JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has sold more permits to guides in Teton County than in any other county during the first year of its commercial fishing guide regulation program.
For the first time since 1989, WGFD began oversight of the commercial fishing industry in the state through an advisory board, regulations and permits that went into effect on Jan. 1. This summer was also the second year of a Snake River Canyon recreation fee program implemented by the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF). In Teton County, these two fee initiatives pertain mainly to the Snake River. Buckrail spoke with Wyoming House Representative Andrew Byron to learn how the programs are shaping river use in the valley.
Byron has represented parts of Teton County and Lincoln County in House District 22 since 2023. Before that, he spent 20 years as a fishing guide in Jackson and served two terms on the board of Snake River Fund. He is chairman for the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee. Over the years, Byron has sponsored many bills aimed at regulating the state’s fishing industry. The legislation that formed the new Fishing Outfitter and Guides Advisory Board was a committee bill that sprang from his past attempts.
Statewide industry oversight
In recent years, the state has not exercised regulatory authority over guided angling operations on waterbodies in Wyoming. Byron told Buckrail that the new statewide fishing guide regulation program essentially serves as a way to collect data and perform oversight. According to WGFD’s Deputy Chief of Fisheries David Zafft, the agency has collected $200,525 from registration stickers as of Sept. 24. That revenue currently covers costs associated with the program, like drafting and producing regulations, programming costs for data entry, and creating reports for the advisory board. The permit fees are unlikely to generate a financial surplus yet.
From January to Sept. 24, more than 500 individual registrants purchased a total of 617 guided fishing boat registration stickers and 25 replacement stickers; at least 375 of those individuals were Wyoming residents. Of those, 36% were Teton County residents, followed by 18% in Natrona County, which has popular fishing spots like the North Platte River and Pathfinder and Alcova reservoirs. Commercial fishing guides are required to pay $325 per year for a registration sticker — which is transferrable between boats owned by the same entity — and submit fishing trip reports twice a year.
Teton County fishing outfitters are already regulated within Grand Teton National Park and on all stretches of the Snake from Jackson Lake to Palisades Reservoir. Permits for these areas are administered by the National Park Service, Teton County or the U.S. Forest Service. Owner of Westbank Anglers Mike Dawes previously told Buckrail that it was hard to get on board with spending more money on the state permits, but he was supportive of more industry oversight. Byron acknowledged that the regulations might seem excessive to Teton County guides, but angler data from across Wyoming was severely lacking. He hopes the system will be mutually beneficial to the entire industry.
“One of the reasons the Salt River has gotten so busy in the last 15 years is because of neighboring counties and neighboring states that are absolutely overusing the resource,” Byron told Buckrail. Fishing guides reported 364 commercial trips on the Salt River in the first reporting period from January to June. But in late July, high water temperatures in the Snake forced WGFD to implement voluntary fishing restrictions, which likely led to an uptick in Salt River trips.
Zafft shared WGFD’s guide-reported data that shows 8,537 fishing trips were taken around the state in the first half of the year; 96% were taken on just nine stretches of river. The Snake River and Salt River both landed in the top nine. The Snake below Jackson Lake Dam accounted for 17% of the total, or 1,469 trips. Of those, 25% launched at Wilson, 24% at Snake River Ranch, 18% at Jackson Lake Dam, and 14% at South Park/Von Gontard Landing.
The future of the program is still being devised by legislative forces and committees. Christopher Hayes represents Teton, Lincoln, Sublette and Uinta counties on the Fishing Outfitter and Guides Advisory Board. On Sept. 8, the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee met in Jackson, where Hayes and WGFD Chief of Fisheries Alan Osterland reported their first six months of data and findings. They ultimately recommended that a standalone fishing outfitters and guides board be established through legislation to ensure professional standards, resource sustainability and industry accountability.
“We’ve got an amazing resource here,” Hayes told the committee. “It’s being exploited to a point of detriment, from a biological standpoint, as well as from a user experience standpoint. If we don’t do something to limit the amount of commercial use – where appropriate – then it’s going to decline, suffer, we’re going to lose business, we’re going to lose people coming. It’s time to do something.”
Snake River Canyon corridor
Farther down the river, BTNF collected $61,315 in Snake River Canyon recreation fees from private river users between May and August. Byron said the idea of implementing fees in the corridor was avoided for a long time. But growth in river use has increased the need for more attention on a sensitive reach of river. In 2024, the boating and fishing industry brought in $76 million for the state of Wyoming. Byron said that 15 years ago, nobody was paddleboarding on the Snake — technology and innovations in equipment have opened up river access for many people, and maintenance must keep up.
BTNF Public Affairs Specialist C.J. Adams told Buckrail in an email: “Fee collection funds will remain within the River Program and will be allocated toward enhancement projects at boating sites such as changing room improvements at West Table and Sheep Gulch and improving the driveway into the Astoria boat ramp. At this time, we do not have definite start dates.”
The Snake River Special Recreation Fee went into effect in 2025, and generated a total of $244,505 in its inaugural season. That total was broken into two categories: commercial outfitters (like scenic and whitewater trips) paying $168,899 and private boaters paying $75,606. At the end of the season, based on actual usage, outfitters pay $3 for every client brought down the river. Private users have a few different options when purchasing a permit: A day pass costs $5 per vehicle or a vehicle season pass costs $40, and it costs $3 per person for large group trips.
Between May and August of this year, BTNF sold 8,359 day passes and 593 season passes. Without end-of-season reporting from outfitters, it is difficult to compare the first two years of the program. Adams said that, according to available data, there seems to be a small increase in sales so far this year.
Byron emphasized the importance of the BTNF fees because they spread the financial responsibility over a growing number of private recreationists who use river access facilities. He said as long as there is accountability to put the fees back into BTNF and the Snake River Canyon, then it can be a beneficial system. Historically, he believes a lot of the burden of use has been put on outfitters and large-vessel users, but every user has a unique impact on the river.
“We’re so lucky to have such a public resource out our backyard,” Byron said. “The large majority of it is public land, and we need to do everything we can to protect how fragile it is, but also protect and allow all user groups to be able to access it safely and easily so they can enjoy the great outdoors.”
