Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen

Tex Adams

New member
***Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen Meeting***

1pm
Saturday, September 3
Casper, Wyoming
Hampton Inn (off Poplar exit)

We recently held a meeting with quite a few houndsmen in attendance and it was decided and agreed upon that we should get ourselves formally organized. There are several issues coming up that will directly affect the houndsmen of this state and we need to make sure that we are represented in front of the state legislature as well as the Wy G&F Commission.

It is hoped that we can get houndsmen from around the state to join us in Casper, so that we may go over the different issues we'll be working on getting through the legislature during this next session. One of the main things will be getting hound hunting formally recognized and protected. Other issues we'll be working toward are pursuit seasons as well as getting the needed authority to the G&F Commission so they may better deal with the hunter overcrowding problems.

There is going to be alot of ground being covered in this meeting and we need the participation of hound hunters in this start. I encourage everyone to attend and bring your questions and concerns. 

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to shoot me a pm or give me a call.


Tex
 
Originally Posted By: Airedale56Is your group going to try to get hunting bears with hounds legalized?
It might be something to attempt to get introduced.


Bear hunting with hounds is an issue that has been discussed at length and is something we definitely plan to pursue. We have a few other issues that are more pressing at this time though and we feel it is imperative that we address those few things first.

As most Wyoming residents know, the Wy G&F Commission discusses and makes regulation changes for the pursuit of all the different game species every three years. This year (2016), was the year for the discussing and changing of mountain lion rules and regs. We were unsuccessful in getting done what we wanted, but it was because the commission does not have the needed authority. That means we are going to have to go through the legislature.

Since we are being forced into going that route, we are going to be bringing up several issues that we hope will have some positive long-term effects for the houndsmen of this state. The first and main thing we intend to go after is the protection of hound hunting.

Wyoming is one of a number of states that has constitutional protection of hunting, fishing and trapping. The problem is, hound hunting is not specifically addressed and it is a chink in the armor. Groups like the Cougar Fund, Sierra Club and the HSUS, like to throw money at the politicians and get some of the lower hanging fruit outlawed. And for those who don't know, hound hunting and trapping are low hanging fruit. In the states along the west coast, these groups went in under the guise of trying to only eliminate one type of hunting, ie; hound hunting of mountain lion and bears. They would spread the message that they were not trying to shut down hunting of these species, but merely doing away with one particular method. Hound hunters are responsible for the majority of the management of mountain lions and could also play a much larger role where bears are concerned, if allowed to. If the pursuit of mountain lions with hounds were to be shut down in this state, it would essentially eliminate the harvest and management of those predators. Sure, boot hunters can and do take the occasional lion while out hunting for other game, but the majority of lions are taken over hounds.

It is because of potential future threats we see coming that we are going to be going after some sort of protection for hound hunting in this state. We are hoping to get this sport recognized as part of Wyoming's history and heritage dating back to the first settlers, and we are also seeking recognition as a valuable management tool of large predators. It is our hope, that this will lay the groundwork for us to be able to pursue bear hunting in the future.

The Wy G&F Commission will be discussing rules and regs surrounding bear hunting starting in the spring of 2017. As much as we would like to, with the other issues we are working on, we just don't have the time to make much headway in regards to bear/hound hunting. Another obstacle in our way at this time, is the de-listing of the grizzly bear. I was at the commission meeting in Pinedale back in July and I listened to all the reasons for and against the de-listing and let me tell you, the anti's were out in force. The concern they brought up repeatedly, was that de-listing and placing the control of the grizzly bear with the state could and would lead to hunting seasons being implemented. I have spoke with several representatives within the department and they are well aware of houndsmen wanting to go after a possible bear/hound season, but they are scared that any action along those lines could be the ammo the anti's need to go full force with their lawsuits to prevent the de-listing. Eventhough we do not want to hunt grizzlies with our hounds and eventhough they could keep the hunting of black bears with hounds well away from areas with grizzly bears, this is a very real concern for the G&F.

It is our hope and plan to word legislation in such a way that the commission will have the authority to implement seasons in the future without having to go back through the House. And we are also hoping to achieve precedence when these other issues, such as a potential black bear season or mountain lion pursuit seasons come up in the discussions.

