23-1-705. Complimentary licenses; antelope hunt licenses; gunpowder and buckskin hunt licenses; gratuitous licenses; donated licenses.

(a) At the request of the governor, the commission shall annually issue up to twenty-five (25) complimentary hunting and twenty-five (25) complimentary fishing licenses. Not more than five (5) big horn sheep, five (5) moose and five (5) wild bison licenses shall be issued under this subsection. The five (5) year restriction imposed on the receipt of a moose or big horn sheep license by W.S. 23-1-703(b) and any restriction imposed on taking of wild bison under commission rule and regulation shall not be applicable in any manner to a license issued pursuant to this subsection. Except as provided under subsection (g) of this section, no complimentary licenses may be issued at the request of the appointed commissioners. Immediately upon issuance of any of these licenses, the commission shall submit to the secretary of state for maintenance as a public record, the name and address of each licensee and the type of license issued.

(b) In addition the commission may, upon payment of proper fees, issue up to one hundred sixty (160) antelope licenses each year for the exclusive use of not more than two (2) antelope hunts, provided that:

(i) Not more than eighty (80) of these licenses are issued for a single antelope hunt event;

(ii) Resource management requirements shall be considered in determining the total amount of licenses that are issued under this subsection each year.

(c) In addition the commission may, upon payment of deer license fees, issue up to twenty-five (25) licenses each year for the exclusive use of gunpowder and buckskin hunts.

(d) The department shall issue without charge lifetime bird, small game and fish licenses to any resident or honorably discharged veteran who is over sixty-five (65) years and who has continuously resided in Wyoming for at least the thirty (30) years immediately preceding application for the license, to any disabled veteran who is one hundred percent (100%) disabled as determined by the United States department of veteran affairs and to any United States military purple heart medal recipient with document proof thereof. The license is valid so long as the licensee remains a Wyoming resident.

(e) The department shall issue:

(i) For a fee of two dollars ($2.00) a resident deer, antelope or wild turkey license and for a fee of five dollars ($5.00) an elk license to any resident who is at least seventy-five (75) years of age prior to the issuance of the license and who has continuously resided in Wyoming for at least the fifty (50) years immediately preceding application for the license;

(ii) For a fee established by rule of the commission a resident deer, antelope, wild turkey or elk license to any resident who is at least seventy (70) years of age prior to the issuance of the license and has continuously resided in Wyoming for at least fifty (50) years immediately preceding application for the license. The fee established for a license under this paragraph shall be not more than sixty-five percent (65%) nor less than sixty percent (60%) of the resident fee specified in W.S. 23-2-101 for the particular species;

(iii) Without charge a resident elk or deer license in any hunt area not subject to prescribed means of competitive public issuance, a resident game bird and a resident small game license to any resident who is on active duty in the United States military deployed to a combat zone who is home on leave during the applicable hunting season. Application under this section shall include proof of residency required under W.S. 23-2-101(a), certification of the applicant's active duty deployment to a combat zone and other information required by rule and regulation of the commission. For purposes of this paragraph, a combat zone is any area which the president of the United States designates by executive order as an area in which the armed forces of the United States are engaged in combat.

(f) Applicants for licenses specified in subsections (b) and (c) shall apply in person to any authorized department personnel.

(g) In addition to complimentary licenses under subsection (a) of this section, each appointed commissioner may cause to be issued at cost not more than a total of eight (8) elk, deer or antelope designated licenses per year. All licenses issued under this subsection shall be designated to nonprofit charitable organizations. As a condition of accepting the license, the organization shall agree to auction or otherwise bid the license to the highest bidder or to raffle the license to members of the public.

(h) In addition the commission may, upon receipt of payment of fees at a cost equal to the resident antelope license fee specified under W.S. 23-2-101(j)(xxx), issue up to a total of fifty (50) antelope licenses each year for the exclusive distribution by nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing hunting opportunities to individuals with disabilities for use by those individuals for hunting opportunities.

(j) In addition the commission may issue upon payment of proper fees any number, set by rule and regulation, of antelope licenses, deer licenses, elk licenses and turkey licenses each year for the exclusive use by persons twenty (20) years of age or younger with life threatening illnesses who are sponsored by a nonprofit charitable organization with a mission to provide opportunities and experiences to persons with life threatening or serious illnesses. As a condition of issuing the license, the sponsoring organization shall pay the appropriate license fee on behalf of the licensee and at no cost to the licensee.

(k) The holder of any valid big game license may surrender said license to the department for reissuance to a veteran with disabilities or a person with a permanent disability who uses a wheelchair as established by commission rule and regulation selected and sponsored by a nonprofit charitable organization providing hunting opportunities for disabled veterans or persons with permanent disabilities who use wheelchairs. Any license reissued in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be for the same species, area and license type as the license donated. The license shall be reissued by the department to a qualifying person at no fee. Any license donated and reissued under the provisions of this subsection shall not be sold, traded, auctioned or offered for any monetary value and shall not be issued to, or used by, any person other than a qualifying person under the provision of this section and in compliance with commission rule and regulation. Licenses reissued to persons pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to residency, drawing or fee requirements under W.S. 23-2-101. The five (5) year restriction imposed on the receipt of a moose or big horn sheep license by W.S. 23-1-703(b) or the lifetime restriction imposed on the receipt of a grizzly bear or mountain goat license by W.S. 23-1-703(c) shall not be applicable in any manner to a license issued pursuant to this subsection.