FI460
Well-known member
Ever been to a RMEF or DU banquet? Most raffles don't include tags. Some do, but you're ridiculous to call hunters tight wads. Hunters spend so much money it's insane. It's such a gear intensive activity.
As far as cost of tags, I'd rather donate to a good cause than give the government $1k for a license...
Do you send money to orgs in MN to open up public lands for access? I bet you don't because it doesn't benefit you at all.
You should reach out to some bigger organizations if you're struggling to raise $150k. Trust for Public Lands or Land Access Initiative... If you can open access to 8.3 million acres, both orgs would likely be all over it.
Having run banquets Buzz is right on the money for the majority of hunters. RMEF or DU or whatever flavor of conservation org you want will put 300 to 500 (half of whom are members spouses) people in a room, and half of those people probably spend pretty generously beyond just throwing their tickets into the raffles.
But the local/ state chapter of that org probably has 1000 to 5000 members who do absolutely zilch beyond send in their $35 per year, and then p!ss and moan anytime something in their state happen. And then when you look at RMEF/ DU membership compared to the number of resident licenses sold you start narrowing in on the real contributors.
The old adage is ten percent of the people do 90 percent of the work. I think it's approaching one percent/ 99 percent for the hunting community. The majority of hunters are not keyed in on conservation issues, and not interested in funding them beyond their $20 to $50 elk tag. Heck, imagine how many Montana hunters might give that up if they had to pay what the state of Oregon charges for an elk tag