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24LSO-0468
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0468
ENGROSSED
3.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0111
Mule and whitetail deer-separate hunting seasons.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Driskill, Baldwin, Cooper, Dockstader, Hicks, Jones and Schuler and Representative(s) Larson, JT, Neiman, Northrup, Oakley, Sommers, Walters, Western and Wylie
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to game and fish; requiring separate hunting licenses and seasons for mule deer and whitetail deer; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 23
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1
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101(a)(i), 23
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1
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302(a) by creating a new paragraph (xxxiv) and (h), 23
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1
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703(g), 23
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1
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705(c), (e)(i) through (iii), (g) and (j), 23
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2
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101(f)(intro), (ii), by creating a new paragraph (iii), by renumbering (iii) as (iv), (j)(xiv) through (xvii), by creating new paragraphs (xlvii) through (l) and (m), 23
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3
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102(d), 23
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3
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105(a) and (b), 23
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3
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301(a) and (b) and 35
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7
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1302(a) are amended to read:
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1
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101.
Definitions of wildlife.
(a)
As used in this act:
(i)
"Big game animal" means antelope, bighorn sheep,
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
elk, moose or mountain goat;
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1
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302.
Powers and duties.
(a)
The commission is directed and empowered:
(xxxiv)
To promulgate rules governing the issuance of separate hunting licenses and establish separate hunting seasons for the taking of mule deer and whitetail deer.
(h)
For purposes of promoting the maintenance of wildlife habitat and attaining wildlife management objectives pursuant to W.S. 23
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1
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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,
mule
deer,
whitetail 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
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2
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101(j) for each species for which the license is issued.
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1
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703.
Limitation of number of certain licenses; reservation of certain licenses; reservation of certain unused licenses.
(g)
In addition to the authority granted under subsection (b) of this section, the commission may through rule and regulation develop and implement a preference point program for nonresident antelope, nonresident
mule
deer
, nonresident whitetail deer
and nonresident elk licenses which are limited in quota and would otherwise be issued through a random drawing. A program established pursuant to this subsection may be implemented for all or selected hunt areas and may be applied to all or portions of licenses for any particular species. The commission may charge nonresident license applicants a nonrefundable fee to accumulate preference points under the program as provided in W.S. 23
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2
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101(m).
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1
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705.
Complimentary licenses; pioneer licenses; antelope hunt licenses; gunpowder and buckskin hunt licenses; gratuitous licenses; donated licenses.
(c)
In addition the commission may, upon payment of
mule
deer
and whitetail deer
license fees, issue up to twenty
‑
five (25)
mule deer
licenses
and up to twenty-five (25) whitetail deer licenses
each year for the exclusive use of gunpowder and buckskin hunts.
(e)
The department shall issue:
(i)
For a fee of two dollars ($2.00) a resident
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
antelope or wild turkey license and for a fee of five dollars ($5.00) an elk license to any resident who is at least seventy
‑
five (75) years of age prior to the issuance of the license and who has continuously resided in Wyoming for at least the fifty (50) years immediately preceding application for the license;
(ii)
For a fee established by rule of the commission a resident
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
antelope, wild turkey or elk license to any resident who is at least seventy (70) years of age prior to the issuance of the license and has continuously resided in Wyoming for at least fifty (50) years immediately preceding application for the license. The fee established for a license under this paragraph shall be not more than sixty
‑
five percent (65%) nor less than sixty percent (60%) of the resident fee specified in W.S. 23
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2
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101 for the particular species;
(iii)
Without charge a resident elk
,
or deer
mule deer or whitetail deer
license in any hunt area not subject to prescribed means of competitive public issuance, a resident game bird and a resident small game license to any resident who is on active duty in the United States armed forces deployed to a combat zone who is home on leave during the applicable hunting season. Application under this section shall include proof of residency required under W.S. 23
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2
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101(a), certification of the applicant's active duty deployment to a combat zone and other information required by rule and regulation of the commission. For purposes of this paragraph, a combat zone is any area which the president of the United States designates by executive order as an area in which the armed forces of the United States are engaged in combat;
(g)
In addition to complimentary licenses under subsection (a) of this section, each appointed commissioner may cause to be issued at cost not more than a total of eight (8) elk,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
or antelope designated licenses per year.
