Wyoming
Wisconsin Anglers Get Their Guns Back – Wyoming Anglers Say They’d…
After 25 years, Wisconsin anglers won back the right to carry guns while fishing, but some Wyoming anglers said it would be stupid to ever give that right up in the first place.
Particularly where grizzlies are lumbering about, a .44 magnum could be part of the well-equipped Wyoming angler’s kit.
Even so, don’t entertain any thoughts of leveling your hand-cannon at a trout in a “make my day” moment with a menacing snarl like Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” character.
It remains patently illegal to shoot fish with a firearm in Wyoming or Wisconsin.
Indeed, people who try to blast fish with guns might very well be why Wisconsin banned anglers from carrying firearms in 1999.
It is legal to shoot some species of fish with a bow in Wyoming, although it used to be illegal for bowhunters to carry firearms here, but now it’s allowed.
Questions about what is and isn’t allowed are good reasons to double-check hunting and fishing regulations before heading out with your fly rod, pistol, bow — or all three at once.
Wisconsin Ban Overturned
Wisconsin’s ban on anglers carrying firearms had long irritated gun rights advocates there.
The conservative activist group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty finally made a successful push against it, suing on the grounds that it violated the Second Amendment.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday agreed to overturn the ban, and the lawsuit was dropped, the Washington Times reported.
DRN spokeswoman Molly Meister told the Times that the ban hadn’t really been enforced since 2011, when Wisconsin legalized carrying concealed weapons.
A Matter Of Safety
Wisconsin banning anglers from carrying didn’t make sense in the first place, and in Wyoming such a ban would be stupid, Vince Vanata of Cody told Cowboy State Daily.
That’s because some of Wyoming’s best fishing is in the middle of prime grizzly habitat, said he retired Marine and law enforcement officer.
“If you’re fishing on the ground on the North Fork west of Buffalo Bill Reservoir, you’d better carrying a pistol and/or bear spray,” he said.
“You can see grizzlies from the gate at Yellowstone all the way down to Buffalo Bill. And they all like to head right down to the river,” he said. “If you’re fishing from a boat, it’s not that big of a deal. But if you’re on the ground, you need to be prepared.
“One day, we had to retreat into out camper because a bear came right into the campground” at Newton Creek on the Shoshone National Forest.
Nic George of Sheridan said grizzlies aren’t a concern in most of the places he goes fishing, but he carries a pistol nonetheless because mountain lions might be around.
Anglers tend to be quiet and intensely focused on what they’re doing, he told Cowboy State Daily.
“That makes you a prime target for mountain lions, which is a good reason to carry a firearm while fishing,” he said.
It’s legal to bowfish in Wyoming, but only for species that Game and Fish lists as non-game species, such as suckers and carp. Game fish, such as trout, may be caught with traditional fishing tackle only.
Bowhunters Can Carry Sidearms
Vanata also likes to hunt with a bow, and said he was happy when Wyoming lifted a ban on bowhunters carrying firearms several years ago.
“Do you lose your Second Amendment rights when you’re bowhunting?” Vanata said.
He said he understands game wardens’ misgivings about some unethical bowhunters trying to cheat and use their pistols to kill elk.
But gun rights and the need for archers to protect themselves from grizzlies and other large predators outweighs that, he said.
Wyoming Game and Fish regulations allow bowhunters to carry sidearms for personal protection. But firearms may not be used to kill, or even to finish off, big game animals during archery-only hunting seasons.
George said he has an ultra-light Smith & Wesson .44 magnum that he carries when he goes archery hunting in northwest Wyoming.
Its featherweight frame makes the revolver great for carrying on long hikes in the backcountry. But a magnum cartridge in such a light handgun makes for wicked recoil, George said.
“If I ever ran into a grizzly, I’d almost be tempted to just try bludgeoning the bear with it, because it kicks so hard,” he said with a laugh.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
Related
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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