Why Does Gov. Gordon Support Giving Wildlife Money to the Outfitters Association?

By Rob Shaul, Founder, Mountain Pursuit

In April, Mountain Pursuit filed a lawsuit against the G&F Commission over Commissioner Tag donations to the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association (WYOGA). In 2021, G&F Commissioners David Rael and Gay Linn Byrd both donated a Commissioner Complimentary License to the WYOGA. 

However, state statutes and G&F regulations mandate that Commissioner Tags may only be donated to "nonprofit charitable organizations" and the WYOGA is listed as a 501(c)(6), "Business League" non profit organization with the IRS, not a 501(c)(3) "charitable" non profit as required by the statute. 

As well, the WYOGA described itself as a "Trade association for its members that conduct outdoor outfitting services," with its Articles of Incorporation filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State.

Mountain Pursuit alleges that the WYOGA is not a "charitable" nonprofit as required to receive a Commissioner Tag. 

Even worse, WYOGA has actively worked against the interests of Wyoming's resident hunters and the G&F Department. 

In 1998 the WYOGA sued Wyoming in Federal Court in a failed attempt to end all resident hunter tag preference. If WYOGA's lawsuit had been successful, nonresident hunters would have received as many or more hunting tags than resident hunters.

Then in 2016, the WYOGA tried to backdoor an increase in limited quota elk tags for nonresident hunters through the Game & Fish Commission. That effort failed in 2017 - but came close - the WYOGA lost by just one vote.

Most recently, the WYOGA successfully lobbied the State Senate TRW Committee to kill a bill which would have increased the number of limited quota big game tags going to Wyoming resident hunters by over 3,500 tags each year, and would have increased nonresident tag prices to bring in an additional $8 million per year for the G&F Department. WYOGA President Sy Gilliland bragged about defeating this bill, which would have been a win-win for Wyoming resident hunters and the G&F Department, at the first Wyoming Wildlife Task Force meeting earlier this month. 

Most Commissioner Complimentary Licenses are auctioned off as limited quota elk tags and bring in $18,000 to $25,000 apiece. That the WYOGA could raise up to $50,000 from the sale of Wyoming elk tags and then use Wyoming's wildlife money to work against the interests of resident hunters can't be ignored.  

That the G&F Commissioners would even consider tag donations to the WYOGA demonstrates the corrupt influence the outfitters have over the Commissioners and the Department.

In our lawsuit, we asked the court to declare the WYOGA illegible from receiving donated Commissioner Tags and to force the G&F Commission to follow the statute. 

Sounds reasonable, right? 

Apparently not to Governor Gordon. Last week, the Attorney General's office - which works for him - filed an answer to our lawsuit in which he defended giving wildlife money to the Outfitters Association, and asked the judge to dismiss our case. 

So why would he do that? Why would Governor Gordon favor giving wildlife money to a business organization which actively works against the interests of the 40,000 resident hunters who purchase a big game tag each year? 

We don't know either.

Unless Governor Gordon, like his G&F Commissioners, is yet another corrupted puppet of the Outfitters.