Holy crap wyoming!!

[Doe Nob]

Idaho and MT have found the supply/demand equilibrium, and its not that far off from where WY will be if these price increases get approved, I don't think they are leaving a ton on the table.

I apply for the NM bighorn tag, its $3200 for a non-res, but I figure finding a way to pay off that credit card bill is lucky problem to have to solve.

[VTBwana]

My crew has been hunting elk in NW WY for the last 6+ years...looks like we will be going to CO soon. If this passes, we are dumping points and doing a last hunt in 2013 and bugging out to Colorado. Bonus, no wolves or griz in CO. We backpack in far enough to get to good bulls in CO as well as WY, I can get into 330+ bull OTC Archery in the Flat Tops of CO. Too bad for WY if they do it. They will really be screwing all the small businesses there. I left a comment on their website too.

[Ilovethewest]

To me the bigger picture is just budgets in general. As they continue to be penny pinched, this will happen in many areas of life, not just in tag fees.

I get the supply and demand thing, but is it ethical to do so. Just b/c something is legal to do, or it works financially, it doesnt make it the RIGHT thing to do. And there are long term consequences. A shrinking hunting population that is slowly turning into a rich mans game, does not bode well for the future of hunting in general. Having a high number of hunters nationwide gives us political clout, which keep the anti's at bay. reduce our numbers too much, and so goes our political clout, and the anti's gain.

So once again, just b/c you CAN do something doesnt mean you SHOULD do something. Doing what is RIGHT trumps all. Is this "right" to perpetually gouge the little guy???? You make that call.

I will just keep hunting until they make it unaffordable, then I will have to quit. What else can a guy do?

[ivorytip]

doe nob said it right. but more people that want to hunt here the higher it gets. to be honest.... and no ofesne to any out of staters, but when i drive in to the bas of a trail head to find nothing but out of state trucks parked there it kinda is a bummer. flattered that they enjoy idaho so much but bummed that they found a good spot. and if youve ever hunted out of state once you find a good spot that spot is your go to spot each time you revisit. idk, mixed emotions, i love helping out of staters out when they come but not sure why it bugs when i see all the trucks arent from here. heck most are cali and wisconsin, oddly enough.

[ivorytip]

everytime ive talked with them they have been nothing but nice and are hunting just like i am. i think its a guy thing. protective territory thing i guess. but is what it is

[Edelweiss]

doe nob said it right. but more people that want to hunt here the higher it gets. to be honest.... and no ofesne to any out of staters, but when i drive in to the bas of a trail head to find nothing but out of state trucks parked there it kinda is a bummer. flattered that they enjoy idaho so much but bummed that they found a good spot. and if youve ever hunted out of state once you find a good spot that spot is your go to spot each time you revisit. idk, mixed emotions, i love helping out of staters out when they come but not sure why it bugs when i see all the trucks arent from here. heck most are cali and wisconsin, oddly enough.

I used to help folks hunt in Wyoming but it has only bit me in the butt. I am not saying I am entitled to hunt public land on my own, it's just dishartening to have a parking lot in an area where you used to hunt with your family.

My uncle completely ruined the Union Pass area for us. He has invited half the state of Texas and everyone in Minnesota and Michigan, and showed them the ropes.

[Edelweiss]

As far as the price increase equalibrium? They don't care if the average bubba (I am an average bubba) can afford the tag or not. As long as they are able to sell the same number of licenses to increase their revenue to a point where they can continue to offer the same services they do now.

I hope their super raffle increases revenue as high as they think it will. Done correctly it could work very well. Washington states is a landmark money raiser.

One of the best things about some of these raffles, is that they waive the once in a lifetime requirement.

[hoshour]

I told WY G&F that this just moves hunting for NRs increasingly to being a rich man's sport. It's just un-American to take hunting out of the working man's reach.

These guys seem to forget that they work for us! We pay their budgets and salaries. I hope a lot of angry voices remind them of that.

[Edelweiss]

hoshour,

No one in the Game and Fish works for you. They aren't in a customer service business, they are in a wildlife management business, and sometimes the two connect and sometimes they don't. Quite a sense of entitlement you have there, did you pay taxes in Wyoming in 2011? Are you paying Wyoming taxes in 2012?

I personally don't care if they raise prices. I'll figure out a way to afford it anyhow. And if another $100 to $200 per tag or so is too much for you then pick another state. Outside of Nevada and Alaska, Wyoming has the most available public land hunting in USA.

They are doing it stay financially solvent, not to screw people from out of state. They know where their cash cow comes from, but they also have to appease those that can vote to influence Wyoming game statues and legislature.

I really appreciate how honest and open they have been.

I am currently an Alaska resident, I am thinking hard about moving back in Nov 2013 to Wyoming, and of course hunting on non-res tags in 2014. i'll just hunt stuff that doesn't have horns if I can draw the tags until I have been on the ground for a year.

[Ilovethewest]

You are right on that. Their job is to manage wildlife. And with state budget cuts and rising costs everywhere, how do you get more funds in order to do that properly. I get that. But it does make things more difficult for alot of people, and that is a very real and very negative side effect. There are always plus/minus to any policy decision, and this one is no different. I see things both ways. Since budget cuts are the "in" thing these days (wife is a public school teacher so we have felt this in a pretty large financial way).........when revenues are down, the game and fish has to make up the difference somewhere...........cut services or increase revenue. As a lover of the outdoors and of the wonderful animals we hunt, to me cutting services is not a good option. But is increases from 315 to 550 really necessary? Is it right to jump them that much? Is it right for the state legislature to squeeze the GF that much?

Sadly there are really no clear cut answers to any of these problems. There is no black and white. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in these days.

On the actual Management front, on the mule deer end of things, I actually think Wyoming has done a poor job of management. I owuld love to see them go into more of a micro-management style. Scrap the Region tags (yes even though I am hunting a General Region next week) I think region tags need to go. I also would mind seeing a Mule Deer and Whitetail Tags. Maybe have the mulie tag the high 550, but the whitetail tag 200, or even 150. I think people hunting an area with mixed populations, people would get the expensive mule tag, and then "add on" the whitetail. Not only would this increase revenues to the state (550+150=700) for a tag that they only would have gotten 550 for.............it may also encourage people to shoot more whitetatils, which would bolster the mulie pops. I for one, coming from Wisconsin, will not shoot a whitetail on a tag that costs 550. Unless he is 160" or better, I wont be shooting. Now adding on a 2nd buck tag for 150?? I may shoot an extra whitetail for 150 bucks.

So while I get the need for increased revenues, there are both good and bad side effects to this. Whether long term its for the best, we shall see.