Colorado elk costs rise

[DouglasR]

Instead of all these ultimatums how bout you guys pony up and actually put some money towards conservation.
I’d gladly pay $250 for combo tags in Il if I could get an elk tag for $350.

 

[DouglasR]

From DC to Co, (R’s) are always trying to duck their share of the bill.

 

[RobertD]

The cost of hunting permits should not be based on the maximum amount you can get for them. If you want that, I'll gladly send you a certain Utah wildlife group your way. I would be happy to be rid of them. Permits should be reasonably priced and cost just enough to pay for management. Wildlife is not supposed to be a money maker for the government because they will waste the excess just like everything else they touch.

I am torn on the issue, because a) I respect other states' rights to manage their own wildlife as they see fit, and b) I generally keep my libertarian leanings to myself in non-political settings, but I think this line of argument is important and needs to be amplified.

I am pretty mellow on price increases in Western states, in large part because I have excellent bunting opportunities at home, along with the aforementioned feelings towards states' rights to manage as they see fit. But noting the general trend of price increases across many states while also considering the general decline of the same animal populations in many cases makes me pause and consider the purpose of the agencies and how it all "adds up" so to speak.

Obviously the issue is a complex one and there are aspects of population levels and habitat that are far beyond the control of the state game agency. But I think it's still important to ask questions and exercise some skepticism.

If nothing else, it might mean we can evolve towards a collective attitude of "Do these changes actually help the species in question?" instead of being stuck on "How does this affect me?"

 

[EastTNHunter]

There's no reason fawn and doe tags should cost less than a pair of jeans for either residents or non residents anymore

What kinda jeans you wearing?

 

[BlakeA]

What kinda jeans you wearing?

Jnco

 

[8andcounting]

No, but they shouldn't be the least expensive part of the experience either. You can currently buy a couple peak refuel meals at a gas station for the same price of a doe/fawn tag.

In Montana for a resident a Big Mac is more $

 

[DouglasR]

If some of these (R’s) would open up their pocket books and start pulling their fair shares, maybe we could keep some of these campgrounds open through the winter!

 

[DouglasR]

I'm not going to go to the trouble of digging up exact numbers from every state but isn't CO still the cheapest NR bull elk tag in the west or real close to it? I put in pretty much everywhere and I don't recall any other bull tag being less than $800 once you add all the necessary licenses and fees... seems odd to be complaining about something that is still the best bargain on the market...
FWIW I would pay full NR cost if that was what it took to get CO to drop OTC and actually do mandatory harvest surveys and actively manage elk as a game animal and not a cash cow...

Don’t get me going on Wyoming!
I can’t even!

 

[Phaseolus]

If some of these (R’s) would open up their pocket books and start pulling their fair shares, maybe we could keep some of these campgrounds open through the winter!

Campgrounds in Colorado? Snow’s too deep right now and The W part of CPW doesn’t have a thing to do with campgrounds.

 

[Falcon75]

Price increases are one of the reasons I haven't made it out west to hunt elk yet and having 3 kids under the age of 8. I understand they make their money from non residents but its really frustrating to have to think about not only the trip out west which takes over 30 hours but also the price of the tag to go along with it. I wish I would have been around in the early 1900s or late 1800s and been able to hunt any where you could see in the landscape. Now you have to take a loan not only for the house and truck but also for the chance to hunt an animal. Not to mention the prices of equipment as well. I don't by any means attempt to buy the most expensive equipment and gear but I need something that won't break loading up my pack and going for a hike either.

Look to AZ youth hunts and camps. Great experience with a herd that actually gets managed. You still have a little time. 65 for youth elk tag a 5 bucks for license. The camps you get a guide for 3 days and fed. 2 more years. Best way to go mom never says a thing when a kid has a tag.

 

[Dsnow9]

If some of these (R’s) would open up their pocket books and start pulling their fair shares, maybe we could keep some of these campgrounds open through the winter!

Man, you’re starting to sound like one of those entitled trust fund kids that drives his nice red truck around a ski town during the winter and then bails when the snow melts. All to come back for another trip or two per year to enjoy this horrible state. It’s a real shame those R’s don’t do anything for the resource year round!

Camp Host For A Day - Colorado Outdoors Online

From as early as I can remember, my summers were spent in campgrounds - swimming in lakes with my brothers and riding bikes with kids I hardly knew.

coloradooutdoorsmag.com

You should see if you can be a winter camp host.