I realize that I gave you a somewhat longwinded answer, but I was trying to convey the "why's and wherefore's". In short, we do fully intend to go after a bear season, but we feel it is important to get the groundwork layed, so it will probably not happen during this next year's commission meetings, but rather, we will hopefully have things ready to roll in 2020.

If there are any other questions that I can answer, please don't hesitate to ask. I will also be happy to give my phone number out in a pm, if anyone wishes to discuss these issues over the phone.

Thanks,
Tex Adams,President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
It is a windy, rainy and chilly day, so I am stuck inside and figured I would try to write an update. Some of this stuff has been gone over previously, but I would like to get all pertinent information in one spot, so I may be repeating some a couple of things.

In the past couple couple months we have had two different meetings.
The first meeting was held in Gillette, Wyoming. With a group of 15-20 houndsmen, a vote was taken and it was decided that we would start on getting the Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen officially organized. Once we got that out of the way we opened the floor for the nomination of officers. A vote was taken and new officers were put in place.

Tex Adams - President
Dusty Fenley - Vice President
Rob Peterson - Secretary/Treasurer

The second meeting was held recently in Casper, Wyoming, so that more houndsmen from around the state could participate and take part in the discussions. At this meeting a discussion came up surrounding costs and membership dues. With the members present, a motion was made and voted on to set in place a $40 per year fee. The dues will go to offset costs incurred while traveling to and from the different meetings with the G&F and legislature. Once dues are received, each member will be sent a window decal.

Dues can be mailed to :
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
C/O Rob Peterson
36 Benjamin St.
Gillette, Wy 82716

When sending in your dues, please include :
Name
Address
Telephone Number
Email

At both of these meetings, several different issues surrounding the hunting of mountain lions were discussed.
They included, but are not limited to :
Passing a state statute that will recognize hound hunting as part of Wyoming's history and heritage going all the way back to the first settlers who ran the wolves off the range. Also, we would like to see hound hunting recognized as a valuable wildlife resource management tool. (Without houndsmen, this state's mountain lion management would be non-existent)

Hunter congestion and overcrowding
Limited nonresident sub-quotas in specific areas
Possible requirement for everyone actively involved in a lion pursuit to have a valid tag
Pursuit/Training season - When an area quotas out it would remain open for pursuit only by residents only until the scheduled end of season
Pursuit/Training Only License (Non Harvest) - At a lesser cost
Making a full price harvest tag valid for pursuit once the license holder harvests a lion, or an area hits the quota. This would also apply to nonresident license holders until the nonresident sub quota was met in a given area (if applicable)
Possible waiting period between the time a license is purchased and a lion can be harvested.

There are many reasons behind these discussions and the houndsmen of this state are trying to figure out the best ways to help manage Wyoming's wildlife resources while protecting and promoting sporting opportunities for houndsmen. Any constructive comments are welcome.

We have a meeting coming up during the last week of the month where a few of us will be sitting down with representatives from G&F to start discussing the wording of legislation that will hopefully address several of the above issues. The G&F Department is well aware of some of the issues faced by houndsmen in this state, but they are prevented from acting on them due to having a limited authority. Since we are going to have to go through the legislature to address some of the issues we face, we will also be looking to expand protections and hunting opportunities for houndsmen.

If anyone has any questions, or would like to participate in the upcoming discussions, please let me know. We are also looking for houndsmen from different areas of the state who are willing to act as representatives for hound interests.

Thank you,
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen

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*** UPDATE ***
As I mentioned previously, we have been planning to meet with reps from the G&F once we had our meeting in Casper and got a few things decided upon. The discussions held in Casper were a success and a general direction was agreed upon for a few different issues with a 'go ahead' given to start the talks with G&F. Myself, VP Dusty Fenley and members, John and Larry Bird, got together and hashed out the specific issues that we intended to go over with G&F, so that we could start navigating the legislative process.

We talked about several different routes we could go with different alternatives if one or another option was not available. The items on this list are in no way set in stone. We listed them merely as a place to begin discussions.

