At what point are you guiding without a license?

[Yukon Cornelius]

An amazing trip. Zero shots fired and by all accounts pretty poor wx for SW Alaska, but I still had a ball. Not sure my partner would do it again.

I don’t need specifics but where at in SW? I lived in dillingham for 3 years.

 

[wytx]

Rich, if someone is doing illegal wildlife activities in our great state then sorry I'm reporting it. It's not meddling it is called being responsible.

Outfitters taking their friends into the backcountry would be perfectly fine, they are licensed to do so.
Trading hunts is not the issue, taking folks in to hunt and then getting something in return is illegal in many states.

 

[roosiebull]

I’ve heard enough.

Letter of law (to prevent unlicensed folks guiding thereby putting many others at risk plus an element of hunting state can’t monitor) vs common sense on what’s NOT a guide. Gotta have both.

Guess I’m right where I started.

Maybe a more detailed hypothetical would help get your answers, then at least we could all silently judge you

 

[CJ19]

I wonder if any of the big time hunting celebrities have ever addressed this issue on their shows or podcasts. Surely with all the public land hunt celebs out there these days, one of them has to have made content about their experiences in this area of hunting.

 

[Matt83]

Didn’t realize there were any issues with it. Can a friend go with a friend to call elk for and help pack out meat? I sure hope so


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[william schmaltz]

there is some common sense that is needed. THey are not out for the people who are swapping hunts or helping friends. They are out for the people who are guiding multiple people a year without a license. Not the average dude who is hunting with a friend who comes up for a hunt.

I have a close friend that took his brother in law and two friends hunting in his personal aircraft. The buddies and BIL were NRs. All four had tags and were hunting. Troopers landed in on them and basically spent most the day separating each person and setting up individual interrogations. Sounds like it was a pretty ridiculous production. Asking them how much they were paying for the hunt, relationships, how long they've known each other, where they all grew up, etc. I'm glad they are out doing stuff like that and checking on guys that may be pirate guides, but you would think that just proving you grew up with someone or are related to them and simply stating you are splitting costs would be enough for them to move on. Stories like that are always in the back of my mind. They did the best the could to go out of their way to find something illegal and charge him with for taking friends and family hunting. They never did find anything and those guys lost a day of hunting.

 

[204guy]

What if "hypothetically" someone was soliciting strangers with preference points to do a party application with them so they could get their point average up to draw a tag every year. In return for that they would essentially guide them. Is a payment made? Services are certainly rendered.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I have a close friend that took his brother in law and two friends hunting in his personal aircraft. The buddies and BIL were NRs. All four had tags and were hunting. Troopers landed in on them and basically spent most the day separating each person and setting up individual interrogations. Sounds like it was a pretty ridiculous production. Asking them how much they were paying for the hunt, relationships, how long they've known each other, where they all grew up, etc. I'm glad they are out doing stuff like that and checking on guys that may be pirate guides, but you would think that just proving you grew up with someone or are related to them and simply stating you are splitting costs would be enough for them to move on. Stories like that are always in the back of my mind. They did the best the could to go out of their way to find something illegal and charge him with for taking friends and family hunting. They never did find anything and those guys lost a day of hunting.

Standard procedure. Field officers then take that field contact information (interrogation) back to the office and then begin a comprehensive multi-month investigation. If they find something even more suspicious, you'll hear from them.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Still sounds like a massive waste of resources if you can prove you grew up with them or are related to them. The past few years i may or may not have had friends come up and have gone out sea duck hunting with them. everyone pays there way out between hotel, water taxi. It would be laughable if a trooper tried to pin something like that on us.

 

[WalterH]

If and how you are related doesn't matter.

It is this simple...

Guiding services provided + compensation received = guiding license required.

As has been noted several times above, guiding services and compensation both have very specific definitions in the law, and those can vary from state to state.

Generally speaking, compensation is legally defined as anything of value provided in exchange for something else of value, such as goods or services.

There isn't really any gray area or subjective interpretations here. Without one of the two elements in the equation, there is no commercial activity and as such, no guiding license required. Right?