And the Hits just keep on coming....WY now.

[SaskHunter]

So if it's money Wyoming wants why not just raise all tag fees to Special prices and leave NR quotas the way they are? People are still going to buy all thesw tags, regardless of price.

 

[Flatrock]

That was not a major recession. That was a very short term retraction by all accounts.

Major or not is debatable. A -30% reading on GDP seems significant though. Either way, in the spring of last year, the stock market had just taken a 35% haircut in a matter of weeks, the country/world was getting half shut down and there was ENORMOUS uncertainty. And yet apps STILL went up in nearly every state.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Sweet. Maybe now I can finally draw an area 100 tag!!

 

[rwc101]

So if it's money Wyoming wants why not just raise all tag fees to Special prices and leave NR quotas the way they are? People are still going to buy all thesw tags, regardless of price.

I asked a similar question to Hicks. I'll let you know if he responds. Ignoring the support capping NRs could garner among voters.

 

[Mattff200]

You need to read the fiscal note...GF revenue will increase 8 million a year if this passes.

Buzz I looked at that and I'm personally doubtful of their assumptions probably a reaction to spending 5 years doing audits of governments.

 

[Mattff200]

I’ve done crazier sh*t for less.

I mean I left NJ for that.

 

[Bob-WY]

1. Eyeroll
2. I'd rather have clam chowder.

Add in striper fishing

 

[CPAjeff]

Like many of you, I’ve been the recipient of wonderful memories thanks to Wyoming’s generosity toward NR hunters. If this bill passes, I’ll remember with fondness the hunts of yesterday, and look forward to the future hunts with anticipation and enthusiasm!

 

[BrentD]

Like many of you, I’ve been the recipient of wonderful memories thanks to Wyoming’s generosity toward NR hunters. If this bill passes, I’ll remember with fondness the hunts of yesterday, and look forward to the future hunts with anticipation and enthusiasm!

What future hunts are those? You have an ace in the hole you ain't showing? The operative word here is "future" which is getting dimmer by the minute, and has been for some time.

 

[Mattff200]

Hey random thought if this is about money what about a license to just buy points. If you look at the data most Non-residents just but points so you get more money out of that and in theory it can effect the PR allocation from the feds. That way everyone pay instead of laying it to the NR. I apply all over the west as a NR so I'm all for being generous to them.

 

[Shangobango]

My worries are perhaps a bit different than many others but I'm afraid that further limiting NR opportunity, whether it be tag price increases or license cuts like this, is going to take the wind out of the sails that you and others have so aptly set Big Fin. Hunting has to remain accessible by the commons if it is going to resemble the surplus of the commons that the NA model seeks. I'm not sure if there will be a multitude of neophyte hunters that want to start investing in something like a 6 point pronghorn hunt without previous hunting experiences to persuade them to do so. Perhaps out of state big game hunting isn't the gateway drug in this sense and in state opportunities are where these seeds need sown but it is something that is on my mind. I'm not saying that this is going to necessarily put a damper on NR hunting, but I want to see that $8M directly (as much as possible) lead to more animals on the ground that will in turn increase NR opportunity while improving habitat and the myriad benefits that come with it. Conservation, in general, needs to stop being a discretionary item in budgets and having little or no assistance from the state's (or federal) coffers but that is another topic....

If only I weren't so short tempered and were as eloquent as you... may not help that I am currently in the process of quitting smokeless tobacco after 30 years...

My concern is that if hunters keep being disenfranchised there will be a point when this boom in western hunting will level off and retreat. It is already happening in the East.

I'll just use myself as an example here. 6 years ago all I had were dreams of hunting out west in pursuit of mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. Thanks in large part to the Meateater folks and then later Randy and his crew, as well as changes in my personal and financial life, I began to see those dreams as attainable. As I studied the various state systems, began researching the animals, began researching units, general areas, habitats, etc., a passion for those places and animals I hadn't even hunted or visited began to grow. Out of that came an interest in the conservation of those animals and places. I joined RMEF, TRCP, etc. I began gearing up with some of the things that I would need to make my hunts more comfortable, safe, and successful.

Now, when I have started actually started attaining the points to hunt some of the places I have dreamed of, the rug is little by little being pulled from underneath me and others like me.

