Wyoming Bills – List

2 Comments

1. I am greatly concerned that the Wyo Legislature will continue to usurp G & F authority. As accountability is switched from we who buy licenses to a power hungry legislature, we the financiers of the G & F lose and we end up paying for all kinds of crap. Look what has happened in Colorado and Utah—“Conservation” departments run by lawmakers destroy hunters , those who pay the bills, ability to input and have a say on issues that are important to us.

   I think this is the # one issue concerning our G & F

   compare our G & F fish the department of any other state, and I think most would agree, in comparison it does excellent work for hunters/fisherpeople. We cannot allow crazy lawmakers to take over these duties

   Doug Duncan
   Lander, Wy

   Reply

   1. Doug,

      Thanks for taking the time to submit a comment. I apologize that it has taken so long to reply to your comment. I am not very technical and I am still learning a lot about websites, etc.

      As the person that represents WY SFW with the G&F as well as the legislature, I don’t know understand where you see the legislature usurping G&F authority. I do know that the legislature has always retained certain authorities and they have delegated some authorities to the G&F Commission.

      It has been the position of WY SFW that we should be more concerned about maintaining the current process rather than changing it. WY SFW has seen a huge push for additional funding sources from non-traditional sources. While WY SFW supports looking for additional user based groups that could provide additional revenue sources for the G&F Department, we believe that Sportsmen need to be very vigilant to ensure that our current VOICE isn’t reduced or diminished by inviting other funding sources, sources that might become in conflict with our hunting, fishing and trapping heritage. Wyoming has recently seen efforts to ban trapping in some areas and efforts to potentially damage or weaken trapping.

      It is important that Sportsmen understand what is happening. In the last few years, WY SFW has been accused of seeking the destruction of the WY G&F Department. This stems from our opposition to increase license fees without first performing a cost/benefit analysis of their programs. Almost 5 years ago, Sportsmen were told that the G&F needed increased funding or they would be in financial trouble. Myself and a few other legislators began looking in depth at the G&F budget. At no time did WY SFW make any suggestions nor were we asked about solutions. Simply stated, several programs were identified as having very high costs and in need of review. It soon became obvious that the G&F only wanted to push for an increase in license fees and they soon quit working with WY SFW and state legislators which were trying to help.

      It remains the position of WY SFW to ensure that our G&F Department is sufficiently funded; however, we remain concerned that cuts have been made without having performed cost/benefit analysis of programs. Why should this matter to Sportsmen? Without a cost/benefit analysis, how do we know that the programs being cut are the programs that need to be cut? I should also point out that even with cuts made to the G&F budget, their budget has still grown.

      Hopefully, Wyoming’s Sportsmen will continue to share your concerns over the accountability of our state legislators as well as the WY G&F Department/Commission. WY SFW is NOT seeking to destroy the G&F but will remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure that they are accountable to Sportsmen for the money we provide them. Lost in all of this discussion about the division between some legislators and the G&F is the fact that approximately $12 million dollars is appropriated annually from the general fund by the state legislature to cover G&F costs that shouldn’t be paid for out of their (primarily from Sportsmen’s dollars) budget. WY SFW is proud of our efforts to secure these general funds for specific programs administered by the G&F. Just as Wyoming families are now restructuring their budgets, it is likely that the G&F will likely face some additional cuts to their budget or to these general funds. Now more than ever, the G&F will need to run as efficiently as possible, to allow Sportsmen’s dollars to go further. Redundancy in programs or programs that are no longer needed should be eliminated. Partnerships should be developed where they are warranted and can be established and maintained. Combining programs or updating them to ensure efficiency should be supported by state legislators, G&F Department/Commission and Wyoming’s Sportsmen.

      Respectfully,

      Bob Wharff
      Evanston, WY

      Reply