44hunter45
Well-known member
About a month ago I sent two rule changes proposals to the IDFG Commissioners:
1. Move the Idaho hunting and fishing license experimentation dates to June 30 each year. Idaho now has hunts running over the end of the calendar year, requiring you to renew your license mid-hunt. Or at least plan ahead and pay for your next year license in December. This would eliminate the need to do so. I will be honest and say that of my two proposals, this one is a want, more than a need.
2. This one is the big one I will continue to fight for. End the prohibition on the purchase of other species controlled hunt tag to applicants for "Big Three" (OIL) tags.
In my proposal letter, I outlined that this will not result in one more actual tag being issued, therefore does not interfere with tag quotas in any way. It does seriously improve IDFG revenues by allowing more controlled hunt applications to be sold. This could be as many as 9 more application per hunter. A safety net could be included to dis-allow the drawing of more than one, but I do not see this as necessary.
I would love to get other to "second" these proposals to the Commission. Right now you would need to email the commissioners do this, as I did. You can do that here. I pasted all their addresses into one email so they could see that they all received it.
Here is the text of the email proposal I sent to the commissioners.
Dear IDFG Commissioners,
There are two IDFG rules that I feel are a true problem for hunters and anglers in Idaho and reduce revenue stream to IDFG.
-------------------------
Here is the text of the letters I sent to the commissioners.
-------------------------
I would like to propose the following rule changes.
1. Annual licenses should run from July 1st of the year until June 30th of the next year.
- More and more seasons in Idaho span from December into January.
- It is an added inconvenience for hunters to have to renew their licenses mid hunt.
- It is true that hunters can now buy their next year license beginning December 1st, but our online system cannot handle the traffic and draws ridicule from all users.
- Mid-year license renewal could possibly relieve the December first tag rush because license sales would be offset from OTC tag sales.
-Applicants who have their license in advance could be shunted to a tag only purchase queue.
-This incentivizes buying licenses early (in mid-year) and relieves pressure on the system in December.
- Hunters buying licenses in mid-year and tags in December would make revenue available to the IDFG budget earlier in the year.
- In transition to the new license expiration dates, a six month or 18 month license option could be sold to move applicants to the new expiration date.
2. Allow applicants for big three controlled tag to apply for all other species controlled hunts in the state.
- Applying for a Moose, Sheep, or Mountain Goat once in a lifetime controlled hunt should not prevent applicants from applying for controlled hunts for other species.
- Hunters should not be punished for putting in for a big three tag.
- The odds of drawing a big three tag are depressingly low. Unsuccessful applicants are now left with only the raffle hunts as their hope for a better quality big game tag.
- IDFG loses controlled hunt application revenue for every tag they prevent a candidate from applying for. (Napkin math here, but good representative numbers)
- If every big three applicant could apply for other controlled hunts at the R and NR rates IDFG application revenue could be increased as follows:
-Residents potentially 9x $6.25 (five species control hunts and potentially 2 X tags, plus spring and fall Turkey and Bear) for regular controlled hunt species
-Residents potentially 2x $16.75 for two additional "big three" applications.
-Subtotaling an additional potential revenue per Resident hunter of $89.25 per year
-Non-Residents potentially 9x $18.00 (five species control hunts and potentially 2 X tags, plus spring and fall Turkey and Bear) for regular controlled hunt species
-Residents potentially 2x $45.75 for two additional "big three" applications.
- Subtotaling an additional potential revenue per Non-Resident hunter of $253.50 per year
- IDFG could make hunters choose a species in the rare event someone drew more than one big three species, but such an event would not effect the number of tags issued.
- This rule would be arbitrary on the part of IDFG and not species management relevant.
- We currently allow Super Hunt winners to have tags for four big game species simultaneously.
It is my opinion that these two proposals could increase IDFG revenue greatly without any impact on the harvest quotas, since there would still be the same number of tags in the pool.
