CHEYENNE - Some subscribers to "Sunset" magazine were shocked last week to learn that Yellowstone National Park is now located in Montana.

That's not true, of course, but the magazine's May 2006 cover story includes a list of top campsites in the West, including six prized spots in Montana.

A careful look at the accompanying map, however, reveals that five of the six campgrounds are actually in Wyoming. Three of them are in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

That has led some to jokingly wonder if the story was a mistake at all - Sunset's editors insist it was - or if the magazine got suckered by Montana's tourism machine into believing that Yellowstone is in Montana.

"Montana, Idaho and Wyoming - we all claim the park," Betsy Baumgart, travel director for the state of Montana, said with a chuckle.

This isn't the first case of mistaken identity for a prominent part of Wyoming. The state's iconic features have long been co-opted by other states for marketing reasons.

Gene Bryan, executive director of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, remembers when Colorado slapped an image of the Tetons on a prominent travel brochure.

South Dakota has "borrowed" Devils Tower, another major Wyoming attraction, to lure tourists to that state, he said.

"We've always kind of had fun with the states jockeying back and forth with good humor," Bryan said.

It's clear from the numbers why Montana uses its best song and dance to sell Yellowstone to visitors. Around 40 percent of that state's nonresident tourists visit Yellowstone, according to a 2001 study.

"It's the reason that people are coming and vacationing in Montana," Baumgart said.

She was quick to point out that three of Yellowstone's entrances are located in Montana, including the only year-round entrance at Gardiner, Mont.

Returning fire, Bryan countered that more than 90 percent of Yellowstone is located in Wyoming. Montana and Idaho each claim a small fraction.

"It's been kind of a fun rivalry," Bryan said.

Wyoming tourism officials say there's no reason to get bent out of shape by Montana's claims to Yellowstone, at least not from an economic standpoint. If Wyoming's northerly neighbor wants to spend its bucks attracting visitors who might visit Yellowstone-area businesses in Cody, Moran or Jackson, all the merrier.

"It has its advantages in many instances," said Diane Shober, director of Wyoming Travel and Tourism, the state tourism office.

Wyoming and Montana frequently team up to market Yellowstone. Those joint campaigns are particularly beneficial in efforts to attract tourists from overseas, some of whom earn six weeks of government-guaranteed vacation a year.

"None of us can individually afford to be in those markets and get the exposure we do together," Shober said.

In a shift from that collaborative approach, Wyoming is now emphasizing its own claims to its crown jewels. The state tourism office kicked off a $3.4 million advertising push called Wyoming "Forever West" with national TV ads that begin airing in February. A regional media blitz gets under way next month.

The ads - one of which appears in the same edition of Sunset that has the mistaken Yellowstone reference - portray the "essence of Wyoming" and use the state's emotional and romantic appeals to draw visitors and their checkbooks to what it calls the "real America," Shober said.

"In our marketing efforts, we are owning (Wyoming's iconic features) and really putting emphasis on those things that really set Wyoming apart," Shober said.

"Forever West" replaces Wyoming's "Retro" tourism advertising campaign, which was about six years old, Shober said.

Wyoming itself has benefited lately from the public's mistaken perception of place.

Shober reported a "phenomenal" number of inquires to the state tourism office after the release of the film "Brokeback Mountain," the controversial love story about two gay men set in Wyoming.

Calls poured in from across the country from people with questions about the movie's magnificent scenery. Those calls could translate into a strong summer tourism season, Shober said.

The film was actually shot in Canada.

"If they ask if it was filmed in Wyoming, we tell them no," Shober said. "If they don't ask, we just tell them about the activities that are available in Wyoming."

Meanwhile, Dale Conour, deputy editor at Menlo Park, Calif.-based "Sunset" magazine, said his staff is firing off letters to subscribers who pointed out the magazine's gaffe.

"Sunset" - a monthly magazine about life in the West - already had planned a major article in its July issue about a road trip to Yellowstone National Park, Conour said.

"It'll be very clear from that story that we do in fact know where the grand park of Yellowstone is located," he said. "I'm hoping that will quiet the mob."

Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.