Non-resident tag fees out of control!

[MountainMann]

my vote is c.. the wildlife in each individual state belongs to the residents... non residents should have to pay to come take advantage of the resource

[Old Hunter]

I solved the problem on deer tags by requesting my prefered unit as first choice and a doe tag as 2nd choice. If I don't get 1st choice, I almost always get the 2nd choice doe tag and a pref pt. The next year with the PP I usually get my buck tag and have enjoyed eating the meat from the doe!!!

That's what I do with elk. I alternate between a cow and bull. I'm fine with doing that. I'm actually fine with just hunting for a cow every year now.

It doesn't work for deer though. We can only hunt for bucks in my unit. So, the best I can do is hunt for a buck every other year, because it takes a minimum of 1 point for deer. They stopped doe tags awhile back to build up the herd. I've read the herd is about as good as it's going to get now. Maybe they'll start giving doe tags again. That would solve my problem.

[Old Hunter]

Hey Pete. You want to shoot an elk this year and need help getting it out, let me know. I'd come in a heartbeat.

Works for me. Where do you live? We'll split the meat in half.

[Big Sky]

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/art...gging-revenues

Saw this this morning and thought that I would share.

[CrimsonArrow]

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/art...gging-revenues

Saw this this morning and thought that I would share.

Thanks for sharing, Big Sky. The article states that non-residents license fees account for 2/3 of the game management budget in Montana. Is that a good enough reason to keep the non-residents happy?

[rickinnoco]

Works for me. Where do you live? We'll split the meat in half.

Fort Collins. Always looking for an excuse to get to the mountains

[Old Hunter]

Fort Collins. Always looking for an excuse to get to the mountains

That's a long drive from me. No mountains over there?

[CoHiCntry]

This is an interesting thread with some good comments. Here's my two pennies... Non res tag fees are steep, that's for sure. Steep to me is anything over about $500. I'm a resident of Colorado but I apply in several western states for different species like a lot of you guy's. I can understand the frustration of shelling out more and more cash for tags or the privilege to apply like in pref. point fees and useless licenses you won't use, and they know you won't, they just want your money! The other side though is this... if they were cheap, the draw odds would be even more horrific than they already are for trophy units and species. I sure wouldn't want that. If it's a priority, you'll find a way to pay for it. If it bothers you that much that you have to pay way more than a resident, then don't apply. That's what I did with Wyoming sheep and moose once they raised the pref point fees along with the tag fees. I don't want hunting to turn into a rich man only game any more than anybody else but it's happening anyway. I say apply for all you can afford, and don't worry about what you can't afford, and most importantly have fun!

[A3dhunter]

I have had my say about this on other forums for years, and I'll throw my 2 cents out on here as well.

Non resident tag fees are getting outrageous.
They should stop it at 10-12 times the resident price, and if more revenue is needed, then raise tag prices across the board.
Just like other items, there will be inflation, but it should not all fall on the non-resident hunter to SUPPORT the division of wildlife in a state.
A lot of residents argue that a NR does not support the economy locally, which may be true, but that does not make it okay to charge 40 times the regular fee to hunt.
Unfortunately, not every resident is going to get to hunt out their back door every year.
That being said, I would be in favor of some sort of "preference" being given to those applying for units/zones that they live in.

Any state where I have studied the tag allotment, a resident can get a tag and hunt every year. The problem is when that tag is not the one that the resident wants. They don't want to travel, or learn another area to hunt, or have to find other accommodations for staying the night somewhere else. Due to the limited tags in some areas, they can't let all of the residents in that area hunt.

Like OLD TIMER said, I know the area around Buena Vista is an area like this. Two years ago a resident and I as a NR applied for unit, I drew the tag since there was very few NR's applying for the tags, but there were a lot of residents applying. Residents(187 of them) had a 96% draw and the few NR's (36) that applied all drew a tag. This was a unit 48 archery deer tag. The resident wasn't happy about it, and I understood why, but at some point they should still give NR's an opportunity to draw a tag.

I also agree with a preference given to youth and senior citizens, there are times of your life when a tag means more than other times. that first or last hunt is invaluable.

[rickinnoco]

That's a long drive from me. No mountains over there?

Sure, there are mountains here Pete. I look at a 14er (Long's Peak) everyday. One thing I've learned since living out here, "far" is a very subjective term. You're about 3 hrs away, which in the west does not seem very far. This state is more than twice the size of Pennsylvania. To get just about anywhere I want to go, I'm looking at a few hours minimum.

CoHiCntry....very good points in your post. If it ended up that I had to move back to PA and could only hunt whitetails again, I would make do and just be happy that I could still hunt.