Here are the issues we wanted to discuss with G&F -
Hound hunting recognized as part of Wyoming's history and heritage
Recognized as a valuable wildlife management tool
Limited nonresident sub-quota (area specific)
Hound handler/training permit for everyone actively involved in the hunting of hounds (not just lion hunting)
Age limits on permits ???
Permits half the cost of harvest tags ???
Waiting period between license purchase and harvest
Pursuit/training season : once an area hits quota it shall remain open for pursuit and training purposes only for residents only
Reciprocity with other states ???

I was able to meet with several reps from G&F in Wright, Wyoming, yesterday, and we talked for about three hours on how to make hunting with hounds better in Wyoming.

In attendance at yesterday's meeting was -
Tex Adams, President of the Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
Kieth Culver, Wyoming G&F Commissioner
Scott Edburg, Deputy Chief Game Warden
Dan Thompson, Head Carnivore Biologist
Justin Clapp, Mountain Lion Biologist
Joe Sandrini, Blackhills Region Biologist
Craig Smith, Game Warden, Sheridan Area (I believe)

I will go through each of the different topics and explain what was discussed.

-Hound hunting recognized as part of Wyoming's history and heritage
Recognized as a valuable wildlife management tool

In several states, hunting opportunities have been lost because of anti hunting groups using emotion and scare tactics to paint hound hunters in a bad light. Their method of attack is to go after the different hound pursuits by saying they don't want to completely shut the hunting down, they just want to eliminate the hunting of a certain species with hounds. With emotion, alot of money and a few bad examples, they have successfully eliminated bear, bobcat and/or mountain lion hunting in several states. Wyoming is one of several states that has constitutional protections in place for Hunting, Fishing and Trapping, but there is nothing specifically mentioning hounds or hunting with dogs. Because of this, the houndsmen of this state feel it is very important to go after some sort of recognition and protection through the legislature.

This item was discussed with G&F, but they are legally prohibited from lobbying for any sort of legislative changes. They can offer background and data when asked, but they cannot actively lobby for a measure such as this. It was suggested though, that I speak with State Rep Tyler Lindhom. Commissioner Culver had already been in contact with him discussing the hunter overcrowding issues and , Rep Lindholm, being a hunter and supporter of houndsmen, said that he was happy to help us work our way through the legislature with on these issues. With that information, I decided I would reach out to him to see what kind of support I could get for some sort of measure that better protected houndsmen and hunting with dogs.

He asked my reasoning behind what we are trying to do and then did a really good job of explaining the differences between resolutions and state statutes. In this particular case, neither of these avenues are entirely appropriate and the best route to take would be a constitutional amendment. Work on this will have to start very soon, so that it can be introduced during the next legislative session with final approval, hopefully, coming during the following regular legislative session in early 2019.

Representative Lindholm was out of town and has a few other items on his immediate schedule, so it was decided to set up a meeting date once he got back home and cleared his plate some. Also, since it was, Ogden Driscoll, who was able to push through the original amendment that protects Hunting, Fishing and Trapping, Rep Lindholm, felt it best if he reach out to the senator and invite him to the table as well. He feels that what we are looking for is very reasonable and should have plenty of support in Cheyenne. Once we get a little further along in these discussions, I will give everyone an update as to where we stand.

Limited nonresident sub-quota (area specific)
As many lion hunters in Wyoming know, hunter congestion and overcrowding has become a serious problem in some Mountain Lion Hunt Areas. More than a few different solutions have been discussed over the past several months, but the setting of a limited nonresident subquota is the solution that everyone keeps coming back to. As I mentioned before though, the Commission does not have the authority to set different quotas or limits for residents and nonresidents in this situation. For that reason, we are now going through the legislature to remedy that. Representative Lindholm has spoke with G&F reps as well as myself and we are to write this legislation out as it needs to be and he will see that it makes it before the legislature.

With the possibility of similar issues in the future coming up, we intend to word things so that this legislation can apply to more than one scenario, hunt area and/or species. The Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen hopes to one day see bear hunting with hounds become legal in this state and we hope that doing things right this time will save us from having to go back to Cheyenne due to something similar arising down the road.

