Conservationists are raising alarms about legislation that could significantly impact big game hunters in Wyoming. The proposal, Draft Bill 26LSO-0212, would allow the state’s landowners to transfer or sell tags—potentially creating an incentive for landowners to make wildlife available to be hunted by the highest bidder.
The proposal was put forward by State Senator Laura Pearson of Kimmerer, who first talked about such a move in January 2025, when she argued that allowing landowners to sell their tags would help the state’s ranchers financially during a time when many of them are struggling. Pearson’s family owns a ranch in the state. The bill would also slightly increase restrictions on which Wyoming landowners qualify for such tags in the first place.
The proposal recently passed the Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee. It is fiercely opposed by many public hunters and conservation groups for how it could privatize hunting opportunities—and limit tags allocated to non-landowners. As reported by Wyoming Livestock Roundup, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Wildlife Division Chief Dan Smith says that in the past, “the topic of transferrable licenses has made for some of the most contentious meetings he has ever been a part of” with strong public opposition.
Under Wyoming’s current landowner tag system, there’s no cap on the number or percentage of tags issued to landowners, meaning that theoretically, all the tags for a certain unit could be allocated to landowners before a public drawing is held.
“You could see situations where there would be potentially zero tags available in a public draw,” David Willms, Associate Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation, told WyoFile . “The only way you can hunt this is by purchasing a license from a landowner. The going rate, from what I understand in New Mexico, is roughly about $10,000 for a bull elk tag.”
In Wyoming, not all eligible landowners in the state currently buy landowner tags; if Pearson’s bill passes, the opportunity to sell tags could spur more landowners to secure tags, further reducing the pool available to the public.
In a recent blog post, Jess Johnson, Wyoming Wildlife Federation’s Government Affairs Director, writes that her organization opposes the bill and instead would like to see an increase of other forms of support for the state’s landowners that foster wildlife habitat, such as conservation tax credits, increased Access Yes! compensation, and other voluntary programs.
“Wyoming doesn’t need to follow other states down the road of commercialization [of wildlife],” she writes. “Our wildlife model—rooted in science, fairness, and shared responsibility—is working.”
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It’s important to note that this bill isn’t the only one pertaining landowner tags that the Wyoming Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee is putting forward to the state legislature. Draft Bill 26LSO-0176 also passed out of the committee. It would authorize the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to cap the number of landowner tags in limited-quota areas, making sure a significant proportion of licenses will always remain available to folks not eligible for landowner tags. If passed, this bill could counteract the worst-case scenario of no licenses in certain areas being available in public drawings, Johnson says.
