NM now requires license purchase for draw - impact?

[cuerro viejo]

I agree with your main points, in so far as there is a place for LO tags and what they were designed to accomplish.
Without going into specifics examples my thoughts about LO welfare in NM is based on first hand observations and personal aquantences who receive them. And quite frankly some of the rational for there allotment in NM is bullshit. You have tags that are being allocated for property that dont hold elk but in an incidental fashion and because the tags are unit wide they are wholesaling them out to outfitters who will be using them mostly on public lands or other ranches.
The amount of tags issues to land owners in NM in unit wide fashion no doubt in my mind takes away opportunity from both residents and nonresidents a like.

All that said I agree with your premise I just think the application of has some serious flaws in NM.

I get your thoughts, but I bought a Landowner tag a few years ago. Unit wide. By that 320 acre ranch putting in for that tag it opened general access to 30k acres of NF behind it. There are some positives

I’m with you on app process and NR draw odds. It’s becoming a bigger beat down, especially when it just cost whole $3 to enter the public draws down here.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Sounds like we may see some slight decline in apps and improvement in odds.

It is interesting how different states handle their opportunities. My home state of PA allows anyone to apply for an elk tag for $11. If a NR draws, the tag is $250. There are no limits on NR. Every year you don't draw gets you a bonus point.

Obviously, most of you in the western states probably think we are crazy. We used to have a 10% cap on NR but eliminated that in 2004 I think. We have unlimited hunting licenses that include deer, turkey and bear for residents and NR. The NR license is about $120. And we pack close to 800,000 hunters into 44,000 sq miles.

Unlike western states, most of our license sales are solidly resident dollars. And our elk odds are long - about 25 bull tags and 100 cow tags go to about 20K applicants.

Basically, most folks wind up following what they know of have been brought up with. For a lot of you out west, NR licenses approaching $1000 or more if successful in the draw and a hundred bucks to apply as a NR seems normal. For many easterners, that's just not what we've been brought up with and it seems crazy to spend kind of money to buy a 2-3% chance. It's personal perspective I guess

Again thanks to all for responding. We'll check back in a year once the draw data is out!

all draws in Texas are $3 except COE property those are free.

Per hunting license in Texas you get 5 Whitetails tags, 2 Mule deer tags, two javelinas, 5 turkeys tags, procession limit of quail, pheasants, squirrel, small game and unlimited exotics(nilgi, axis, elk,etc). That’s one hunting
license. $25 for res, $315 for non res.

Heck N.M. residents can draw Aoudad hunts in Texas with better success rates and cheaper then they can in N.M.

 

[171farm]

On average the hunting license is the least of the worry for a non resident hunter. When you add in the price of a guide (if you use one), the cost to get there and back as well as the cost to process and get the meat back to you the overvall cost of license and draw fees are a drop in the bucket

 

[Trial153]

I agree license costs for NR would be negligible IF you actually drew a tag. However when you add up nonrefundable license fees for NR who dont draw, especially for those who apply in several states. The cost yearly is anything but negligible. That said I still support it, conservation today takes money and I believe we as hunters should shoulder a lot of that cost.