Hound handler/training permit for everyone actively involved in the hunting of hounds (not just lion hunting)
For a couple years now, the houndsmen have been talking about possibly implementing a "hound handler, or training" permit. One would think that offering to funnel more money into the G&F coffers would be a no brainer and would have roaring support. NOT SO. This idea has been met with opposition from the field guys up to the commission. We have brought it to their attention that requiring a permit like other states have, people hunting for free would virtually be eliminated and would insure that everyone who is enjoying the hound pursuits would be paying their fair share to help manage and protect the resource.

The idea is not completely dead or abandoned, but it has been tabled at this time. In order for this idea to become reality, we would have to have a separate bill brought before the legislature granting the commission the licensing authority to set up and sell a new permit/tag. With the other issues we are already going after, we felt it best to limit our efforts to the most important issues. We are still going to pursue this, but it will be at a later date.

Age limits on permits ???
Permits half the cost of harvest tags ???
These two topics both go with the handler permit mentioned above. They were just notes that will need to be discussed when we do eventually start pursing this issue in earnest.

Waiting period between license purchase and harvest
This issue is part of the regs in other states and has been up for consideration among the houndsmen in this state. The premise behind it, is that it will help eliminate people sitting on tracks while they wait for another party to go and buy a tag. At this time, we will not be going anywhere with this issue. It is not a legislative item and can be dealt with at the commission level at some point in the future.

Pursuit/training season : once an area hits quota it shall remain open for pursuit and training purposes only for residents only
Houndsmen have been bringing this item up repeatedly and we have been given every excuse under the sun why it wouldn't work. I believe we are making some positive headway on this issue, but we still have a few people that need convinced this is a good idea. One of the main reasons against, that I have found, is that it would mean more work for the game wardens. Maybe we need some relief for the overworked game wardens, but limiting hunting opportunities is not the solution.

Basically, what we are wanting with a pursuit, or training season, is for an area to remain open for pursuit only, by residents only, until the scheduled end of season. At this time, only a handful of areas would even be affected. Last season, I believe there were only four hunt areas that reached quota and shut down.

We WILL continue working toward this and I believe we will find success in the near future.

Reciprocity with other states ???
Reciprocity surrounding hound hunting issues and nonresidents has been mentioned quite a few times in recent years and came up again at the meeting yesterday. I flat out opposed it for several reasons. Implementing something like this could mean a list of rules and regs so full and confusing, nobody would ever be able to figure it out.

I told the G&F personnel that Wyoming was in a very unique and good position, in that we don't have things so over-regulated yet that people avoid coming here. It is not our intent to limit opportunities for nonresidents, but merely to put the needs and desires of resident hunters first. I told them it is our desire to see Wyoming become a destination for houndsmen from other areas who would like to come out west and hunt large game with their dogs. To do that though, we have to do a better job of managing our resources and make sure that we take the correct steps to insure that hound hunting has a positive impact on the game and in the eyes of the public.

We are having to take small baby steps, because we are just now developing a good working relationship with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Progress is being made, but it is slow in coming, it seems. The thing is though, we have to keep at it and we have to be ever mindful of how we are perceived. Our image and how the public views us is playing a big part in the processes we are going through. Keep this in mind when you are in the field and please try and make time to participate in the upcoming meetings with our lawmakers.

This is all being done to help protect hound hunting and promote more hunting opportunities. Your help is needed.

If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to get a hold of me.

Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
I have been keeping Ma Bell in business over this past week. Early last week I was able to visit with, Jim Allen, who is the state rep that introduced the mountain lion trapping and snaring bill during the last legislative session. I asked him straight up if he had any intention of re-introducing that bill again during the next session. He said that due to a lack of support, he didn't think he would be trying to push it through again.

We visited about his reasoning behind it and when he finished telling me his side, I asked if he would listen to the reasons why we thought it was a bad idea. I laid out numerous reasons to support our position and then finished up by telling him there are already regulations surrounding the methods allowed to eliminate threats from mountain lion predation. 

