Committee adopts conceptual amendment to limit bill to grizzly bears; HB186 advances amid agency and stakeholder debate

House Bill 186, the "bear coupon" proposal, drew extensive public and agency testimony and passed the Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee with a conceptual amendment limiting the bill's scope to grizzly bears. The committee vote was 5–4.

Representative Wharfe, the sponsor, framed the measure as a tool to assert state management and to press for delisting of grizzly bears. He said the coupon would be attached to resident elk licenses and would apply to bears outside the federal grizzly bear recovery area. "I believe that the state is sovereign," Wharfe said, adding that the coupon was intended as a statement to accelerate management authority and to give sportsmen a means to take incidental bears while elk hunting.

Game and Fish Deputy Director Doug Bridal and Chief Game Warden Dan Smith testified against the bill in its current form and offered procedural and technical edits. Bridal said the department agrees the grizzly population has recovered but urged a different approach to delisting, working with the federal delegation and existing processes. The department pointed out operational consequences: an additional coupon on elk licenses would expand the number of hunters carrying a bear authorization, could reduce the number of purchased over‑the‑counter black bear tags, and would require regulatory cleanups to ensure quotas and reporting remain effective. "Adding a tag to every elk license, it doesn't change the commission's authority as written to limit the number of bears that would be harvested," Bridal said, and he recommended regulatory amendments to clarify reporting and quota mechanics.

Chief Game Warden Dan Smith noted fiscal and enforcement impacts. He said revenue and licensing patterns could shift because cow/calf or other lower‑cost licenses could be used instead of a black bear license. The department also said the bill, as written, could put Wyoming hunters at risk of federal prosecution while grizzly bears remain listed under the Endangered Species Act and could trigger Lacey Act concerns for hunters who transport wildlife across state lines.

A wide range of testifiers opposed the bill or urged caution: the Wyoming Wildlife Federation recommended continued reliance on the state agency's science‑based management and warned that legislative action could undermine delisting efforts; bear‑hunting representatives and sportsmen's groups told the committee they support state management but opposed wrapping black bears into a measure designed to pressure grizzly delisting; local lawmakers and producers supported a stronger state stance and called the bill a necessary signal to the federal government.

In committee debate Representative Banks proposed a conceptual amendment to remove brown and black bears from the bill and focus the measure on grizzly bears only. The sponsor accepted a conceptual amendment so LSO and the sponsor could draft focused statutory language. The amendment was adopted on a roll call, and the bill passed 5–4: Banks, Johnson, Schmidt, Struck and Chairman Winter voted yes; Davis, Eklund, Otman and Provenza voted no.

Why it matters: The bill intersects wildlife management, federal Endangered Species Act status, and public safety concerns. Game and Fish emphasized existing regulatory tools, quotas and reporting mechanisms; opponents cautioned that an assertion of state hunting authority while grizzlies remain federally listed could expose hunters to federal prosecution and complicate delisting litigation.

The sponsor and LSO will draft the conceptual amendment language for a future committee or committee‑of‑the‑whole consideration.