Organizers of Wyoming hunts for disabled veterans are concerned that proposed changes to landowner hunting tag regulations will reduce the number of tags available to veterans.
Hunting with Heroes Wyoming and similar organizations rely on donated hunting tags, many of which come from the state’s landowner tag program, according to Bill Brinegar, executive director of Hunting With Heroes Wyoming.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is considering a proposal to increase the number of acres required for landowner tags from 160 to 640.
There is concern that this could prevent owners of smaller properties in Wyoming from obtaining landowner tags.
Brinegar, a former Game and Fish game warden, believes that many property owners may donate tags for disabled veterans’ hunts. Dan Currah and Colton Sasser, army veterans, founded Hunting With Heroes Wyoming in 2013.
“I do know from being a game warden that there’s an awful lot of what I would call smaller landowners out there,” Brinegar told the audience.
How Tag Donations Work:
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s landowner tag program allows qualified property owners to apply for hunting tags for specific game species. These animals include elk, deer, antelope, and wild turkeys.
According to Game and Fish regulations, to be eligible for a tag, you must own at least 160 contiguous acres in a draw-only hunt area for each species you apply for.
The land must also provide food, shelter, and water for the species being applied for. Furthermore, it must provide at least 2,000 days of use per year for the species for which the landowner is applying.
For example, if 10 deer live on the land for at least 200 days per year, that counts as 2,000 days of use.
Similarly, if 500 elk live on that land for four days per year, that would count as 2,000 days.
There is talk of expanding the qualifications to at least 160 cultivated acres, or 640 contiguous acres, and 3,000 days of use.
Landowners may distribute their tags to immediate family members. Alternatively, tags can be donated to charity hunts for veterans, such as those organized by Hunting With Heroes.
Landowners return their tags to Game and Fish in exchange for donations, which are then distributed to qualified charitable organizations, according to Brinegar.
Lifesaving Outdoor Adventures
Since its founding, Hunting With Heroes Wyoming has taken roughly 3,000 disabled veterans hunting and angling in Wyoming. It’s served an average of about 300 veterans each year.
Hunting with Heroes Wyoming not only welcomes veterans recovering from service-related physical injuries, but also those dealing with the psychological effects of war.
Brinegar is not a veteran, but his father was a Vietnam War veteran, and his middle son is currently serving in the Army.
Hunting With Heroes and similar groups offer veterans far more than just outdoor adventures, he said.
“When they come back home and back into their communities, they don’t have people they can talk to,” Brinegar told me.
He believes that being outside allows people to deeply relax and open up.
“Some of these guys have told me stories and then said, ‘Gosh, I’ve never told anybody that story,'” he laughed.
Being around other veterans on hunting and fishing trips makes them feel more at ease.
Veterans frequently form “lifelong friendships” with landowners who donate their tags and host hunts on their property, according to Brinegar.
Wyoming’s outdoor experiences have aided veterans’ recovery efforts.
“We’ve saved lives,” he explained.
‘Unintended consequences’
Brinegar stated that Hunting With Heroes Wyoming, along with other veterans and supporters, intends to address their concerns with the Game and Fish Commission.
Along with increasing the requirements for acreage and animal use days, the proposed changes may shift more of the burden of documentation onto landowners, according to Brinegar.
“Those guys, they don’t have a lot of extra time,” he told me.
He expressed concern that the proposed changes may have “unintended consequences” for disabled veterans’ hunts.
