I think tag prices will have a bigger impact on future(and current) hunters than not being allowed in wilderness areas. The rule is dumb but it is what it is unfortunately. You can still fish and hunt small game in wilderness areas though correct?
WY Wilderness Rule ?
- Thread starter Trigger50
- Start date
I think tag prices will have a bigger impact on future(and current) hunters than not being allowed in wilderness areas. The rule is dumb but it is what it is unfortunately. You can still fish and hunt small game in wilderness areas though correct?
bwcatripper
New member
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Well, it seems as a general consensus that as a NR you'e going to pay out the roof regardless of the location...
BuzzH
Well-known member
I honestly don't feel NR fees are out of line. Residents (some) put so much effort, time, resources, volunteer hours, etc. into doing whats best for their wildlife resources, I've never felt that I over-paid via a NR license. Paying extra as a NR is to me, the least I can do, since I rarely/never attend a meeting, volunteer time, etc in the states I apply for as a NR. What I am, is just darn thankful to have the potential opportunity to hunt as a NR in several states.
I just wish that more Residents, in every state, would volunteer even 10 hours a year, or make an extra donation to a local NGO, or attend a meeting...anything.
Nothing pisses me off more than listening to a Resident cry about paying for a resident license, when you know darn well that's all the money or effort they contribute to wildlife. That's really doing the absolute bare minimum, and that's what a vast majority do...the minimum.
I'm also getting tired of people whining because they "just don't have time"...yeah, I don't have time either, welcome to the club. But, I make the time, because wildlife, conservation, etc. etc. really are important to me.
Without fail, those that do the least, bitch the most...and any more I let those types know exactly what the score is. If they don't like it, they'll just have to die with it, because frankly I don't care.
Power54
New member
I'm a Wyoming resident and none of the elk I've killed have been in designated wilderness. I've taken 2 non-residents elk hunting and, while I did have the resident guide license just in case, we managed to kill a spike with a bow and a 5x6 with a rifle both outside of wilderness areas meaning I legally didn't have to be there. With the newer travel plans, you can definitely find non-wilderness Forest Service with very sparse roads and excellent backpack hunting. I wouldn't elk hunt by Cody as a non-res but there are plenty of other areas in the state with great opportunities. I definitely do enjoy being able to hunt where I want on public land and I think its a dumb rule. The outfitters have too much say but that's just the way it is around here. Hell, if I remember correctly I believe it was a few outfitters from WY that were threatening to boycott RMEF if Randy was appointed to the board.
shootbrownelk
Well-known member
That outfitter boycott threat doesn't surprise me at all, these greedy and selfish outfitters don't want anybody making waves in their little world. I hope you get on the board Randy.
Topgun 30-06
Active member
I really think if you look at things the way BuzzH looks at it considering we're a NR in all but one state and all the states have about the same ratio of fees comparing a resident to a NR, that he pretty well hits the nail on the head! I'm certainly glad to be able to hunt in Wyoming every year and I wish I lived a lot closer to be able to do hands on work like he mentioned. As it is, about all I can do is contribute to the Access Yes program and send emails, etc., on important things involving our outdoor recreational opportunities as they come up.
PS to Shootbrownelk---Randy has been on the Board for some time now!
PS to Shootbrownelk---Randy has been on the Board for some time now!
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BuzzH
Well-known member
I agree 100% with you regarding that.
The thing about the outfitter lobby is that in the past, hunters didn't question or get involved much. So, as a result, they ran rough-shod over the GF, Commission, and legislature...essentially, they always got their way.
The thing hunters DIDNT do, is spend enough time fighting some of the crap ideas and self-serving ideas that outfitters have come up with.
That isn't the case anymore. Hunters are getting very involved, getting organized, and are kickin' ass in the conservation/hunting world. I can assure you, many of these BS outfitter welfare laws would NEVER pass today.
Anytime that happens, those that used to hold all the influence feel it slipping away, they go batchit crazy...you're threatening how they've done business.
The days of the outfitter lobby being able to get their way...those days are over. If they don't realize that now, after having been beat up bad with several bills they've tried to ram-rod the last few years, then they're living in complete denial.
The hunting public and the many great organizations that actually pay the freight for wildlife, conservation, and all things hunting are becoming the driving force in these issues.
Outfitters are just flat going to have to learn to accept their lesser role in the back of the bus...that simple.
bwcatripper
New member
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- Feb 28, 2016
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BuzzH,
Very valid points, and I appreciate your perspective. I just moved back to MN after 4 years in WA. WA has very, very high prices for residents, where I spent over $200 on licenses, tags, and permits for salmon and steelhead, fishing, columbia river endorsement, crab endorsement, deer tag... as a NR it would have been completely obscene to pay the rates they want for a season. I get that as a NR, I should pay more, but my concern is that the continually increasing prices will eventually break the bank. However, as Steve Rinella says, if it's that important to us, we'll audit our spending and make the money work.
