(11/15/16)

By Justin Joiner, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Wrapping some of WGFD’s fish-stocking trucks has turned them into moving billboards.

Wyoming fish are taking to the highway in a big way this year and in the process educating the public about the benefits of fish stocking as well as how license fees provide for world-class fisheries in the state.

In 2016, in an effort to raise awareness of the 450 waters it stocks around the state and the work put into Wyoming fisheries in general, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) began wrapping a few of its fish-stocking trucks. The department contracted with a Wyoming printer to do the wraps on the vehicles that needed their tanks replaced this year.

The vehicle wrap, which covers all sides of the large tank, highlights a particular species with large underwater photos and includes a tagline as well as a hashtag.

The goal is to help anglers and wildlife enthusiasts who see the truck connect the dots between the astounding angling in the state and the department’s efforts that make it happen. The #wyofish hashtag that adorns each truck directs people to a Twitter feed with additional information about the department’s involvement in fisheries management, which include photos, video and information about recent stocking efforts.

The hashtag also leads people to a section on the Wyoming Game and Fish website listing with detailed stocking information. People can find out what species was stocked, where it was stocked and what size the fish were when they were stocked.

The vehicles essentially act as moving billboards, but at a fraction of the price over the wrap’s lifespan, which is up to 10 years.

To raise awareness of the 450 waters it stocks and its fisheries work in general, the WGFD began wrapping a few of its fish-stocking trucks in 2016.

“We wanted to find a way to bring attention to how anglers’ license fees provide the opportunity for world-class fisheries here in Wyoming,” said Mark Fowden, chief of WGFD’s Fish Division. “These tanks are eye-catching and at the same time, highlight the message of what anglers’ dollars help provide – millions of fish in hundreds of waters across the state.”

The wraps have attracted enough attention in their time on the road that the department has begun wrapping other vehicles and trailers.

The department plans to wrap another handful of fish trucks later this year.

For more information on the wraps, visit wgfd.wyo.gov/wyofish or search #wyofish on Twitter of Facebook.