Page 51 - Wyoming's Grizzly Harvest - The Story the State Wants to Bury with the Bears

Wyoming’s Grizzly Harvest people, and no favor granted “for the benefit of private individuals as distinguished from the public.” The overwhelming majority of the public are not trophy hunters, but many “private individuals” in WGFD’s employ are, and under Greer it can be argued that this is a clear conflict of interests, as “all people” are not deriving “the benefit.” In the tri-states of Greater Yellowstone, big game hunters, particularly trophy hunters, are routinely prioritized over all other recreationists. In demolishing White’s concept of state ownership of wildlife as “19 Century legal fiction” in th Hughes v. Oklahoma (1979), Justice Brennan made the virtual monopoly of the vocal minority that dictate wildlife management in the tri-states even more vulnerable to challenge. Excerpted from the forthcoming book: Adrift on Yellowstone Island- Wyoming’s Manifest Destiny for the Great Bear © by R. Bear Stands Last 51