I am pretty sure I was able to head things off as far as, Mr. Allen, was concerned, but he did say that State Senator, Dave Kinskey, from Sheridan, may have intentions of introducing similar legislation. As soon as I heard that I was on the horn with, Senator Kinskey. He said he was still on a fact finding mission in regards to the 'why's and wherefores', so I asked if he would be interested in hearing some opposing opinions. He did a good job of listening and then he followed up with G&F to ask about the rules and regs that are already in existence. I hope I'm not being to premature on this, but I think we may have things headed off from this front as well.

Both lawmakers were somewhat surprised when I informed them that the Wyoming Trappers Association had voted and had taken an official stance of opposition to any legislation along these lines. This was happy news for me as well. In preparation to call and oppose a trapping and snaring bill on lions, I called and spoke with Tome Krause of the Trappers Association and he informed me they were officially against it. He and I then had a long discussion on the legislation that we are currently working on. Tomorrow he will be meeting with some representatives from the G&F Department, so that they can better explain what we have been working on. I feel fairly confident that we will have their support on the hunter overcrowding legislation.

If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to call me.


Thanks
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
Earlier today, the following letter of intent that was sent to, State Representative Tyler Lindholm, of Sundance, Wyoming. Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen Vice President, Dusty Finley and member, Larry Bird, came over and we sat down to write out exactly what we are seeking through legislation that will protect the use of hounds and sporting dogs in Wyoming.

Quote:Dear Sir,

Whether it was for sport, or to protect livestock from predators, Wyoming has a long and storied history involving hounds and the use of sporting dogs. The Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen is a group of sportsmen who enjoy their time afield in the hound hunting pursuits. Houndsmen and hunters from every corner of Wyoming are joining together to be proactive in the defense of the use of hounds and sporting dogs in pursuit of this state's wildlife opportunities. With ethical chase and harvest practices, it is our desire to work alondside those within the Game & Fish Department charged with the scientific management of Wyoming's wildlife resources.

Due to an all out assualt against those who use and depend upon dogs in their hunting endeavors, it is our desire and intent to author and follow through with legislation that protects the use of hounds and sporting dogs in Wyoming. With the passage of a state statute and eventual amendment to the state constitution, we also seek recogniton of the use of hounds and sporting dogs as part of Wyoming's history and heritage, as well as being a valuable and indispensable wildlife management tool. As concerned sportsmen, we are seeing a very negative trend within other states where the use of hounds and sporting dogs is being vilified by those whose wish it is to eliminate the use of sound scientific management practices. It is our belief, that if we are able to compose a specific set of protections for the use of hounds and sporting dogs within the state of Wyoming, we can head off any negative attacks against the sportsmen of this state and the sound management of our wildlife resources.

We look forward to working with you on this legislation and ask that you please contact us if you have any questions and/or concerns.


Sincerely, 
Tex Adams, President
Dusty Finley, Vice President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
Gillette, Wyoming



Sending this letter of intent is just the first step and there will be much more work to follow. Once things get rolling, we will need the help of every houndsman in the state with emails, calls and letters to lawmakers from around the state. If anyone would like to take part in the process, we will appreciate all the help we can get. Don't hesitate to give me a call.

Thanks,
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
For those who are interested, the Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen, has a new Facebook page under that name. Unfortunately, in today's climate, with all those who are against hound hunting, the page has to remain private. I am not the admin and don't know exactly how it all works, but if you wish to participate, you just need to ask for an invite. The page administrator is doing a good job of getting people approved in a timely fashion.

We do ask that you please keep things respectful and family friendly. Also, we hope everyone will post pictures of their hunts, but try and keep them limited to those that will help cast our sport in the best light possible. Our numbers are growing and we are making progress in the different legislative pursuits we are going after and we want to make sure that our actions and ethics are above reproach.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call me.

Thanks
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
Thanks, MNyoteHunter.

