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CHEYENNE - Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials issued a policy Friday to deal with issues and concerns raised by wildfires and possible effects on upcoming trophy and big game hunting seasons.
By emergency regulation, signed Friday morning by Gov. Jim Geringer and G&F Commission President J. Michael Powers, the G&F will allow refund of licenses if certain wildfire-caused access restrictions are in place at the start of hunting seasons.
The regulation provides an option for a 50 percent license fee refund if the majority of the limited quota license hunting opportunity to a particular area has been lost because of government administrative action. A 100 percent license fee refund is an option if 100 percent of the hunting opportunity and access has been closed to a limited quota hunt area.
Chief Game Warden Jay Lawson says G&F and hunters share concerns about access to hunt areas because of the wildfires.
Moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunters whose areas meet the closure criteria can also opt to turn in their licenses and reserve the same license for the 2001 hunting season. If a bighorn sheep or moose license holder requests a refund, preference points will be restored, including the year 2000 preference point, Lawson adds.
Lawson says refunds will happen only if access closures occur by the rifle-season opener or by the opener of a limited quota archery-only season. General hunting license fees will not be refunded to either residents or nonresidents because those licenses allow hunters to move to other hunt areas.
Nonresident hunters who opt for refunds will be eligible to purchase leftover licenses. Resident hunters who opt for refunds will be eligible to purchase general or leftover licenses.
“In all instances, hunters will have five business days after the opening of the hunting season for their specific hunt areas to turn in hunting licenses and corresponding coupons for a refund,” says Lawson. “Or, they’ll have five business days to carryover moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunting licenses to the 2001 hunting season.”
“Our approach will, if at all possible, be to make sure hunters get into the field and have a successful fall,” Lawson says.
Lawson adds that reservation of a license will be denied if the license holder has hunted on the license after the earliest regular hunting season opening date.
Lawson says some hunters may be forced to adjust their fall hunting plans, including moving their campsites and hunting in different areas. “Some animals may be displaced,” he says. “We are monitoring wildlife in the fire areas and wildlife are still present. Even in areas where the fires have been the most severe, burned areas do not represent the majority of the acreage in these areas.
Lawson encourages hunters, anglers and other wildlife enthusiasts to call G&F offices for more information, including the Cheyenne headquarters at (800) 842-1934 or (307) 777-4600 (outside Wyoming). People with access to the web can find fire-related information at the G&F web site: http://gf.state.wy.us.
“We remain very concerned about the prolonged drought and the low-quality and lack of forage to help wild animals survive the upcoming winter,” Lawson says.
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Uploaded: 8/27/2000
Uploaded: 8/27/2000