Caribou Gear

NR’s chance to put $ where our mouths are

Not surprised how this turned out. Was the original post tongue in cheek? Like many, i give money to way more states I wont have a tag in than to states that I will every year.

Nevada in particular is a money pit I may never see personal benefit from.
 
Another point needs to be made is throwing money at this even the solution? We have been tossing money at conservation in record amount, and I don’t really see any tag increases, population increases etc. etc. in anything but whitetails
This! I used to donate to DU and NWTF for years...Mallard limit in my area was cut to 2 and my turkey tags went from 5 to 3, and one tag is only valid for the 1st 10 days of season...I am all for donating to conservation but throwing away money so I can virtue signal isn't going to happen.
 
I think we should all throw in $50 and start a new nonprofit. The goal of the organization would be to undo and lobby against everything the outfitters want. They are making tag qty/season setting/biology and polical decisions, would be nice to have the power to push back and yell STUPID as needed and stand against G&F when things get goofy(checks and balance). Start with outfitter welfare tags, wilderness law, special license fees etc atleast in WY. The montana chapter in particular would be busy!
 
I think we should all throw in $50 and start a new nonprofit. The goal of the organization would be to undo and lobby against everything the outfitters want. They are making tag qty/season setting/biology and polical decisions, would be nice to have the power to push back and yell STUPID as needed and stand against G&F when things get goofy(checks and balance). Start with outfitter welfare tags, wilderness law, special license fees etc atleast in WY. The montana chapter in particular would be busy!
I'm in. I pay more than that in credit card fees to WY...
 
If applications are down significantly I will eat some crow. I’d be shocked to even see a 10% drop in applications
 
My main point was, people who are interested in wildlife and conservation should consider doing a little more to help out this year.

There is always a lot of talk about Game Departments, etc. being self funded, largely through license revenue. This winter will have an effect on license revenue for years to come, and I would think reduced funding will have a negative impact on the resource. Perhaps the question would be better posed simply as “What can we do to help”? That shouldn’t be that controversial.
Wyoming game and fish should’ve already had this baked into the cake. It was bound to happen. And will happen again. It sounds like they’re pretty financially stable. If for some reason they weren’t and were living paycheck to paycheck, in this case application to application period. That’s not my problem that they’re shitty managing their money.
 
I am all for donating to conservation but throwing away money so I can virtue signal isn't going to happen.
Is it throwing money away if opportunity is cut? Might be yes, might be no. I can’t speak to wherever you’re at so I won’t. Just pointing out increasing or decreasing opportunity isn’t necessarily an accurate barometer of the worthiness and effectiveness of contributions.
 
we bitch and bitch on this site about ballot box biology and over legislation of wildlife... but your thought process to get more tags as a NR is to go to DC and open that Pandora's box?
Well it is a slow death by many cuts that is getting to be lots of little cuts really fast lately. Might as well before there is only 1 week of the season but only on weekdays for less than 5% of the tags that cost 20x or more the cost of a resident. We keep getting the short end and feel like it is our only corse of action. I have contacted people in the tourism area that would hopefully as residents that benifit from our nonresident dollars put a voice to balance the momentum in the legislatures. It seems more like getting backed into Padora's corner. It isn't to get more tags just don't like rules that favor residents/limit non resident on federal land.
 
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Wyoming game and fish should’ve already had this baked into the cake. It was bound to happen. And will happen again. It sounds like they’re pretty financially stable. If for some reason they weren’t and were living paycheck to paycheck, in this case application to application period. That’s not my problem that they’re shitty managing their money.
This is an overly simplistic and not incredibly accurate assessment.
 
I'll make you a deal, I'll cover your NR applications and liscense fees if you cover the pay cut I took to move to back to ID. That's a deal I'll make any/every day.

And if you want to talk about boots on the ground conservation work - not just buying a tag - I don't see a ton of Illinois license plates out helping us to pull noxious weeds, do trail rehab, or doing maintenance at camp grounds.
I can’t even buy an AR!
And I take a pay cut to work in Colorado too. 😉
 
If I were you I wouldn't apply anymore.
I apply for half as many tags as a decade ago. I guess I spent too much time studying Statistics in college. Cost to apply for sheep in state X (all in, mandatory this and that plus app fee plus convenience fee) is the starting point. I ignore the cost of the tag itself since is unlikely I draw and in the long run the tag is a small part of my accumulated costs.

Now, what are my odds likely to be? How many years do I need to apply to have 100% odds (might be 4,000 in some states but even if obviously not realistic those are the facts). Add up the costs per year times years to reach 100%. That is my "comparison" cost to play the game in that state.

Say my home state is $80 to apply. Usually is a cheap date comparatively. Say I have 1 in 120 odds to draw a ram sheep tag as a resident (my state does not cap NR sheep tags, we are all in the same bucket). 120 years x $80 is $9,600.

Let's do WY. Not a max point guy and would die not still not a max point guy so there are, what, 3 NR random tags under the new bend an NR over rules? So, were recently 3,196 NR sheep applicants. So, 1 in 1,065. Cost if only apply for sheep is $170 (app fee, mandatory sheep point, cc fees). 1,065 years x $170 is $181,050.

So, I would use my Sheep Application budget to apply in my home state first then rank the NR states. Very easy to toss WY on the trash heap. When I started there were more random tags and all the assorted costs were each lower than today. I suspect WY will jack those cost up faster than inflation as try to recoup lost funds as NR shift to other states or tag lotteries or get old like me where can scratch a check to buy a hunt.

So, not sending a donation. Not hiring a lobbyist. Just changing my strategy as I do with other goals in my life.
 
Is it throwing money away if opportunity is cut? Might be yes, might be no. I can’t speak to wherever you’re at so I won’t. Just pointing out increasing or decreasing opportunity isn’t necessarily an accurate barometer of the worthiness and effectiveness of contributions.
Nope it's not throwing away money if opportunity is cut, but opportunity being could be a sign that your not getting the best value for your donation. I am in SC so winter isn't a thing much less winter kill...All I am saying is do your research before you start donating, finicial filings, ect. You might be surprised how much actually goes to on the ground conservation.
 
Let's do WY. Not a max point guy and would die not still not a max point guy so there are, what, 3 NR random tags under the new bend an NR over rules? So, were recently 3,196 NR sheep applicants. So, 1 in 1,065. Cost if only apply for sheep is $170 (app fee, mandatory sheep point, cc fees). 1,065 years x $170 is $181,050.
Three? Nope, there was literally only 1 NR random ram tag in WY for 2023. And two NR random bull moose tags.

Anybody applying for that 1 random ram tag needs their head examined. And some of those NR fools bought $150 points also.

Why will a state change anything if fools keep buying?
 
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