Wyoming Trespass Laws Under Fire by Environmentalists, Photographers

Legal battle being fought over new laws making it a crime to collect research data on private land; laws’ backers say property rights are at stake

By Dan Frosch
dan.frosch@wsj.com
@djfroschWSJ

Feb. 18, 2016 10:42 a.m. ET

For years, some conservation groups in Wyoming have sought to keep an eye on water quality and other environmental concerns in the vast, rural state by collecting data and submitting findings to government officials.

But two new state laws make it a crime to gather research data on any land outside the boundaries of a town, city or subdivision without permission from the landowner—a description so broad that critics said it could make photographing some of Wyoming’s storied vistas a form of trespassing, if the photos were ever shared with a government agency.

Supporters of the laws, passed last year by Wyoming legislators and signed by Republican Gov. Matt Mead, said they are intended solely to keep people from trespassing on private property to collect data, which they said has been a growing problem for ranchers and farmers.

But environmental groups are seeking to overturn the statutes in federal court, saying their true intent is to keep people from exposing pollution. The National Press Photographers Association, which has joined the suit, said the laws would interfere with photographers’ ability to freely take pictures in Wyoming. The groups said the laws are the most extreme and far-reaching of their kind in the U.S.