Apologies

My father and his sister were people who had a host of colorful metaphors and similes. A few come to mind:

- “Uglier than nine miles of muddy road.”

- “His face looked like two sheep turds floating in a bowl of milk.”

- “Her backside looked like two cub bears in a gunny sack.”

- “It was hotter than a two dollar pistol.”

Here’s one especially for me: “Dumber than a sack full of claw hammers.”

That’s how I felt last week when the latest issue of the Pronghorn came out. Granted, we were hustling like crazy to get it out in time to promote our 30^th Annual Banquet. I’ll tell you all about that later. And granted, just about every time we do another newsletter, I discover something we didn’t do or that we did incompletely. And this issue was no exception.

I did a “Legislative Roundup” piece to let folks know what went on during the General Session. It was a good session for us, and we were really happy about how things turned out. One of the things we were happiest about was the passage of SJ0001 – Right to hunt, fish and trap. It created a constitutional amendment that protects your opportunity to hunt, fish and trap that will appear on the 2012 general election ballot in Wyoming. We had the lead on lobbying that piece of legislation, but we could never have been successful without a whole bunch of other organizations who supported it as well.

In the Pronghorn, I listed them: Bowhunters of Wyoming, Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Wyoming AFL-CIO, Trout Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wyoming Game Wardens Association. Except that I forgot one: Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association (WYOGA). I cannot believe I did this. It’s like forgetting your anniversary. These guys and their lobbyist Marian Schulz worked their tails off to make this piece of legislation happen. They were fabulous partners, and I feel terrible about leaving them off the list of outfits that supported this important bill.

I feel worse yet because I think our organizations haven’t been as close as we should have been in recent years. I’m not sure I know what that is about, but I want to say here that I have tremendous respect for WYOGA and for the outfitting industry in Wyoming. Granted, we don’t agree on everything. I don’t think we need to. But I’m pretty sure we agree that the opportunity to hunt, fish and trap in Wyoming are absolutely essential. And I hope we agree that WYOGA and their efforts were absolutely critical to getting SJ0001 passed.

If there's one thing I've learned, it is that everyone makes mistakes. The only thing to do when it happens is to own up to them and honestly and contritely say that you're sorry. Folks, I screwed up and I'm sorry. My apologies to WYOGA and to all of you.

Walt Gasson, Executive Director

Wyoming Wildlife Federation

ACTION ALERT - RESOURCE MANGEMENT PLAN

TAKE ACTION!

Help influence how wildlife habitat and recreation are managed in the BLM Rock Springs Field Office

The Issue: The Bureau of Land Management is preparing a Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office and they are asking for public input.

Background: This plan will determine the basis for how 3.6 acres million acres are managed for the next 10-20 years. It will guide decisions about wildlife habitat, access, mineral development, renewable energy, recreation, and more.

This region includes the following Hunt Areas:

• Elk - 30, 31, 32, 98, 99, 100, 107, 124
• Deer - 101, 102, 130, 131, 132, 138
• Antelope - 58, 59, 90, 91, 92, 95, 96, 112

And recreation areas like:

• Little Mountain
• Western Red Desert
• Jack Morrow Hills
• Devil's Playground

The BLM is looking for your input to identify how you use the land, what you are concerned about, and what places are important to you.

WHAT YOU CAN TELL THE BLM:

• Seek to find balanced solutions that ensure the area's great hunting and fishing is conserved for future generations.
• Migration corridors for big game species is important for the BLM to identify and consider when managing this area on a field office scale.The same can be said for important fish habitats as well.
  
• Support responsible energy development, but that meas protections must be put in place to protect fish, wildlife and their habitat. This includes maintaining tracts of land for multiple use rather than industrial use.
  

To view a map of the region the Plan covers, CLICK HERE.
To learn more about the RMP process from the BLM, CLICK HERE.
For more information, go to www.greaterlittlemountain.org.
Or check out our Facebook page Greater Little Mountain Coalition.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Joy Bannon at joybannon@wyomingwildlife.org.

What Can You Do?
Submit written comments to:
Vera-Lynn Harrison
Attn: Rock Springs RMP Revision
280 Hwy 191 North
Rock Springs, WY 82901

You can also submit electronically to: RockSpringsRMP_WY@blm.gov.
Comments MUST be received by April 4, 2011.

Make Your Voice Heard!

Please forward this to your friends and family.
To sign up a friend, CLICK HERE!

Legislative Update #9 - FINAL UPDATE

Legislative Update #9

3 March 2011

This will be our last legislative update of the session. In total, we had active involvement on 23 bills. Our success was significant. Our three highest legislative priorities - the right to hunt bill (SJ0001), the felony bill (SF0085) and the large projects bill (SF0062) all passed. bills we strongly opposed - the damage bill (SF0111), the social security number bill (SF0148) and the grizzly bear season bill (SF0151) - all failed. Perhaps as important as any of these, I think we worked effectively with a number of different to groups to advance our legislative agenda.

I have reviewed each bill we worked on and summarized its final status below:

HB0076 - Game and fish-turkey pioneer license - This bill added the turkey license available to qualified pioneer license holders. It has passed both houses and been signed by the governor. We supported this bill.

HB0088 - Guides and outfitters - This bill made some significant changes to the statutes that govern guides and outfitters. Some of those changes were aimed at reducing illegal outfitting. We supported the bill, and worked with WYOGA to get it passed. It has passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature.

HB0100 - Game and fish-land acquisition - This bill prohibits the Game and Fish Department from acquiring land through adverse possession or proprietary easement. It has assed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature. We were neutral on this bill.

