The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission voted to approve the extension of another long-term, public-access easement at its most recent meeting in Rock Springs earlier this month. The Pitcher-Brokaw Public Access Area easement consists of a 3.57-mile access road that extends from Carbon County Road 13 to Bureau of Land Management and Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest property to the south. 

The prior five-year lease term for the access road expired at the end of the 2022 hunting season. The parties agreed to extend the easement for 20 years. The access road crosses property owned by the Pitcher and Brokaw families. The easement will allow the public to pass through the properties on the designated route from Aug. 1-Dec. 31. 

The total price of the easement term is $375,550. The Wyoming chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation committed $150,000 toward the cost of the easement. The Commission will dedicate $225,550 from funds raised from the sale of conservation stamps to fund the remaining balance of the easement agreement. 

“We are thankful for the continued support from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation,” said Sean Bibbey, Wyoming Game and Fish Department services division deputy chief. “Without the generous support from RMEF and the funds raised from the conservation stamp, many of these access projects would not be achievable.”

The Pitcher-Brokaw PAA is one of 200 public access areas Game and Fish manages.  PAAs are permanent or long-term easements, or Wyoming Game and Fish Commission-owned land that allows public recreational access.