A trapping reform effort over a decade in the making gained more traction in Cheyenne this session than ever before, yet failed to make it past the legislative finish line.

Senate File 139, sponsored by Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, would have given the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission the authority to establish trap-free zones on public lands, which trapping reform advocates say is necessary to protect pets accompanying their recreating owners. Dockstader sponsored the bill in response to a high-profile incident in his Lincoln County district last February in which a constituent’s dog was trapped and killed in an illegally set trap.

“At some point, with the increased use of the outdoors, we’re going to have more encounters and more conflicts,” Dockstader said of his rationale for proposing regulations.

Senate File 140, a sister bill also sponsored by Dockstader, would have mandated an annual education certification for all trappers.

Trapping reform has been a priority of the Game and Fish Commission, and wildlife managers have been exploring whether trapping and education requirements make sense.

The education bill never made it out of the Wyoming Senate’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee. But the committee unanimously approved the setbacks bill, which the Wyoming Senate approved on Feb. 6. But SF 139 died three weeks later “in the drawer,” meaning it was not assigned to a committee in the Wyoming House by a set deadline.

House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, who is responsible for assigning bills to House committees, did not respond to multiple requests for comment about why the bill never left made it to committees for debate.

Dockstader declined to comment on his bill’s fate in the House.

His job was to move the bill through the Senate, he said, and once he had done that, it was out of his hands.

‘Breaking new ground’

Lisa Robertson, founder of the group Wyoming Untrapped, was disappointed by SF 139’s unceremonious death.

But she saw the bill’s success in the Senate as a major shift in support compared to when she began campaigning for trapping reform in the early 2010s.

“Every step we take right now is breaking new ground,” she said. “Even if it gets held up, we’ve still taken it farther than it has gone before.”

Robertson was pleased to see Game and Fish back reform and some trappers come around to the idea as well.

Many trappers remained concerned about giving up ground, however. John Eckman, vice president of the Wyoming State Trappers Association, opposed SF 139 because of how open-ended it was.

The bill would have vested the Game and Fish Commission to establish setbacks at their discretion.

“I don’t know how we could agree or disagree on it, because the bill was so vague,” he said.

Eckman agreed that catching dogs in traps is a problem. But he took issue with how SF 139 and SF 140 asked trappers to make sacrifices without asking anything of recreating dog owners.

“I’m willing to shut down trapping on certain trailheads and drainages as long as there is an equal amount of land shut down to dog walking,” he said. “If I’m giving up my rights, why isn’t someone else asked to give up some of their rights?”

Eckman felt similarly about mandating trapper education. He wondered why pet owners shouldn’t have to take a course on how to keep their dogs safe and out of traps. And, while he disliked the education mandate, he said it is important for trappers to know where they should trap.

He doesn’t trap near trails if he sees boot prints, for example, for fear of catching unintended prey.

Robertson, meanwhile, had expected the mandatory education bill to “fly through” the Senate.

“That was the one we thought was a no-brainer,” she said.

Dockstader, however, thought it would be a “tough one” and he wanted to “be careful not to push too far.”

“People don’t like the mandatory part in our culture, regarding hunting, fishing and trapping,” he said.

The debate continues

Dockstader, Roberston and Eckman all agreed that the two bills’ deaths are not the end of the conversation on trapping reform.

Robertson hopes the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee will take up the setback bill in the interim between the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions. Bills sponsored by an interim committee have priority when lawmakers reconvene. Dockstader may introduce the same bill next session and, in the meantime, will talk to Game and Fish about educating trail users at the local level about trapping activity. Eckman looks forward to working with Game and Fish to craft legislation addressing the problem and educating everyone involved.

“When you ask me if I want to give up my rights, the answer is, ‘Hell no,’” he said. “But I have to make a sacrifice because I’m not naive.

“I understand that not everyone agrees with what I do,” Eckman said.

Contact Christina MacIntosh at 307-732-5911 or environmental@jhnewsandguide.com.

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