I applied last month for the first time.They arent "my" leftovers, im an OR resident. I filled 2 reduced price cow tags 2 years in a row in WY, also met a guy in the same unit that bought an either sex leftover tag and he was packing out a 7x8 bull he killed on his 1st day in the unit. This isn't a sought after unit either. Have you even applied for a WY tag before? IMO they are very generous with NR tags compared to other states. Literally the only thing i wish was different about hunting there is the wilderness rule. I just don't understand what you're complaining about if you haven't experienced the process of obtaining a tag and hunting there yet?
I'm not complaining about anything. I'm just making the argument that states shouldn't have the authority to discriminate against NRs on federal land. I do think that the parody between NRs and residents in these states that get substantial federal funds has become a little ridiculous, but maybe I'm wrong there.
I suppose you could pirate elk too, lots of folks do. So are you advocating for separate licensing, management, and enforcement of game depending on what agency manages that land? You think anything would get better with the federal government managing the vast majority of western big game hunting, since most of it happens on federal land? I’m sure that would go great.
Monopoly on state land? Do you realize that the bulk of state land in Wyoming is made up of isolated 1 square mile sections surrounded by private or federal lands, and that there really isn’t much of it? At this point, there are probably more non residents hunting private in Wyoming than residents- most private that is at all productive has the hunting rights bought up by outfitters, and most residents aren’t going to pay that money to hunt.
That's a reasonable assumption, but no I don't think the Feds should manage the wild life. I think governance should be done at the lowest level feasible. I've already stated that having the feds manage the game is a can of worms that would worse for us all in the end. But if the state is unwilling to treat NRs fairly what other option are we left with? Honest question.
In your latter paragraph I think your hitting on the amount of federal land in WY being unjust. I think there's a great argument for that and I've heard great arguments that the Fed retaining ownership of the land after WY became a state was Unconstitutional. I tend to agree with that argument. However, as long as it remains federally owned land, my argument stands. FWIW if there was a movement for western states to take back ownership of their land, I'd lean towards supporting them with certain stipulations.