They could potentially relieve seasonal congestion on the online vending system.
1. Move the Idaho hunting and fishing license experimentation dates to June 30 each year. Idaho now has hunts running over the end of the calendar year, requiring you to renew your license mid-hunt. Or at least plan ahead and pay for your next year license in December. This would eliminate the need to do so. I will be honest and say that of my two proposals, this one is a want, more than a need.
2. This one is the big one I will continue to fight for. End the prohibition on the purchase of other species controlled hunt tag to applicants for "Big Three" (OIL) tags.
In my proposal letter, I outlined that this will not result in one more actual tag being issued, therefore does not interfere with tag quotas in any way. It does seriously improve IDFG revenues by allowing more controlled hunt applications to be sold. This could be as many as 9 more application per hunter. A safety net could be included to dis-allow the drawing of more than one, but I do not see this as necessary.
I would love to get other to "second" these proposals to the Commission. Right now you would need to email the commissioners do this, as I did. You can do that here. I pasted all their addresses into one email so they could see that they all received it.
Commission Members
idfg.idaho.gov
Here is the text of the email proposal I sent to the commissioners.
Dear IDFG Commissioners,
There are two IDFG rules that I feel are a true problem for hunters and anglers in Idaho and reduce revenue stream to IDFG.
-------------------------
Here is the text of the letters I sent to the commissioners.
-------------------------
I would like to propose the following rule changes.
1. Annual licenses should run from July 1st of the year until June 30th of the next year.
- More and more seasons in Idaho span from December into January.
- It is an added inconvenience for hunters to have to renew their licenses mid hunt.
- It is true that hunters can now buy their next year license beginning December 1st, but our online system cannot handle the traffic and draws ridicule from all users.
- Mid-year license renewal could possibly relieve the December first tag rush because license sales would be offset from OTC tag sales.
-Applicants who have their license in advance could be shunted to a tag only purchase queue.
-This incentivizes buying licenses early (in mid-year) and relieves pressure on the system in December.
- Hunters buying licenses in mid-year and tags in December would make revenue available to the IDFG budget earlier in the year.
- In transition to the new license expiration dates, a six month or 18 month license option could be sold to move applicants to the new expiration date.
2. Allow applicants for big three controlled tag to apply for all other species controlled hunts in the state.
- Applying for a Moose, Sheep, or Mountain Goat once in a lifetime controlled hunt should not prevent applicants from applying for controlled hunts for other species.
- Hunters should not be punished for putting in for a big three tag.
- The odds of drawing a big three tag are depressingly low. Unsuccessful applicants are now left with only the raffle hunts as their hope for a better quality big game tag.
- IDFG loses controlled hunt application revenue for every tag they prevent a candidate from applying for. (Napkin math here, but good representative numbers)
- If every big three applicant could apply for other controlled hunts at the R and NR rates IDFG application revenue could be increased as follows:
-Residents potentially 9x $6.25 (five species control hunts and potentially 2 X tags, plus spring and fall Turkey and Bear) for regular controlled hunt species
-Residents potentially 2x $16.75 for two additional "big three" applications.
-Subtotaling an additional potential revenue per Resident hunter of $89.25 per year
-Non-Residents potentially 9x $18.00 (five species control hunts and potentially 2 X tags, plus spring and fall Turkey and Bear) for regular controlled hunt species
-Residents potentially 2x $45.75 for two additional "big three" applications.
- Subtotaling an additional potential revenue per Non-Resident hunter of $253.50 per year
- IDFG could make hunters choose a species in the rare event someone drew more than one big three species, but such an event would not effect the number of tags issued.
- This rule would be arbitrary on the part of IDFG and not species management relevant.
- We currently allow Super Hunt winners to have tags for four big game species simultaneously.
It is my opinion that these two proposals could increase IDFG revenue greatly without any impact on the harvest quotas, since there would still be the same number of tags in the pool.
They could potentially relieve seasonal congestion on the online vending system.