Outreach and Local Engagement
Local engagement in communities throughout the state is crucial in cultivating an informed and empowered conservation voice for Wyoming.
The Wyoming Wildlife Federation helps veterans who served our country heal from their experiences and enjoy the places they served to protect through time spent outdoors. Our veteran’s hunt program honors wounded or fully disabled servicemen and women for their duty and service by providing them with a complimentary hunting experience in Wyoming’s wild landscapes.
Wyoming Wildlife Federation teams up annually with the Jackson Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Hunting With Heroes to provide a wounded veteran an authentic elk hunt near Jackson, WY. The Gill’s Jackson Hole Herford Ranch has provided the “hunting grounds” since 2012. During this hunt, WWF helps pay for camp and camp supplies while volunteers often cook for the hunters
Sargent Shaun Meadows with his trophy elk on the Gill’s Jackson Hole Herford Ranch.
In 2020, WWF’s habitat coordinator, Sam Lockwood, organized an additional veteran’s hunt outside of Kemerer, WY. The WWF and Hunting with Heroes team facilitated getting more veterans the hunting trip of a lifetime in Wyoming.
Sam, along with friends and family, donated multiple big game licenses to five disabled veterans so they could have the opportunity to hunt in Wyoming. The hunt took place on the Diamond H Ranch, owned and operated by the McGinnis family.
Veteran John Schumer with an opening day bull elk on the 2020 Kemmerer hunt.
“I would like to encourage any [individuals or groups] that [are] interested in putting on a similar hunt or donating a tag to a disabled vet to do so,” says WWF’s Sam Lockwood. “I can tell you first-hand after doing five of these hunts now, it is extremely rewarding; challenging, but rewarding.”
If you are interested in donating your tag to wounded vets, visit the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Veteran’s Licensing web page.
You can also contact Hunting with Heroes, based in Casper, WY, for more information. They make the whole process very easy.
It is amazing what hunting can do for those who have sacrificed for freedom in the U.S.A.
The Issues Addressed
Each Program that Wyoming Wildlife Federation runs affects a variety of different conservation Issues. Click on an Issue to find out more about it.
Access & Outdoor Opportunities
Wyoming holds some of the most pristine and intact ecosystems on the planet, with public lands comprising nearly half of the states total area. However, loss of access and increasing demands on our public lands are major threats to the future of conservation and our outdoor pursuits.
