It's a great ram and the guy played by the rules that exist at this time so I have nothing against him or his success.
I disagree that we need these types of tags and this style of funding in order to continue efforts for sheep conservation. The money that is generated by these auction tags can be replaced by a combination of raffle tags and simple license fee increases.
Take Idaho as an example, it may be the simplest example because Idaho offers only 1 auction tag and 1 raffle tag. Last year the raffle tag set a record and brought in $315,870, but it averaged $197,000 over the last 6 years. The auction tag record is $320,000, and averaged $206,700 over the same time period. Some years the raffle tag makes more but most years the auction tag makes the most. In fact the raffle tag made more than the auction tag 7 times in the last 20 years.
If you combine the average revenue of each tag you get $ $403,700. In 2023 Idaho had 302,000 hunting license holders. Maybe I'm different than most but I would be more than happy to pay an additional $1.35 for my license each year that could be earmarked for wild sheep conservation. Hell, throw in another $1.00 for mountain goats and round it up to an even $2.50. We already got slapped with a $5.00 depredation fee each year and we don't see any benefit from that.
Other states may be more complicated but I think that a combination of raffle/lottery tags and moderate fee increase could easily replace all the revenue from auction tags. The problem is that organizations like WSF seem to have become de facto lobbyists to perpetuate auction tags for those who can buy their way to the front of the line. If it weren't true they would explore other means to raise money for sheep but instead they stick to the auction tag approach. They are happy to push the narrative that all of us are indebted to a few individuals who are able to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on sheep tags. I think it is disingenuous when simple math shows the buying power of the masses can easily eclipse that of the wealthy few.
Here's a few quotes from WSF CEO Gary Thornton pushing the agenda.
“The fact that a handful of individuals stepped up at these levels to put and keep more wild sheep on the mountain for everyone, and one day put more sheep permits into the public draws, is the definition of paying it forward. That’s the backbone of conservation.”
Do we really believe that the backbone of conservation is a "handful of individuals" paying big bucks for tags? Idaho has fewer sheep today than in 1982 when the Idaho WSF was founded, where are the "more sheep" and "sheep permits into the public draws"? Maybe they have had more success in other states? Nevada probably, where else?
"Without auctioning a few special permits each year, some agencies would have no wild sheep programs, and others would be severely limited as to what they could do.”
This is only true for as long as we allow it to continue instead of creating alternative funding sources. And it is as easy as a couple dollars per hunting license sold.
In the long run, 1 or 2 tags per state makes very little difference in anyone's odds of drawing a tag. The low odds make people apathetic and willing to accept the status quo of auction tags. I just really don't like the disingenuous attitude being pushed that we have no other choice but to continue funding in this way.