Packing game is shit business if I were to charge $400, $500, or $800. Staff, stock, logistics, it isn't even close. Over years of outfitting, we do it as a favor to the public and to keep good relations with guys that frequent the area. To equate it to "throwing a couple bags of meat in panniers" is pretty classic. If a guy wants to pay his buddy to help him pack out an elk, I couldn't care less. Is it illegal, yes. Relevant to business, no. I pack as many, if not more, bulls out of the wilderness than any outfitter in CO.
If a guy wants to run a big business and compete with me, ignoring all the licensing, first aid requirements, liability insurance, government fees, camp fees, investing in permits and associated bureaucratic mess. Then yeah, I have a problem with that. It's anti free market. It's like competing with the mafia.
On that subject. You guys can argue as much as you want about capitalism and free markets. In that world there wouldn't be any form of public land. Public land is, by definition, a non-capitalist and non-free-market idea. Who pays the mortgage on the public land? Is it being used at the highest and best economic use? Is hunting on wilderness areas heavily subsidized? You sure as hell bet it is. These wilderness areas are multiple billion dollar pieces of land. What would the private hunting lease be worth on one? oh wow, we have gone down a free market hole, haven't we?
Outside of a long history of outfitters making almost all the wilderness areas in CO huntable in the first place, here is what all you guys hunting public land with an anti-outfitter sentiment need to understand. The first and strongest line of defense on your ability to hunt public lands are the historical users with an intense economic reason (feeding their families) to protect their use and viable game populations. Contrary to what you believe, our land management managers don't consider hunters as the top of the user base hierarchy. It started with the cattlemen and sheep guys, now the cram down is on outfitters. Who is next? It sure as hell isn't mountain bikers, hikers, yoga practitioners, etc... It's public hunters. It may not come from direct use restrictions, but it will come from letting other users destroy our game populations. Who shows up to the local meeting to fight the mountain bike trails on winter range... outfitters.
In addition, for you non-residents, who do you think is protecting your ability to hunt these western states? Residents in most states would slash nonresident tags if it weren't for outfitters representing your interests. See, our clients are non-residents, like you!
This is complicated stuff that is rapidly changing. If you aren't in the public offices every two weeks, you frankly have no idea what you are talking about. The forest has always been a non-free market convention, but it was pro entrepreneur and pro partial privatization so resources were protected. Unfortunately, that is changing.
Go into a forest service office and ask the hunters to raise their hands. Ask how many grew up on ranches. Twenty years ago, most would have smiled and raised there hand. Now, it is damn near zero. This is our biggest threat, that nobody seems to acknowledge.
Wow, didn't mean to write an essay. got on a roll I suppose. hope all you guys have the luck to pack one out here over the next couple months!
Cliff Gray
