Wyo. Code R. 040-0001-35
Effective Date: 11/17/2022 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 040.0001.35.11172022
Section 1. Authority. This regulation is promulgated by authority of W.S. § 23-1-302(a)(i), (a)(xxii) and (m), and W.S. § 23-3-306(a) and (f).
Section 2. Regulation Effective Date. This regulation shall become effective January 1, 2023, and shall remain in effect until modified or repealed by the Commission.
Section 3. Definitions. For the purpose of this regulation definitions shall be as set forth in Title 23, Wyoming Statutes, Commission regulations and the Commission also adopts the following definitions:
(h) “Paraplegic” means a person who is permanently unable to move or feel both legs and the lower half of their body because of injury or illness.
(i) “Quadriplegic” means a person who is permanently unable to move or feel both arms and both legs because of injury or illness.
(j) “Upper Extremity Disabled” means a person who has a permanent physical impairment due to injury or disease, congenital or acquired, which renders the person so severely disabled as to be physically unable to use any legal hunting weapon.
(k) “Vehicle” means any automotive vehicle, trailer, motor-propelled wheeled vehicle, or vehicle designed for travel over snow.
(l) “Walker” means a mechanical device designed to assist a person’s ability to walk that has multiple legs and requires the use of both hands to move.
(a) Any person, except those applying for a permit pursuant to Sections 5(f) and 9(a)(ii), meeting the requirements set forth in Sections 3, 5, 8 or 9 of this regulation, as attested to in writing by the applicant and certified by a medical doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, optometrist or ophthalmologist licensed to practice medicine, or disabled hunter companion pursuant to Section 7, may apply on a form provided by the Department for a specific permit as identified in Sections 5, 7, 8 and 9 of this regulation.
(b) Any person applying for a permit pursuant to Sections 5(f) and 9(a)(ii) may apply on a form provided by the Department and shall provide documentation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, indicating the applicant’s percentage (%) of service connected disability.
(c) Permits shall be issued to qualified applicants by the Department’s License Section, regional offices or designated Department personnel.
(d) Transfer of permits issued in accordance with this regulation to another person shall not be permitted.
(e) Disabled Hunter Permits, Disabled Hunter Companion Permits, Central Visual Acuity Disability Permits and Disabled Hunter Season Extension Permits shall not be valid for use in Grand Teton National Park (Elk Hunt Areas 75 and 79) or on the National Elk Refuge (Elk Hunt Area 77).
(f) Persons exercising any privileges under a permit issued in accordance with this regulation shall:
(i) Only take animals in accordance with state statutes and Commission rules and regulations.
(ii) Be in possession of their valid specific permit in the field while hunting.
(iii) Possess a valid hunting license, stamp and permit issued under authority of Title 23, Wyoming Statutes or Commission rules and regulations, unless exempt by statute from the need to possess a valid hunting license, stamp and permit.
Section 5. Disabled Hunter Permit. Any person may be issued a Disabled Hunter Permit if the person:
(a) Is unable to walk, at all times, without the use of, or assistance from, a wheelchair, scooter, walker, cane, crutches, prosthetic or some other mechanical device;
(b) Is restricted by lung disease to the extent the person’s forced expiratory volume for one (1) second, when measured by a spirometer, is less than thirty-five percent (35%) predicted, or arterial oxygen tension is less than fifty-five (55) mm/Hg on room air at rest;
(c) Has a cardiac condition to the extent the person’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV, according to standards established by the American Heart Association and defined in Section 3 of this regulation;
(d) Has a permanent, physical impairment that prevents the person, at all times, from holding or shooting a firearm or bow in hand;
(e) Has a central visual acuity disability; or,
(f) Can produce to the Department a decision letter, issued within the immediately preceding five (5) years from the date of application, by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States showing the person to have a service connected disability of at least seventy (70%) percent.
(a) Disabled Hunter Permits allow a disabled hunter permit holder to shoot from a stationary vehicle to take wildlife and to be accompanied by a person with a Disabled Hunter Companion Permit who may take any animal the disabled hunter has lawfully wounded. This permit shall not allow a disabled hunter to shoot or attempt to take any wildlife from, along or across any public road or highway.
(i) A Disabled Hunter Permit shall be valid as long as the applicant continues to qualify under Section 5.
(ii) A temporary Disabled Hunter Permit shall only be valid in the calendar year in which issued as long as the applicant continues to qualify under Section 5.
(b) The same person shall not be issued a Disabled Hunter Permit and a Disabled Hunter Companion Permit.
