Hunting License Reduction Voted Down

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming Senate committee has voted down a bill that would have cut the percentage of hunting licenses set aside for nonresident hunters for coveted species such as bighorn sheep.

The Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Committee voted four-to-one Tuesday against the bill.

Sponsor Sen. Larry Hicks, a Baggs Republican, told the committee the bill would have brought Wyoming in line with how neighboring states allocate such licenses.

Wyoming currently sets aside 25 percent of its bighorn sheep and mountain goat tags and 20 percent of its moose licenses for out of state hunters. Hicks' bill would have lowered that figure to 10 percent for all three species.

The Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association opposed the bill, saying it threatened the state's tourist industry.