All licenses issued under this subsection shall be designated to nonprofit charitable organizations. As a condition of accepting the license, the organization shall agree to auction or otherwise bid the license to the highest bidder or to raffle the license to members of the public.
(j)
In addition the commission may issue upon payment of proper fees any number, set by rule and regulation, of antelope licenses,
mule
deer licenses,
whitetail deer licenses,
elk licenses and turkey licenses each year for the exclusive use by persons twenty (20) years of age or younger with life threatening illnesses who are sponsored by a nonprofit charitable organization with a mission to provide opportunities and experiences to persons with life threatening or serious illnesses. As a condition of issuing the license, the sponsoring organization shall pay the appropriate license fee on behalf of the licensee and at no cost to the licensee.
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101.
Fees; restrictions; nonresident application fee; nonresident licenses; verification of residency required.
(f)
Forty percent (40%) of available nonresident elk licenses, forty percent (40%) of available nonresident
mule
deer licenses
, forty percent (40%) of available nonresident whitetail deer licenses
and forty percent (40%) of available nonresident antelope licenses for any one (1) calendar year shall as established by the commission, be offered to nonresident applicants upon receipt of the fee prescribed by this subsection.
Seventy
‑
five (75) of the nonresident
mule
deer
and whitetail deer
licenses set aside
pursuant to
under
this subsection shall be used for a national bow hunt for
mule
deer
and whitetail deer
. The licenses authorized by this subsection shall be offered by drawing to nonresident applicants prior to the drawing for the remaining nonresident licenses issued.
The licenses offered under this subsection shall be issued in a manner prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.
Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any unsuccessful applicant for a nonresident license pursuant to this subsection from submitting an application for any licenses remaining after the drawing during the calendar year in which the application under this subsection was submitted.
The following fees shall be collected by the department and are in addition to the nonresident license fee for the appropriate big game species imposed under subsection (j) of this section and the application fee imposed under subsection (e) of this section:
(ii)
Nonresident
mule
deer license .... $826.00 in addition to the license fee imposed under paragraph (j)(xv) of this section;
(iii)
Nonresident whitetail deer license....... $826.00 in addition to the license fee imposed under paragraph (j)(lvii) of this section;
(iii)
(iv)
Nonresident antelope license.....
$874.00 in addition to the license fee imposed under paragraph (j)(xxxi) of this section.
(j)
Subject to W.S. 23
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101(f), 23
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1
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705(e) and the applicable fee under W.S. 23
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1
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701, the following hunting licenses and tags may be purchased for the fee indicated and subject to the limitations provided:
(xiv)
Resident
mule
deer license; one (1)
mule
deer........$40.00
(xv)
Nonresident
mule
deer license; one (1)
mule
deer.......................................$372.00
(xvi)
Resident youth
mule
deer license; one (1)
mule
deer.......................................$15.00
(xvii)
Nonresident youth
mule
deer license; one (1)
mule
deer.................................$110.00
(xlvii)
Resident whitetail deer license; one (1) whitetail deer...........$40.00
(xlviii)
Nonresident whitetail deer license; one (1) whitetail deer..............................$372.00
(xlix)
Resident youth whitetail deer license; one (1) whitetail deer...........................$15.00
(l)
Nonresident youth whitetail deer license; one (1) whitetail deer...........................$110.00
(m)
Subject to the provisions of this subsection, as part of any preference point program for nonresident antelope, nonresident ram bighorn sheep, nonresident moose, nonresident
mule
deer
, nonresident whitetail deer
or nonresident elk, the commission may establish a nonrefundable fee to be either withheld from the license fee remitted or submitted separately when application for a license or preference point is made through electronic licensing, and may also establish a fee to be paid in lieu of applying for licenses that are limited in quota.
Retention of the established fee or payment of the fee in lieu of applying shall authorize the person to accumulate a preference point for future drawings for licenses that are limited in quota for the applicable species in accordance with rules of the commission. The rules may provide for the loss of all accumulated points for persons failing to apply or to pay the in lieu fee in two (2) consecutive calendar years.
The fee for any program under this subsection for antelope,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
or elk shall be established by rule and shall not exceed seventy
‑
five dollars ($75.00) per species.
Payment of the fee shall be made in compliance with application dates.
Nothing in this subsection authorizes the commission to establish or retain a fee for resident moose or resident ram bighorn sheep license preference points in addition to the fee established by subsection (k) of this section or to establish rules for ram bighorn sheep or moose preference point drawings in conflict with the provisions of W.S. 23
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703(b). For nonresident ram bighorn sheep and nonresident moose licenses, the commission may establish by rule a nonrefundable preference point fee to be withheld from either the license fee remitted or submitted separately when application for a license or preference point is made through electronic licensing and may establish a fee in lieu of making application in an amount greater than that established under subsection (k) of this section, but neither fee shall exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). Fees established under this subsection may be set at lower amounts for youth license applicants.
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102.
Taking certain game animals without license or during a closed season prohibited.
(d)
Any person who knowingly takes any antlered elk, antlered
mule
deer,
antlered whitetail deer,
antlered moose, horned antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, grizzly bear or black bear without the proper license or during a closed season and any person who knowingly kills a mountain lion during a mountain lion pursuit season, except as otherwise permitted by this act, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both.
A third or subsequent conviction within ten (10) years for a violation of this subsection shall constitute a felony punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), imprisonment for not more than two (2) years, or both. For the purposes of determining whether a violation of this subsection is a felony, convictions resulting from the same occurrence shall be considered a single conviction even if the result of the occurrence is more than one (1) misdemeanor conviction. The provisions of W.S. 6
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101(a) shall not apply to convictions under this section.
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105.
Antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer and elk coupons; payment to landowner; kill on federal or state land.
(a)
Antelope,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
and elk licenses shall have two (2) coupons attached, each bearing the same serial number as the body of the permit, one (1) designated "antelope,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
or elk coupon" and one (1) designated "landowner's coupon".
(b)
The landowner's coupon shall promptly be detached, dated, signed and delivered to the landowner.
The landowner, on or before March 1 following the close of the hunting season for which the license was issued, shall deliver to the department the coupon and an affidavit that the antelope,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
or elk for which the coupon was delivered was killed on his land. Upon receipt of the coupon and affidavit the department shall pay the landowner sixteen dollars ($16.00) for each coupon from an antelope,
mule
deer
, whitetail deer
or elk license. Landowner's coupons are not transferable. Any unauthorized person attempting to collect any sum for any landowner's coupon is guilty of a high misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 23
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202(a)(ii).
Effective January 1, 2000, the department shall provide a checkoff box on each landowner coupon affidavit claim form that offers the claimant the opportunity to designate the animal damage management board to receive his payment amount for landowner coupons claimed on that form. For each claim made where the landowner has designated his payment to the animal damage management board, the department shall transfer that amount to the animal damage management account created by W.S. 11
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306 and the department shall retain the fees related to those administrative costs of the transfer.
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301.
Importation and sale of wildlife prohibited; exceptions.
(a)
No person shall import into Wyoming from any source any living antelope, bear,
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, wolf, wolf hybrid nor any living wildlife except as otherwise permitted by this act.
(b)
No person shall sell any living antelope, bear,
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, wolf, wolf hybrid or falcon except as permitted by the commission.
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1302.
Donation of game animals.
(a)
Any game animal, including any big game animal, elk,
mule
deer,
whitetail deer,
mountain sheep, wild goat, antelope, moose or bear, lawfully taken by a licensed hunter may be donated to a nonprofit organization under the provisions of W.S. 35
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1301 to feed individuals in need.
Section 2
.
This act is effective July 1, 2026
.
(END)
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SF0111