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New Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund names board, sets rules timeline and wins committee approval to draft large-projects bill
Summary
The newly formed Wyoming Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund presented its board makeup and timeline to the Select Natural Resource Funding Committee; the committee voted to let Legislative Service Office draft a large-projects bill in coordination with director Budd for consideration at the committee's next meeting.
Mark Tesoro, manager of the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Office and secretary to the new Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund board, and Jeremiah Grama, chair of the trust board, briefed the Select Natural Resource Funding Committee on July 30 about board appointments, rulemaking and a projected grant timetable.
Why it matters: The trust was created by recent legislation to support outdoor recreation and tourism projects statewide. Tesoro said the fund currently holds about $12 million and aims, over time, for a $200 million corpus modeled in part on the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust.
Board and timeline: Tesoro read the nine appointed board members and described early work: two board meetings so far, two working groups (rules and criteria), and coordination with the attorney general’s office to remove statutory repetition from draft rules. Tesoro said the board hopes to begin accepting grant applications in January 2026 and possibly award grants in July 2026. He said the nine-member board can approve grants under $200,000; projects over $200,000 will come to the select committee for approval.
Jeremiah Grama, the board chair, said the board is considering matching and ranking criteria and has consulted the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, tourism stakeholders and other states’ models. “We also leaned on the cultural, soarscribe trust to understand what they, have established,” Grama said, noting the board’s intent to balance recreation development with wildlife protection.
Committee discussion and motion: Committee members asked about likely project types (trails, parking, boat docks, mountain-bike trails and other visitor infrastructure) and about maintenance responsibilities; Tesoro said the board expects applications to identify long-term maintenance plans and funding sources.
Representative Javier Provenza moved that Legislative Service Office (LSO) draft a large-projects bill in coordination with director Bob Budd for the committee’s next meeting so the committee could review and amend the draft; Senator Landon seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote. The committee chair announced, “Motion passes.”
What’s next: Tesoro said the board has postponed an August meeting while finalizing rules with the attorney general’s office and will set a future date for its next meeting. Committee members discussed whether to seek additional funding early if applications outpace the biennial $6 million allocations for the new trust; several members suggested the committee could consider a larger appropriation if needed.
