CPW 2026 Draw Stats are out

[TheLastFrontier]

Thankfully my hunting partner and I both drew our bull tags for this year but we definitely got lucky to both draw. Based on 2024 stats we should have drawn last year with 2 pts but it became a 3 pt tag and then this year it went from basically 100% with 3 pts to 40%.. One thing that I get reminded of every year I look at the stats is that landowners get 20% of the tags and this year 15% of those came out of the resident allocation while only 5% came out of the NR allocation so instead of a 75/25 split its basically a 60/20 split. I know the landowner preference program has its purpose but dang its frustrating to see those numbers every year..

 

[wildwilderness]

I don't know what the "fair" number is but IMHO there should be a backstop even for 1st choice non-resident tags, which is how most other states do it. Maybe 25% is the soft cap for 1st choice and 35-40% is a hard cap just as a middle ground? To my knowledge that would still be far more generous than any other western state. For the unit I posted a little over 50% went to NR in the 1st choice round.

I guess you haven't looked at Alaska's number of Res vs NR tag allocation! Some hard draws limit NR to an extent but many areas like Kodiak give half the bear tags to NR in the draw! If you look at harvest statistics almost half the Sheep killed are by NR as well off of OTC tags

 

[cnelk]

It still chaffs me that the CPW won’t release the Draft Tag Allocations before the application deadline
Especially when the document is dated prior to that.

If you want to be pissed about something, that should be one

 

[Serrano]

The below is not gospel, just what I was told today by a CPW rep. In reading what I could find online it was vague exactly how "resident demand" was defined.
"Allocation rules apply to the first and second choices in the PrimaryDraw. If there is insufficient resident demand after going through thefirst and second choices, any excess quota may go to nonresidents(soft cap)."

In speaking with a CPW guy earlier today according to him there will be no NR hard cap on any choice. The only change is if any tags make it to 2nd choice 75% of that number will be allocated to Residents for random draw and 25% to NR for random draw.

But up to 100% of tags could go to NR (theoretically) as first choice before any become available to anyone in 2nd choice.

NR will only get over 25% of the tags if the number of resident applications are less than 75% of the total tags in their total 1st and 2nd choices combined. (minus landowner)

It's not 75% of first choice and then 75% of second choice.

 

[Serrano]

I guess you haven't looked at Alaska's number of Res vs NR tag allocation! Some hard draws limit NR to an extent but many areas like Kodiak give half the bear tags to NR in the draw! If you look at harvest statistics almost half the Sheep killed are by NR as well off of OTC tags

Don't compare OTC to limited.

Harvest rates are likely skewed by NR going guided.

 

[Serrano]

Going to have to ask for 85/15 across the board here before too long

It won't be necessary. But maybe someday.