HB149, WY NR's get your wallets out

[BuzzH]

I heard the House TRW committee passed HB149, flipping the Special/Regular fee tag structure from 40% of tags in the Special Draw to 60%.

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2015/Introduced/HB0149.pdf

Looks like the drawing odds for those willing to pay more for their Wyoming tags just got better.

Those paying regular fees have reduced odds and longer wait times ahead if this bill continues to pass.

If I were a NR and wanted my say, I would be contacting the Senate TRW committee and letting them know if you're concerned about more tags going to those NR's that have deeper pockets.

The plus side to the bill passing will be increased revenue for the GF budget.

This is primarily a NR issue...let them know.

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LegislatorSummary/CommitteeMembers.aspx?strCommitteeID=06

 

[WapitiBob]

Yep. I'm adjusting my draw choices accordingly. For me, It's worth the wait to see what happens.

 

[NoWiser]

Emails sent. I sure hope this doesn't pass, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[MNElkNut]

Thank you Buzz. I sent them notes.

 

[JohnCushman]

Thanks, Buzz.. emails sent

 

[fulldraw]

Thanks for the info Buzz, I have sent my email .

 

[Big Fin]

Not sure when this stuff is going to stop. I am so tired of the, "What makes it best for me/my clients" legislation. I see no compelling argument where this type of bill is good for the future of hunting. We need more hunters, not less. As we have western legislators trying to take over and dispose of our public Federal lands, we need more non-residents who feel some connection to those lands, so they will contact their Congressional delegates in their home state and advocate for these lands.

I just sent an email to the committee members. In MT, non-resident opinions are mostly ignored by legislators unless that NR opinion helps validate their opinions.

 

[LopeHunter]

Well done letter. Would rather the bigger bucket of tags not be on the higher side of the ledger. Another option would be to go back to one bucket at a higher price than Regular but lower than Special was previously.

All in all, if two buckets, then make the higher price bucket the smaller one and raise the price to what the market will bear if this is how F&G wants to increase its budget.

I think residents are short-sighted to let non-resident grow contribution % of the total F&G budget since that makes it harder to argue about those "damn non-residents" getting all "our" tags.

Also, the higher the tag price then the more pressure on F&G to offer a quality hunting experience which due to poaching, winter kill, loss of habitat...is not a slam dunk.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Heaven forbid they ask residents to pay a little more.

 

[2rocky]

I guess they want a "better class of out of state hunter" ;-D

Any thoughts or predictions on what the effect is going to be on Leftover Tags?

There are some of those Wilderness LE units that have leftover tags. I assumed those were leftover Special tags to begin with.

 

[WapitiBob]

There are no leftover special tags. The nr draw process prevents it.

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

Heaven forbid they ask residents to pay a little more.

Spend some time in Wyoming. Most folks there don't want to pay much for their opportunity at game and would rather it be free if possible. There are a few exceptions but they are few and far between.

Thus the reason all of Wyoming and every resource in it is for sale to the highest bidder, which is why it remains arguably the most non-res friendly state to hunt in the union, temporarily.

Eventually it will be the friendliest state for only wealthy non-res who can fork over the coin for a guide or to hunt on one of those giant private ranches that are slowly dominating the state.

The politicians making these decisions are beholden to the ever increasing strength and influence of the big money ranch owners and outfitters in the state. Your average joe resident or non-resident means nothing to them. When it comes campaign time, its not the average joe res or non-res that is filling their campaign war chests, cash is king.

Get it while you can afford it folks, the billionares are buying out the millionares, the european hunting model is coming soon to a western state near you.

 

[mixedbag]

On the list,who's the best person to send a email too?Its a shame that the NR gets the shaft from every state of the west.I guess Wy hasn't noticed the unsold Mt licenses.And those elk tags are cheaper then what Wy is asking ;at least for 60% of them.I'm going to start burning my points in the states out west.How long before Co joins in the fun???

 

[1_pointer]

On the list,who's the best person to send a email too?Its a shame that the NR gets the shaft from every state of the west.I guess Wy hasn't noticed the unsold Mt licenses.And those elk tags are cheaper then what Wy is asking ;at least for 60% of them.I'm going to start burning my points in the states out west.How long before Co joins in the fun???

My guess they don't care about unsold tags if the ledger shows more money in it.

I really, really need to quit being a NR in all the states it's worth being an NR in...

 

[Rooster52]

I will keep hunting the western states until I run out of health or run out of money and it is getting close to both

 

[fowladdict]

I will never forget the frustrations of my father in the 90's when the special draw was initiated. After our hunting party missed out on the regular draw the first year the special draw was implemented, my father put us in the special draw (extra $100 per tag IIRC) the following year after seeing the odds being a bit better in the special draw. The result was comical. The regular draw had better to equal odds compared to the special draw. We didn't draw that year either.

Thanks for posting this. I am working on my letter.

 

[Z Barebow]

Thanks for posting Buzz. I won't kill the messenger!

 

[npaden]

I've bought the special licenses for just about every species that offers them in Wyoming for the last several years but I just sent an email expressing opposition to HB 149.

What comes next, a "SUPER SPECIAL" 10% allocation pool that goes in an auction format?

 

[BuzzH]

Wyoming BHA sent a formal opposition letter to both committees, just an FYI.

 

[opyff]

Trust me guys your frustrations aren't any different than the residents. I've been putting in for antelope tags for 8 years in a unit that supposedly has a 50% draw rate but have only drawn 1 of 8 times. But yet in that same unit I consistently see the road lined with UT, NV and CA license plates. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the books were getting cooked a little to make some additional money. And I am not opposed to a slight increase in resident tag fees either if it is for the greater good. If this bill is an idea to increase revenue, I've submitted multiple times to G&F that if they are looking at a money maker, start charging for a tag for shed hunters, especially west of the divide here where it is illegal to shed hunt till May 1st and G&F resources are used to police that law. If people are making money off of shed hunting than why not?