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Quote: As a houndsman from a state (Wisconsin) where quite a few non-residents come to hunt with hounds I understand the idea of looking out for residents rights. I also am know that out of state hunters bring in a lot of money, even thought the hound dogger is small in numbers compared to some of the other type of hunting( elk ,deer).
I would like to apologize a head of time if I am reading things wrong and I am glad people like you are standing up for our/your rights. I understand the non-resident quota idea and am not against that as I wouldn't mine seeing some of that here. I would like to bring up a couple of things. I seen you where think of a pursuit tag of maybe 50% cost of hunting tag. My wife and I would like to go a lion hunt someday. A lion tag for non-residents is $362 that would mean $181 for me to tag along to watch her hopefully fill her tag. I am not against paying for pursuit tag, I think 50% might be a bit much to be a pack mule. I also know that G&F could probably use the money. The other point I would like to bring up is about the resident only pursuit once the quota is closed, as a non-resident if I travel 20+ hours to get to a spot to hunt and the quota gets filled before I get there or after I get there or if we get lucky and get a cat the first day. I could still enjoy the vacation we would make out of it. 

Thanks for reading and keep up the good fight

Hello and thanks for your comments. There are a few issues related to our proposed legislation that are being misunderstood and I am trying my best to clear up some of the confusion. Unfortunately, at this time, I am not at liberty to make public the actual wording of the bills. This is mainly due to the fact that everything is at the Legislative Services Office and legalities are being checked and re-checked.

Like a few other states, Wyoming, does not require every houndsman to have a license to participate in a mountain lion or bobcat hunt. The only requirement is that atleast one person in the party have a license. This has led to some very large parties of nonresident (NR) hunters flocking in to enjoy our mountain lion season. We have had resident (R) houndsmen encounter parties of 5 and up to 10 vehicles full of hunters who will dump hounds out on a track that is already being ran and then use the size of their party to intimidate people into pulling their dogs off. The fact that this does go on along with the fact that up to 80% of the NR hunters who are out here do not, in fact, have a valid tag, are what has many so upset.

The legislation being proposed will grant the F&G Commission the authority to set a limited NR sub-quota in a specific area, but will NOT be implemented statewide. In fact, there will be several criteria that would need to be met before a NR sub-quota would even be considered for an area. Once a particular area does meet its NR sub-quota, there will be nothing preventing a NR houndsman from going to a neighboring hunt area and continuing on with their hunt. These measures are merely meant to insure that R hunters, who usually travel with just one or two hunters in one vehicle, will have an adequate chance of their own to hunt.

We have some hunt areas that are experiencing a 60% and better harvest rate of lions by NR houndsmen. This is due entirely to the fact that R Houndsmen are being ran out of their home areas. And to add insult to injury, the lion populations in these areas are being decimated by people who feel that the purchase of a license is sufficient reason to harvest lactating females and sub-adult lions (3yrs and younger). If these harvest trends continue, there will be no lions to run, much less harvest. Recently, one popular hunt area hit its seasonal quota with 2/3 of the lions harvested being sub-adults and 1/2 being female. 

As everyone here well knows, raising, training, hunting and maintaining a pack of hounds is probably the most expensive type of hunting, with the possible exception of an African safari. It cost ALOT of money to keep a pack of dogs healthy and well trained. That is why we hope to one day have a training season. And yes, we do intend to pursue a resident only season. Otherwise, we would just be extending the same problems we are already dealing with and nothing would be accomplished. There are already R houndsmen being pushed out and no longer realizing the value of maintaining a pack of hounds and they are selling out. Without houndsmen, and more specifically, resident houndsmen, the state of Wyoming would have no viable management program for mountain lions and they would be forced to do as some of the west coast states are doing, which is hire contract government hunters to manage large predators. It is in this state's best interest to insure we have a devoted population of resident houndsmen to help manage and protect the different interests involved with Wyoming wildlife.

There have been many ideas bandied about and discussed concerning 'handler permits', or a requirement for everyone involved with a hunt to have a valid license. Many have expressed opinions one direction or another, but the general consensus is, most Wyoming R houndsmen would like to see something that requires everyone actively involved with a hunt to have some sort of license or permit. As it stands now, we have too many large hunting parties coming into the state with too many unlicensed hunters being able to exploit our hunting opportunities at the expense of the R hunters and sportsmen. These specific issues though, are not on any current agendas and will not be addressed until some point alot further down the road when several more important issues have been dealt with.

