Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-414 (2026)

Trespassing to unlawfully collect resource data;

✓ current as of May 2026

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unlawful collection of resource data.

     (a) A person is guilty of trespassing to unlawfully
collect resource data from private land if he:
          (i) Enters onto private land for the purpose of
collecting resource data; and

           (ii)   Does not have:

               (A) An ownership interest in the real property
or, statutory, contractual or other legal authorization to enter
the private land to collect the specified resource data; or

               (B) Written or verbal permission of the owner,
lessee or agent of the owner to enter the private land to
collect the specified resource data.

     (b) A person is guilty of unlawfully collecting resource
data if he enters onto private land and collects resource data
from private land without:

          (i) An ownership interest in the real property or,
statutory, contractual or other legal authorization to enter the
private land to collect the specified resource data; or

          (ii) Written or verbal permission of the owner,
lessee or agent of the owner to enter the private land to
collect the specified resource data.

     (c)   Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 52, § 2.

     (d) Crimes committed under subsection (a) or (b) of this
section are punishable as follows:

          (i) By imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both;

          (ii) By imprisonment for not less than ten (10) days
nor more than one (1) year, a fine of not more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both, if the person has
previously been convicted of trespassing to unlawfully collect
resource data or unlawfully collecting resource data.

     (e)   As used in this section:

          (i) "Collect" means to take a sample of material,
acquire, gather, photograph or otherwise preserve information in
any form and the recording of a legal description or
geographical coordinates of the location of the collection;

           (ii)   Repealed by Laws 2016, Ch. 117, § 2.
           (iii)   "Peace officer" means as defined by W.S.
7-2-101;

          (iv) "Resource data" means data relating to land or
land use, including but not limited to data regarding
agriculture, minerals, geology, history, cultural artifacts,
archeology, air, water, soil, conservation, habitat, vegetation
or animal species. "Resource data" does not include data:

               (A) For surveying to determine property
boundaries or the location of survey monuments;

               (B) Used by a state or local governmental entity
to assess property values;

               (C) Collected or intended to be collected by a
peace officer while engaged in the lawful performance of his
official duties.

     (f) No resource data collected on private land in
violation of this section is admissible in evidence in any
civil, criminal or administrative proceeding, other than a
prosecution for violation of this section or a civil action
against the violator.

     (g) Resource data collected on private land in violation
of this section in the possession of any governmental entity as
defined by W.S. 1-39-103(a)(i) shall be expunged by the entity
from all files and data bases, and it shall not be considered in
determining any agency action.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2016–2022 · leading case: W. Watersheds Proj. v. Michael, 869 F.3d 1189 (10th Cir. 2017).

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W. Watersheds Proj. v. Michael, 869 F.3d 1189 (10th Cir. 2017). · cites it 3× ““Resource data” was defined as “data relating to land or land use,” including that related to “air, water, soil, conservation, habitat, vegetation or animal species.”

Irizarry v. Yehia, 38 F.4th 1282 (10th Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “The statutes defined the phrase “collects resource data” to include gathering information about “numerous activities on public lands, such as writing notes on habitat conditions, photographing wildlife, or taking water samples, so long as an individual also records the location…”

Animal Legal Def. Fund, Iowa Citizens for Cmty. Improvement, Bailing Out Benji, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. v. Reynolds, 297 F. Supp. 3d 901 (S.D. Iowa 2018). “The Tenth Circuit observed that the First Amendment might not provide a defense to a trespass action if an individual were to enter private land for the purpose of collecting such information; however, the First Amendment does apply where a particular statute sets forth…”

W. Watersheds Proj. v. Michael, 196 F. Supp. 3d 1231 (D. Wyo. 2016). · cites it 35× “2015 Statutes In 2015, the Wyoming legislature enacted a pair of statutes, Wyo. Stat. §§ 6-3-414; 40-27-10 1 (2015), addressing “Trespass to Collect Resource Data.”

W. Watersheds Proj. v. Michael, 353 F. Supp. 3d 1176 (D. Wyo. 2018). · cites it 19× “Wyo. Stat. §§ 6-3-414 (2015) ; 40-27-101 (2015).”

— Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-414(a) — 3 cases

Irizarry v. Yehia, 38 F.4th 1282 (10th Cir. 2022). “The statutes defined the phrase “collects resource data” to include gathering information about “numerous activities on public lands, such as writing notes on habitat conditions, photographing wildlife, or taking water samples, so long as an individual also records the location…”

W. Watersheds Proj. v. Michael, 196 F. Supp. 3d 1231 (D. Wyo. 2016). “2015 Statutes In 2015, the Wyoming legislature enacted a pair of statutes, Wyo. Stat. §§ 6-3-414; 40-27-10 1 (2015), addressing “Trespass to Collect Resource Data.”