This is not a purely selfish concern. What I worry about is that people like me are going to start pulling back. I don't see how that is a good thing. We can't expect people that are unable to experience hunting the big game animals in the western states to place as much importance on protecting them as they would if they feel as if they have a reasonable opportuunity. I am heavily invested in a few States, particularly Wyoming, which was the first State in which I started buying points. If I am feeling disgruntled, disenfranchised, and disheartened enough to even consider throwing in the towel, imaging how someone just starting out or who is less invested may feel.

I know that there are other user groups that support public land access and to some extent conservation. Do their users monetarily support access and conservation to the same extent as hunters and other outdoorsman?

Specific to hunting, I don't think the eventual disenfranchisement of a fairly large percentage of participants bodes well for any activity.

 

[madtom]

Sweet. Maybe now I can finally draw an area 100 tag!!

Those odds should soar to 2%. I can’t wait to draw my second choice moose tag.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Well the obvious solution is for us to just move to Wyoming and buy resident licenses.

Anyone want to go in on a house there? I'm positive we can find a deal on a dump somewhere that used to produce oil.

 

[Shangobango]

Well the obvious solution is for us to just move to Wyoming and buy resident licenses.

Anyone want to go in on a house there? I'm positive we can find a deal on a dump somewhere that used to produce oil.

I thought about that myself a while back. Then I realized that what my house and 35 acres would bring here would get me a single wide on a couple of acres up there.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I thought about that myself a while back. Then I realized that what my house and 35 acres would bring here would get me a single wide on a couple of acres up there.

We can find a real POS up there and pretend to fix it up. Maybe do some ballot harvesting for some extra cash? Possibilities are endless

 

[Mattff200]

Well the obvious solution is for us to just move to Wyoming and buy resident licenses.

Anyone want to go in on a house there? I'm positive we can find a deal on a dump somewhere that used to produce oil.

Oh no its horrible to go to Walmart and buy your deer and elk tags. FYI it's not the easiest places to live the wind never stops it was 26 below zero in thr polar vortex and house can be expensive. But I won't willingly live anywhere else. And with the price of oil now the oil field is booming. Your opportunity for cheap land that used to produce oil was a year ago.

 

[JLS]

My 2 cents on the issue, worth what you paid for it as per usual.

Wyoming absolutely should leverage its resources, especially given its current budget situation. The number of applications clearly show they can jump prices a LOT and they will still sell the NR tags.

This holds true for any western state. You have a marketable resource that is in demand. You should leverage that to bolster your ability to manage for wildlife, while offering your residents a great deal at the same time (not talking a 14 welfare tag).

All that gibberish aside, I pondered on this for the better part of the day. I’m firmly convinced we are witnessing the death spiral of the North American model. I’m not Nostradamus and I’m not a drama Queen. But, I’ve paid pretty close attention to this over the years.

I feel it is imperative that hunting is available to the common man, even as a NR. Advocacy requires participation. If your only participants are the wealthy, then your advocacy will trend towards country club like dealings. Wildlife will no longer be widely available to the commoner, and most of them won’t GAF because they’ve moved on to something else to spend their time and money on.

We are on a collision course for wildlife for the wealthy, and instead of pumping the brakes I feel like we are pouring the coal and running full speed ahead.

 

[CPAjeff]

What future hunts are those? You have an ace in the hole you ain't showing? The operative word here is "future" which is getting dimmer by the minute, and has been for some time.

And yet, each year, people get to experience wonderful adventures by drawing tags/buying tags/winning raffle tags when all else says it shouldn’t be so.

Do I have an ace in the hole? Absolutely - I’ve got a whole deck of them. I have a pretty healthy stockpile of Wyoming points, my health, a hunting budget, a supportive wife, and a host of other things. While I’m not naive to the language and the implications of the proposed bill, I also don’t espouse the “sky is falling” paradigm so prevalent in the world today!

 

[rwc101]

There's an $80k doublewide for sale in Wamsutter and it doesn't get any more glamorous than that.

 

[Trial153]

Take all money you spend license fees, organization memberships, conventions, raffles, donations, point fees and put them toward a bi yearly LO in states that offer them.

Then we can Advocate for outfitter concessions and set a sides of tags. If we can lease public land for cattle grazing and extraction maybe we can them to lease them for hunting concessions?
If the public solution isnt working then maybe we need a private solution.
Maybe Wildlife management isnt capitalist enough, maybe the free market is answer.