It is the intention of the, Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen, to steer this state toward becoming a hound hunting destination for those interested in pursuing big game with their hounds. We have to first get a handle on some of the problems we are facing. No state's management program should favor NR hunters who are not required to purchase a license over R hunters who do purchase them. We also hope to try and start some different educational programs that will help encourage new, or inexperienced hunters, to leave the less mature lions and lactating females in the tree. We hope to discourage people from shooting that 45lb mountain lion (actually happened this year), because that is NOT a trophy. These animals are classified as trophy game and anything less should be left to grow and mature.

Again, I appreciate your comments. I am more than willing to discuss the different issues we are dealing with at anytime and I encourage people to bring forth their ideas and concerns.

For those who are interested, the Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen, has a new Facebook page. The page is private, so interested people will have to ask for permission before being allowed to participate. Unfortunately, in today's climate, with the anti hunting crowd, this is a simple necessity. 


Thanks,
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
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!!! MEMBERSHIP DRIVE !!!

The Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen is having a membership drive.
Everyone who has paid dues by January 31, 2017 will be entered into a drawing for one of the following prizes.
Randall Knife, donated by Clinton Knives
$100 Gift Certificate, donated by Plum Tree Hound Supply
$50 Double U Gift Certificate, donated by, Mike Sogge, of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association

Dues are $40/yr and can be mailed to :
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
C/O Rob Peterson
36 Benjamin St.
Gillette, Wy 82716

When sending in your dues, please include :
Name
Address
Telephone Number
Email

We have alot going on this year and it takes the support of houndsmen to help protect our sport.


Thanks
Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
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The prize list for the Membership Drive has grown.

Two (2) Garmin TT 15 Collars, donated by Double U Hound Supply https://dusupply.com/

One (1) Randall Knife, donated by Clinton Knives http://clintonknives.com/

One (1) $100 Gift Certificate, donated by Plum Tree Hound Supply https://plumtreehoundsupply.com/

One (1) $50 Double U Hound Supply Gift Certificate, donated by, Mike Sogge, of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association

Guys we are getting a good pile of prizes out together and I'm hoping we can add some more to it. Everyone who has paid their membership by January 31, 2017, will be entered into the drawings. We are going to be drawing several names for prizes, so the odds are pretty decent.

We want to extend a big thank you to each of these sponsors. Their help is greatly appreciated and we ask that you help support those companies and organizations that support houndsmen.

Good luck and thank you for supporting our organization.

Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
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Great News !!!
Our legislation, HB130, passed through the House TRW Committee with a vote of 8-1
From here it goes to the Senate where it will be brought up before the TRW Committee there. A positive note here is, Senator Fred Emerich, who is the head of the Senate TRW Committee, has signed on as a co-sponsor of this legislation.

The current draft of the legislation can be here - (please note, this is a pdf)
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2017/Introduced/HB0130.pdf

Of note in regards to this draft is that it is already being amended. The word, LICENSE, will be removed from the wording, as will the specific percentages for resident and non-resident quota numbers. They were initially added so that an economic impact statement could be drawn up. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to call me and I will do my best to address your concerns.


Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
!!! MEMBERSHIP DRIVE !!!

Double U Hound Supply sent a box chock full of merchandise for prizes in our membership drive. As promised, they sent two Garmin TT 15 Collars, but they also sent along a big selection of other stuff.
Hoodies
T-Shirts
Caps
Replacement Collar Antennas
Lanyards
Coozies
Window Decals

All of these items will be awarded to dues paying members in our drawing. And remember, one of the Garmin TT 15 Collars will be awarded to the person who brings in the most new members. 

We also have a Randall Knife and two gift certificates to give out as well.

I would like to thank, Double U Hounds Supply, Clinton Knives and Plum Tree Hound Supply for their generosity and support and I ask each of you to extend your appreciation to them as well.


Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
The Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen is having a statewide membership meeting this coming Saturday.

Saturday, March 11
Casper, Wyoming
11am-1pm
Hilton Hotel off the Poplar exit

We need to get a rough head count so we can make sure to have enough room, so if you are planning on attending please shoot me a text or give me a call.

Discussion topics -
HB 0130 and where we go next
By-Laws
Getting our 501c3
Houndsman log books and data gathering
There will be a few other topics on the discussion agenda, but these are the main ones.


Tex Adams, President
Wyoming Federation of Houndsmen
 
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