Bigbuck....Has this changed since 1999?
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September 8, 1999
FORMAL OPINION NO. 99-006
TO: John Baughman, Director
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
FROM: Gay Woodhouse
Attorney General
Michael L. Hubbard
Deputy Attorney General
Rowena Heckert
Deputy Attorney General
QUESTION 1: Do Game and Fish enforcement officers have authority to enter
private lands without a search warrant, or without landowner
permission, or �without probable cause� that a violation is
occurring in order to check compliance with hunting and fishing
laws and regulations?
SHORT ANSWER: Game and Fish law enforcement officers may enter open fields
without a search warrant, or without landowner permission, or
without probable cause to check compliance with hunting and
fishing laws and regulations.
QUESTION 2: May Game and Fish law enforcement officers enter private
property to check compliance with statute and regulations when
it is simply known or probable that hunting or fishing activities are
occurring?
SHORT ANSWER: If the private property is an open field, the law enforcement
officers may enter the property to check compliance. Probable
cause is required to search individual effects and buildings.
QUESTION 3: If wardens do have the authority, then does the Commission have
the power through policy to restrict this authority on private lands?
If the Commission does have this power, the Commission could,
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1) choose to restrict enforcement authority or, 2) choose not to
restrict enforcement authority on private lands.
SHORT ANSWER: The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission may only interpret the laws
of the state and therefore may not limit the authority of law enforcement
officers to enter private property. See Discussion.
DISCUSSION
I. The Statutes
The State of Wyoming, in its sovereign capacity and as trustee, must manage and
regulate the State�s wildlife for the common benefit and interest of all its citizens:
For the purpose of this act, all wildlife in Wyoming is the property
of the state. It is the purpose of the act and the policy of the state
to provide an adequate and flexible system for control,
propagation, management, protection and regulation of all
Wyoming wildlife. (Emphasis added.)
WYO. STAT. � 23-1-103.
This ownership of the wildlife is also sanctioned by the United States Constitution.
O�Brien v. State, 711 P.2d 1144, 1148-49 (Wyo. 1986), quoting Lacoste v. Department of
Conservation of the State of Louisiana, 263 U.S. 545, 44 S.Ct. 186, 68 L.Ed. 437 (1924).
The legislature has required the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, acting through the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, to administer, manage and maintain all the State�s
wildlife. WYO. STAT. �� 23-1-302 and 23-1-401. A very significant portion of that wildlife is
found on private property.
By statute, the legislature has provided the Commission with extensive authority and
responsibility to regulate and manage the wildlife resources of the State. WYO. STAT. � 23-1-
302(a)(xvi). In order to protect the wildlife resources of the State, the legislature has enacted
many, many statutes requiring or forbidding certain activities which routinely occur on private
property. Some of those prohibited activities include hunting without a license, WYO. STAT.
� 23-1-101; fishing without a license, WYO. STAT. � 23-3-301; hunting without required colored
clothing, WYO. STAT. � 23-3-113; hunting on private property without landowner permission,
WYO. STAT. � 23-3-305; and exceeding the limits on the number, kinds, and sometimes
gender, of animals and fish to be taken. WYO. STAT. �� 23-3-101 through 109 and �� 23-2-
201 through 208. Additionally, licensees are required to produce their licenses for inspection
at the request of any authorized Department representative, and there are different licenses
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The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward