby.
(g) The requirements of this section for game bird farm
certification for greater sage grouse are in addition to all
other licensing requirements of this article.
(h) A licensee whose certification under this section has
been revoked may not reapply for a new certification within
eighteen (18) months of the date of revocation.
(j) Commission rules may provide for the forfeiture to the
state or for other disposition of greater sage grouse at any
facility whose certification under this section has been
revoked. Certifications under this section shall expire as of
December 31, 2027. Commission rules shall provide for
disposition of all greater sage grouse held by a licensee
pursuant to this section as of that date. No licensee shall be
entitled to any reimbursement from or other claim against the
state for any greater sage grouse owned by the licensee at the
expiration or revocation of a certification and all
certifications issued pursuant to this section shall so provide.