HB0101 - Vicious animals - interference with game wardens - This bill would have created penalties for dog owners whose animals interfered with wildlife law enforcement law officers in performance of their duties. It passed the House, but failed Committee of the Whole in the Senate. We supported it.

HB0133 - Special limited fishing permits - This bill created special short-term fishing licenses for young people enrolled in accredited courses which include fishing as a course topic. It has passed both houses and been signed by the governor. We supported it.

HB0171 - Corner crossings at intersecting public and private lands - This bill sought to legalize "corner jumping" under certain conditions. Well intentioned but problematic, it had almost no chance. We testified in support of the intent of the bill. It failed in the House Agriculture Committee.

HB0222 - Recreational consideration in public land exchanges - This bill came out of the Muddy Mountain land exchange controversy last summer. It also failed in the House Agriculture Committee.We had no position on this bill.

HB0236 - Complimentary hunting licenses - persons with disabilities - This bill changes one small section in the statute that allows WGFD to issue these licenses, making them complimentary. It failed in the House. We supported the intent of the bill.

HB0258 - Game and fish - pioneer licenses - This bill would modify the existing statutes for pioneer and heritage licenses to do away with the requirement for continuous residence and the phrase "immediately preceding application for the license". It also failed in the House.

SF0039 - Aquatic invasive species - reciprocity - This bill empowered the Game and Fish Commission to enter into reciprocity agreements with neighboring states for purposes of AIS inspection and compliance. It has passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature. We supported this bill.

SF0048 - Wildlife and natural resources trust account board - This bill made some changes in the statutes governing the Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Board. It has passed both houses and been signed by the governor. We supported this bill.

SF0062 - Large projects - This is one of the most important bills considered in the session. It provides $5.8 million in funding for large projects approved by the Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Board and Select Committee. It has passed both houses and was to be signed by the governor today. We strongly supported this bill.

SF0063 - Game and fish-donation of hunting licenses - This bill enables an individual who has legally purchased a license to return it to the Game and Fish Department, who could then re-issue it to an organization that sponsors hunting experiences for disabled veterans. It has passed both houses and been signed by the governor. We supported this bill.

SF0071 - Education - hunter safety courses - In its original form this bill would have mandated schools in Wyoming to teach hunter education in the 5th or 6th grade. Heavily amended, it finally died when the Senate failed to concur with House amendments. We supported the bill.

SF0080 - Game and fish - complimentary licenses - This bill sought to limit the number of Commissioners licenses that could be issued in any one hunt area. It was indefinitely postponed in the Senate Travel Committee when WGFD said they could do the same thing through Commission regulation. We were neutral on it.

SF0083 - Game and fish - resident preference points - This bill would have established a resident preference points system for resident elk, deer. antelope license drawings, similar to that employed in the nonresident draw now. It failed the Committee of the Whole in the Senate. We took no position on this bill.

SF0085 - Game and fish violations - penalties - This bill makes repeated offenses of the statutes governing wanton destruction of a big of trophy game animal and violations of the "winter range statute" a felony. It was our second highest priority this session. It has passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature. We worked closely with the Wyoming Game Wardens Association on this bill, and supported it strongly.

SF0091 - Wildlife/livestock disease research disease partnership-funding - This bill appropriates funding for disease research. It has passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature. We had no position on it.

SF0105 - State control of certain land - This is a "sagebrush rebellion" bill, requiring the Office of State Lands and Investments to prepare a plan for the transfer and management of federal lands. Died in the House. We had no position on it.

SF0111 - Game animals damages - This bill would have amended the damage sections of Title 23 (W.S. 23-1-901) to make the Game and Fish Commission, that in the event of a disease, to:

-Develop a disease management plan to address it, said plan to be approved by the livestock board and the governor;
-Be responsible for indemnity to the livestock producer, and pay said producer unless the federal authorities pay first. Said payment is contingent upon allowing hunting, but no specifics are mentioned about numbers of hunters, access, etc.

This bill died in the Senate Ag Committee. We opposed it.

SF0148 - Game fish - collection of social security numbers - This bill would have prohibited Game and Fish from collecting SSN from license buyers. They do so under the direction of the federal government and in cooperation with Department of Family Services to facilitate collection of back child support. It would have cost WGFD $13.5 million in federal funding and over 100 jobs. It would have cost DFS over twice that. We opposed the bill. It died in the Senate Travel Committee.

SF0151 - Grizzly bear season - This was supported by folks frustrated with the ongoing issue of grizzly bear delisting. It would have mandated the WGF Commission to establish a grizzly bear season and issue 40 licenses. It died in the Senate Travel Committee. We opposed it.

SJ0001 - Right to hunt, fish and trap - This was our highest legislative priority. It has passed both houses and will be signed by the governor today. It creates a constitutional amendment that protects Wyoming citizens' opportunity to hunt, fish and trap in perpetuity. That amendment will appear on the general election ballot in the 2012 election. We led a coalition of groups including Bowhunters of Wyoming, Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Wyoming AFL-CIO, Trout Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wyoming Game Wardens Association to support it. We will be seeking funding for an outreach program to be implemented in the months leading up to the general election.

The Joint Travel Committee has recommended the following wildlife-related interim study topics:

-The aquatic invasive species program - making sure the size, scope and future of the program are consistent with legislative intent;
-Grizzly DNA study to estimate bear numbers;
-Monitoring of threatened and endangered species issues; and
-Statutes within Title 23 that may be repealed or replaced by Commission regulation, including the use of baiting in some situations, changes in the definition of legal weapons, etc.

Walt Gasson, Executive Director

Wyoming Wildlife Federation