Very valid points, and I appreciate your perspective. I just moved back to MN after 4 years in WA. WA has very, very high prices for residents, where I spent over $200 on licenses, tags, and permits for salmon and steelhead, fishing, columbia river endorsement, crab endorsement, deer tag... as a NR it would have been completely obscene to pay the rates they want for a season. I get that as a NR, I should pay more, but my concern is that the continually increasing prices will eventually break the bank. However, as Steve Rinella says, if it's that important to us, we'll audit our spending and make the money work.
dan.kirkpatrick
Well-known member
I do feel this is one of wyomings worst b. s. rules for non-residents that was enacted by the help of the outfitters wanting to hoard off the wilderness as there sanctioned land areas,,,nothing but outfitter welfare the way I see it..this one particular corrupt issue just gets my goat as a non-resident.this does cut off thousands of acres of our public land that all americans own .I do like Wyoming in most other ways as a non-res,,,,just this 1 rule really sucks.
Caseknife
Well-known member
My hunting partner got drawn for a unit with a small portion of wilderness in 2012. As a non-resident we knew we couldn't hunt there, but the unit was so vast that we had no problem finding elk outside the wilderness. Turns out he killed a 340 bull about a mile or so from a road. Funny thing is at the bottom of the drainage was an outfitter's big ranch and we were hunting in his backyard while he took his clients into the wilderness. Come October I will be in the same drainage with my own tag hoping to kill my largest bull yet.
I too am from Washington and my tag fees annually are 4-5 times what they are for residents in neighboring states, it is what it is, and sadly it will probably only get worse. Wyoming's wilderness law is BS, but it will not stop me from hunting in Wyoming
I too am from Washington and my tag fees annually are 4-5 times what they are for residents in neighboring states, it is what it is, and sadly it will probably only get worse. Wyoming's wilderness law is BS, but it will not stop me from hunting in Wyoming
BuzzH
Well-known member
Not picking on the poster here at all...but these types of comments just don't make any sense to me, on any level.
It seems there is some sort of denial that it costs money, a lot of money, to manage a States wildlife resources.
Payroll, flights for game counts, habitat work, access programs, enforcement, fleet, education, computers, cell phones, radio networks, check stations, drawings, the list goes on and on and on.
There are literally thousands of moving parts that we have to fund to manage wildlife, no way around it. Management costs money.
People blow money on foolishness every single day, yet, when it comes to shelling out a few hundred a year to provide for wildlife, to make sure we have the opportunity to hunt and fish, many like to complain...I just don't get it.
Its a strange thing, and I see it nearly every time I buy a license, some dipwad complaining to the guy/gal selling them the license. The same person that will bitch about license fee's wont say anything about the costs associated with playing golf, going to the bar, going to a movie, etc. etc.
I pay my license fees and feel damn near like a crook it costs so little.
dan.kirkpatrick
Well-known member
why is Wyoming the only state in the lower 48 that has this b s rule for non residents? I think our federal land including wilderness should be public for all as "WE"all own it.It just boils down to a direct lock out of non-resident D I Y ers in wilderness brought on by outfitter politics!! whether we use it or not,this does limit to a degree what units a d I y er will apply in in Wyoming.
JWP58
Banned
Non residents aren't locked out, nor do the have to hire an outfitter. Use this board to your advantage and make some friends in wyoming.
In my opinion, some on here are debating two separate and distinct issues. For years and years, it has been that the state controls(owns) the animals (mainly hunting and fishing) in the state. It controls the numbers of licenses and how to distribute these licenses. As much as it may seem unfair in some cases, that's the way it is. To me the question is not that, it's who controls use of OUR Federal lands. I should be able to use, in any way allowed by Federal law, any Federal land in any state. These kinds of laws that favor any person or group of people over any citizen of these United States are foreboding for what will happen if we turn over these lands to states to manage (read as sell).
HighDesertSage
Well-known member
This is an excellent idea. I would like to burn my WY elk points in 2017 on a general tag. Would any WY residents be willing to take me on a wilderness elk hunt next year? In exchange, I can offer to take someone out here for 3rd rifle mule deer. You'll need 2-3 points. Anyone?
Schaaf
Well-known member
Passing through wilderness to get to a non wilderness hunting area? That sounds like a tough sell.
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
Yeah, not they might not exist, I have not seen a lot of spots where this would make sense.
As a NR, you have to be careful about hunting around wilderness areas, because it can be a refuge from hunting pressure.
BuzzH
Well-known member
For all those that want to comment on this law, here is the contact information for the lobby that passed it:
http://www.wyoga.org/index.php
Phone number 307 265-2376
Email: [email protected]
Ask them why they support this law and why they aren't working to repeal it. Ask them why they chose to pass a law that discriminates against DIY NR hunters in wilderness areas.
Tell them that times have changed and they need to rethink this law.
http://www.wyoga.org/index.php
Phone number 307 265-2376
Email: [email protected]
Ask them why they support this law and why they aren't working to repeal it. Ask them why they chose to pass a law that discriminates against DIY NR hunters in wilderness areas.
Tell them that times have changed and they need to rethink this law.
