WYOMING — After the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission passed the 2023 hunting season regulations and quotas on April 18, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has opened a comment period for public input on four regulations.

Chapter 22, Watercraft Registration

Proposed regulations include:

  • Portable fire extinguishers older than 12 years from the date of manufacture stamped on the container shall be considered expired and removed from service
  • New federal rules are requiring watercrafts equipped with an engine cut-off switch (formerly referred to as ‘kill switch’) to be in use while the watercraft is underway unless the main helm of the watercraft is within an enclosed cabin.
Chapter 44, Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances

Proposed regulations include:

  • Adding a definition for “region general elk licenses” which allows for the creation of nonresident general elk regions to be developed within the state
  • Removing the total nonresident elk full price license limit of 7,250
  • Removing personal identifying information, such as name and date of birth, from a Special Limited Fishing Permit
  • The final date to apply for, modify or withdraw bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat and wild bison applications has been moved to April 30
Chapter 46, Fishing Regulations

Proposed regulations include:

  • Revising definitions of “Artificial Flies and Lures” and “Bait” to avoid using the term “organic”
  • Prohibiting an employer who is a licensed live baitfish dealer to have multiple employees with seining licenses, but without live bait dealer licenses, to collect live baitfish for the employer
  • Removing Shoshone Lake from the seasonal fishing closure, limiting the closure only to the creek upstream of the lake and shortening the closure from more than nine months to the three month period when it is needed to protect Brook Trout during spawning
  • Prohibiting the collection of live baitfish from Glendo Reservoir and approximately 4.3 miles of the North Platte River upstream of Glendo State Park due to aquatic invasive species
Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons

Proposed regulations include:

  • Establishing annual hunting seasons, licensing limitations, gray wolf harvest registration procedures and bag limits for the 2023 hunting season

Draft regulation will be updated with new proposed mortality limits after May 1.

Find more information and submit public comments here. The deadline to submit comments on all four chapters is June 2 at 5 p.m.

Read about the accepted changes to pronghorn and mule deer hunting tags here.