 

[DouglasR]

Man, you’re starting to sound like one of those entitled trust fund kids that drives his nice red truck around a ski town during the winter and then bails when the snow melts. All to come back for another trip or two per year to enjoy this horrible state. It’s a real shame those R’s don’t do anything for the resource year round!

Camp Host For A Day - Colorado Outdoors Online

From as early as I can remember, my summers were spent in campgrounds - swimming in lakes with my brothers and riding bikes with kids I hardly knew.

coloradooutdoorsmag.com

You should see if you can be a winter camp host

I’ve given blood, sweat, tears and accepted the mark of the beast and eternal damnation for this states economy.
The least they could do is offer me some kind of discounted J1 tag.

 

[ccc23454]

I'm not going to go to the trouble of digging up exact numbers from every state but isn't CO still the cheapest NR bull elk tag in the west or real close to it? I put in pretty much everywhere and I don't recall any other bull tag being less than $800 once you add all the necessary licenses and fees... seems odd to be complaining about something that is still the best bargain on the market...

Cheapest (they are not)doesnt mean " best bargain" it simply means is cheapest. Bargin would have to factor:length of season, quality of hunt, costs, public access etc. Colorodo would rank fairly low in you did a honest comparison with likely OTC being behind the biggest problems.

 

[tormenter]

With all the snow in NW Colorado it might be good year to sit it out and see how bad the winter kill is. Winter is far from over right now.

 

[TOGIE]

i am curious, as i hadn't heard any talk of getting rid of lower priced cow licenses.

where did that come from? i always thought it was somewhat odd how all elk licenses for residents were the same price, nr got reduced price cow, and all deer licenses were the same for everyone.

i guess at least we're consistent now.

that's quite a price rise for a lot of tags in the state.

 

[marksjeep]

Price by state, does not include application fees, qualifying license, etc. Price is for OTC type elk tag where the state differentiates the cost (Not LE, special draw). Take from it what you will.

State - $NR, $R, R:NR multiplier
CO - $761, $63, 12.1
WY - $707, $62, 11.4
UT - $593, $50, 11.9
NM - $548, $90, 6.1
AZ - $665, $148, 4.5
NV - $1,200, $120, 10
MT - $934, $20, 46.7
ID - $652, $37, 17.6
OR - $588, $51, 11.5
WA - $498, $51, 9.8

Mean - $714, $69, 14.6

 

[bayoublaster7527]

I guess we can't hunt them in the Spring. We can't hunt them with dogs. Gotta do something to get some bears killed!

You can thank infallible BHA hero David Petersen and Colorado’s ridiculously easy ballot initiative laws for that one….

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Cheapest (they are not)doesnt mean " best bargain" it simply means is cheapest. Bargin would have to factor:length of season, quality of hunt, costs, public access etc. Colorodo would rank fairly low in you did a honest comparison with likely OTC being behind the biggest problems.

WY
ID
CO
UT
MT
OR
WA
?

Quality ranking, I’ve hunted CO,MT, and UT. Guessing about the rest. Not really sure where to put NM/AZ/NV/CA/KY etc as they aren’t really apples to apples.

Even MT/UT/WY/ID aren’t really fair comparisons as a NR can’t hunt a general tag in those states every year.

My 2 cents, CO is still the best deal for NR as far as elk hunting opportunity.

Which is why is crowded

 

[GrantK]

WY
ID
CO
UT
MT
OR
WA
?

Quality ranking, I’ve hunted CO,MT, and UT. Guessing about the rest. Not really sure where to put NM/AZ/NV/CA/KY etc as they aren’t really apples to apples.

Even MT/UT/WY/ID aren’t really fair comparisons as a NR can’t hunt a general tag in those states every year.

My 2 cents, CO is still the best deal for NR as far as elk hunting opportunity.

Which is why is crowded

I'd rank things very close to that, with exceptions being I'd bump MT over UT for general type tags, mind you the WY general takes approx 4 years to get, decent ID tags are probably close to being a once every 4 year tag in my experience the last couple years, and a MT general is really a 3 point tag if you don't get lucky in the zero point pool... a CO tag that takes 4 points is likely to be close in quality to any of those, it's a very different thing than an OTC tag...

For true OTC that you can hunt every year you have CO, UT (with caps so not actually OTC) OR, and WA (I think?)
of those CO is by far the best for ease of access, elk numbers, and success rate, therefore the best, and realistically almost only real every year option, so it's crowded... not really more so than most of the other true OTC hunts though, and there are a lot more elk, I suggest all the people saying how bad CO is should go and hunt a UT any bull tag and report back...

 

[noharleyyet]

Well, can’t say CO isn’t managing for cow now.