They can recoup losses by letting people shoot them for free????? Please explain to me the math on that one I'm not clear on it.
Simple fact is elk can do an amazing amount of damage. Nobody minds until they have to pay for it by loss of money from the alfalfa that a herd of 100 elk eat in the spring as they pass through your ranch.
Elk don't tolerate much killing...and dead elk don't eat alfalfa or bust down fences.
Intuitively obvious, even to a casual observer.
How about the landowners that receive tags in NM that don't have alfalfa or fences...yet still receive tags? Care to explain that? There is no requirement that a LO in New Mexico has to be suffering damage to receive a transferable tag...none. Same in NV, WY, UT, etc.
I also have to wonder where it ends with transferable licenses? Should I receive compensation from the State because a mule deer buck raked the chit out of my ornamental tree in the front yard? If LO's that aren't experiencing game damage are able to transfer a tag, should I be able to transfer my WY general deer tag to the tune of 1k or so to a NR hunter to cover that?
Its also hilarious to listen to many whine about hunting "becoming a rich's mans sport" every time the various States raise NR license fee's a dollar. Yet, think nothing of handing over the publics wildlife to others to sell, simply because they have wildlife using their land (not even necessarily doing any damage). Tags that sell for thousands and thousands more than what the States are charging. Never could reconcile those 2 lines of "logic".
Of course, there's also just personal responsibility of dealing with wildlife that is native to the places you live. If elk are causing you damage, purchase crop insurance, build wildlife friendly fences, allow the public to hunt, do some hunting yourself, or move to a place where you don't have to deal with elk.
If I build my house in a flood plain and don't have insurance when it floods...I'm S.O.L. I don't expect the State to compensate me for damages. Same with building a house in the sticks and having a wildfire burn my place down...I either insure it, mitigate the risk, remove some brush, etc. But, either way I'm the one paying my own freight.
Time for LO's to accept the fact that dealing with wildlife is called one thing...life. Don't expect a handout from me.
Like I've said, I'm fine with a LO getting tags to hunt themselves or transfer to an immediate family member to hunt with.
That's wayyyyy different than handing LO's tens of thousands of dollars of permits at the expense of the public's wildlife. I'm not unreasonable, if a LO is willing to tolerate wildlife by giving them a tag for their own use or the use of immediate family, I'm good with that.
You cant talk until you're blue in the face...I'm not changing my mind. Some like the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation...some don't. Count me as a firm believer in the former...