(c) A disabled hunter may be assisted by more than one (1) Disabled Hunter Companion.
(a) Disabled Hunter Companion Permits may be issued to an individual or to a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing hunting opportunities to individuals with disabilities.
(b) Persons engaged in the activity of a Disabled Hunter Companion shall be at least fourteen (14) years of age.
(c) A Disabled Hunter Companion Permit shall be valid for the calendar year in which it was issued, unless revoked by the Department.
(d) Disabled Hunter Companion Permits issued to a non-profit organization dedicated to providing hunting opportunities to individuals with disabilities may also be used by volunteers working for the organization.
(e) The disabled hunter companion shall:
(i) Be in possession of their Disabled Hunter Companion Permit in the field while taking a wounded animal or retrieving an animal killed by the disabled hunter;
(ii) Only take a wounded animal in accordance with state statute and Commission rule and regulation, and shall not take an animal under the authority of a Disabled Hunter Companion Permit that has not been wounded by a disabled hunter and for which a license is required for the disabled hunter;
(iii) Be in possession of the disabled hunter’s license and carcass coupon while taking any animal that has been wounded by the disabled hunter for which a carcass coupon is required or while retrieving such animal killed by the disabled hunter, and shall detach, and date the disabled hunter’s carcass coupon prior to leaving the site of kill;
(iv) Accompany the disabled hunter to the location where the disabled hunter wounds an animal.
(f) Animals taken, tagged, or retrieved by a disabled hunter companion on behalf of a disabled hunter shall become part of the disabled hunter’s bag or possession limit and do not count against the disabled hunter companion’s bag or possession limit.
(g) A person may be issued more than one (1) Disabled Hunter Companion Permit.
Section 8. Central Visual Acuity Disability Permit. Any person may be issued a Central Visual Acuity Disability Permit if the person meets the qualifications of having a central visual acuity disability as defined in Section 3.
(a) Any person having a Central Visual Acuity Disability Permit may use a scope that projects a visible light onto a target to take any animal.
(a) Any person may be issued a Hunting Season Extension Permit which allows a qualified applicant to hunt antelope, deer or elk five (5) days prior to the earliest opening date in the hunt area(s) and for the sex of antelope, deer or elk set forth by limitations of their license as specified in Section 2 of the current regulation for that species (Commission Regulations Chapter 5, Antelope Hunting Seasons, Chapter 6, Deer Hunting Seasons; Chapter 7, Elk Hunting Seasons), provided the person requesting the hunting season extension permit:
(i) Has a Central Visual Acuity Disability, is quadriplegic, upper extremity disabled, paraplegic, permanently paralyzed over at least fifty (50%) percent of their body or otherwise physically disabled so as to be permanently confined to a wheelchair (or similar device); or,
(ii) Can produce a decision letter issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or any branch of the armed forces of the United States, showing the person to have a one hundred (100%) percent service connected disability; or,
(iii) Meets the requirements set forth in W.S. § 23-1-705(j); (is twenty (20) years of age or younger with a life threatening illness and is sponsored by a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission it is to provide opportunities and experiences to persons with a life threatening or serious illness).
(a) The Department may deny or revoke any permit issued pursuant to this regulation for the following reasons:
(i) The Department cannot verify all information and documentation provided by the applicant;
(ii) The applicant made false statements on the application to secure a permit;
(iii) The permittee is convicted of violating any provision of Title 23, Wyoming Statutes or any Commission rules and regulations governing the taking of wildlife while exercising any privilege of the permit; or, (iv) The permittee no longer qualifies for the specific permit as specified in this regulation.
(b) Any person who has a permit application denied by the Department may appeal the Department's decision to the Fiscal Division Chief in accordance with Commission rules and regulations.
(c) Any person who has a permit issued pursuant to this regulation revoked by the Department may appeal the Department's decision to the Commission in accordance with Commission rules and regulations.
Section 11. Fees for Permits. There shall be no fee for a Disabled Hunter Permit, Shoot from a Vehicle Permit, Central Visual Acuity Disability Permit or a Hunting Season Extension Permit. The fee for the Disabled Hunter Companion Permit shall be five ($5) dollars.
Section 12. Making False Statements to Obtain a Permit. Any person who makes a false statement on an application to obtain a permit or any medical doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, optometrist, or ophthalmologist who makes a false statement on an application shall be in violation of this regulation.
WYOMING GAME AND FISH COMMISSION
By: Kenneth Roberts, President
Dated: September 14, 2022