I see several comments about the
increase in demand coming from residents. This is simply not true, based on last data available in the 2019 commissioners report. Residents still make up for 75% of the licenses sold.
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From the 2019 report we see there is not an increase in resident combo, hunting, or fishing licenses.
Regardless of what the population dynamics are doing the resident hunting pressure is down from ATH in 2012.
From the same report, NR tags sold for the same years:
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NR combo sales have doubled since 2012, and hunting tags have increased 80%. NR deer tags went from 5k in 2012 to 12K by 2019. Elk from 8K tags in 2012 to 18K.
This leads to two things, both being true. Residents make up the majority of hunting demand and pressure. Residents see way more hunting pressure coming from NR than what they have experienced in the recent past.
Life's too short, hunting season even shorter, to whine about NR vs resident hunting pressure.
Hunting should be about conservation, nothing we have going on here with the IDFG system centers itself around conservation, ie unlimited resident tags, increasing tags in spite of a decreasing population. Both of these issues are not a resident or nonresident issue, bipartisan if you will.
Residents have it in their best interest to ensure the NR tag sale occurs as efficiently as possible.
Just my fiat 2 cents.