University of Wyoming
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission was established in 1921 by the Wyoming Legislature. In the late nineteenth century, it was recognized that heavy fishing, western expansion, and fur trading had decimated fish and game populations and habitats. Henry B. Rumsey was appointed Wyoming’s first Fish Commissioner in 1880, and the first hatchery for raising stock fish was built in 1883. Wyoming’s first game and fish laws were printed in 1895. Over the next decades, Construction of fish hatcheries expanded, and fishing licenses were made a requirement in 1920. In the 1950s, fishery management crews began to study streams and habitats. This research continues to make up the backbone of strategies used today.
Collection contains annual reports of the activities of the Game and Fish Commission; proceedings of the annual conferences of the Western Association of State Game and Fish Commissioners; convention proceedings; annual reports of big game harvest; big game and game bird survey completion reports; sport reports for antelope, bear, deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep; and reports concerning the effects of livestock fencing on antelope, winter effects on wildlife, winter range studies, and other topics.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
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Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
This material was received from Rex Corsi between January 1973 and May 1979.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Records, 1911-2007, RG0040, Wyoming State Archives.
The American Heritage Center is in the process of converting its older container lists to a more accessible format. This link is to an older version of a container list for 13 boxes and 8 folders.