Why It Matters: As the Wyoming State Legislature enters their shortened 2026 budget session, new bills are being filed every day. These early bills can provide insight into the legislative focus for the coming session, and there are several bills relevant to sportsmen on the docket. This includes transferable landowner tags, expanded authorizations for the use of tracking dogs on wounded game, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) tax restructuring.
Highlights:
- Wyoming’s 2026 legislative session is a 30-day “sprint” budget session, so legislation will move or die fast.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has been closely monitoring both interim committee meetings and early bill filings, as well as meeting with legislators and the WGFD ahead of session.
- Early and ongoing engagement will be key as session ramps up, and CSF is working with the Wyoming Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, our in-state partners, and WGFD to ensure the sportsmen’s voice is represented in Cheyenne.
The 2026 Wyoming Legislative session is set to begin on February 9, 2026. This short budget session will adjourn at midnight on March 11, 2026. While the 2026 legislative session will focus mainly on the state’s budget there are still some bills that could impact sportsmen and women. Including three bills related to transferable landowner tags which are currently in circulation. Senate Bill 51 (SB 51) and Senate Bill 15 (SB 15) originated from the Joint Interim Committee on Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resource, while Senate Bill 25 (SB 25) originated from the Joint Interim Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources.
- SB 51 is a transferable tag bill, which would legalize the transfer of two landowner tags per species per year for landowners who already qualify for landowner tags.
- SB 25 would allow the Wyoming Fish and Game Commission to limit the number of landowner tags in limited draw areas, so long as a minimum of 40% of available licenses were kept for qualified landowners.
- SB 15 would also expand the Wyoming Fish and Game Commission’s authority to regulate landowner tag allocation, without setting a minimum license allocation percentage for qualified landowners.
All three of these bills are expected to be very contentious, and CSF is working to monitor their progress and find a solution between private property rights and public hunter opportunity.
Wyoming Draft Bill 200, from the Joint Interim Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources, would exempt most WGFD held lands and facilities from being subject to property tax, resulting in significant cost savings for the Department. With roughly 90% of WGFD’s operating budget coming from recreational license and excise tax revenue and while receiving no general fund appropriations, this tax cut would ensure that sportsmen’s contributions continue to be a sufficient funding source for WGFD, consistent with the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). Additionally, this would free up dollars for WGFD to further invest into things like habitat conservation and law enforcement, while keeping license fees at reasonable rates for sportsmen. CSF is working with our partners and the Wyoming Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus to express strong support for this measure.
Finally, Wyoming Draft Bill 203, from the Joint Interim Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources, would add black bears to the approved list of wounded or killed quarries that can be tracked using a blood trailing dog. This activity is already approved in statute for big game animals and is well in-line with CSF’s issue brief on the topic. CSF is also working with our partners and the Wyoming Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus to express strong support for this measure.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will be monitoring these bills and many others as the Wyoming 2026 budget session begins. CSF will continue championing the interests of sportsmen and women with the Wyoming Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, WGFD, and our in-state partners to ensure sportsmen and women are represented in Wyoming.
