Strange Observation in Idaho

[JLH208]

Besides Hushin and Born and Raised Outdoors hunting in southern Idaho, I saw more Washington and Oregon license plates hunting elk in Idaho this year than I saw Idaho plates. The one group of guys were camped next to us for the whole month, never did see them pack anything out other than a nice shed. Did anyone else notice this?


- Jesse

 

[HeadnWest]

We saw a ton of Washington plates on over on the East Side of Idaho as well. Wondered why they would drive all the way across state.

 

[colersu22]

I would bet it has to do with the hunting in Wa. Most the east side of Wa in draw only for bull tags that range from 5-20 years and the majority of western Wa is 3pt min with a lot of private land. So for most it is easier to buy an OTC tag for another state if you want to chase bulls.

 

[Joe Schmo]

Had a few great run-ins with Idaho folks this year...again.
We appreciated your state this year for sure, deer and elk. We hope that ya'll appreciate our out of state money.

 

[paleraider]

Yes it was over run with people who are from out of state. I am really torn on this one to be honest. They are hunting Idaho because the regs and opportunities in their own states are bad. So they are coming here and making it less enjoyable for the residents who fund the state treasury.

This will come off as very ranty but so be it. Personally I think Idaho should charge an additional tax on Elk/Mule deer tags to all out of state residents who who's home states have elk/mule deer. This wouldn't impact the majority of folks out east but would hopefully slow down the CA/WA/OR crowd. Ideally I would make this tag hurt quite a bit, like $500-$1000. This would hopefully call attention the the poor management of the home states. It isn't like as an ID resident I am going to have a great opportunity to hunt OR/WA/CA.

 

[blackpowderhunter]

This will come off as very ranty but so be it. Personally I think Idaho should charge an additional tax on Elk/Mule deer tags to all out of state residents who who's home states have elk/mule deer. This wouldn't impact the majority of folks out east but would hopefully slow down the CA/WA/OR crowd. Ideally I would make this tag hurt quite a bit, like $500-$1000. This would hopefully call attention the the poor management of the home states. It isn't like as an ID resident I am going to have a great opportunity to hunt OR/WA/CA.

I'm sorry but this made me laugh.
Non resident tags are already steep, so you're saying if there is an elk in your state, you should get taxed more on top of that?
You think we already aren't trying to call the poor management to our own states? It's frustrating to watch. I hunted elk in Idaho this year, invited by an Idaho resident, and was invited back. Why did he invite me? Maybe because we met through mutual friends, and we had invited him out to join our muzzle loader elk hunts in washington, where he had a great time.
And to be transparent...We weren't hunting a "premier" unit with draw tags and huge bulls, but a unit where harvest statistics are in the 10-12% range.
As a resident it's what, 30 bucks for your resident elk tag? Or you drop a whopping 125 bucks for elk, bear, deer, turkey, cougar, mountain lion, steel head, and salmon pacakge? Am I jealous? heck yeah.
Non resident is already at 150 for the license + 416 for the elk tag.
Non resident hunters help fund the greater Idaho fish and game department to practice their (in my opinion) better management practices than my home state.
Out of pure curiosity, I would love to see the revenue of states game departments from license fees and the split of resident and non resident fees.
I don't mean to come across defensive or whiney. In reality, I do understand residents frustrations on this, but there are two sides to the story and it's a bit of a double edged sword.

 

[Anello]

Yes it was over run with people who are from out of state. I am really torn on this one to be honest. They are hunting Idaho because the regs and opportunities in their own states are bad. So they are coming here and making it less enjoyable for the residents who fund the state treasury.

This will come off as very ranty but so be it. Personally I think Idaho should charge an additional tax on Elk/Mule deer tags to all out of state residents who who's home states have elk/mule deer. This wouldn't impact the majority of folks out east but would hopefully slow down the CA/WA/OR crowd. Ideally I would make this tag hurt quite a bit, like $500-$1000. This would hopefully call attention the the poor management of the home states. It isn't like as an ID resident I am going to have a great opportunity to hunt OR/WA/CA.

As a CA resident who just got back from hunting in Utah (and several other states over the years), I agree with your perspective. I'm not opposed to paying a bigger tag fee as a non-resident if the hunting opportunities are better, and the locals are not going to be pissy about it. I grew up in San Diego and fished here a ton both personally and a bit commercially as a deck hand. I can tell you that we get a bit pissy about the influx of non-residents during the fishing season here, but we all realize that it is what keeps the fleet in business. So, we deal with it and push to find our own water when it gets crowded. As I have fished these waters for many years I generally have a few places I can go if it is crowded. I imagine the same could be said for resident hunters of a great state, like Idaho, when the locals are on their own home turf. You have a huge leg up on the non-residents in terms of your ability to scout and basic familiarity with the region, etc.

I do have a fundamental (and respectful) question, though: If the fees for non-residents would go up, would you feel different? or would you think that the non-residents are now rich jerks from out of state? I ask because I would gladly pay that amount to hunt where Deer and Elk ACTUALLY live (not like my shitty state that I cannot wait to leave) but would love to do so absent of the ire of the locals (which I've witnessed in almost every other state I've hunted or fished regardless of how respectful and ethical you are).

 

[alvongunden]

Yes it was over run with people who are from out of state. I am really torn on this one to be honest. They are hunting Idaho because the regs and opportunities in their own states are bad. So they are coming here and making it less enjoyable for the residents who fund the state treasury.

This will come off as very ranty but so be it. Personally I think Idaho should charge an additional tax on Elk/Mule deer tags to all out of state residents who who's home states have elk/mule deer. This wouldn't impact the majority of folks out east but would hopefully slow down the CA/WA/OR crowd. Ideally I would make this tag hurt quite a bit, like $500-$1000. This would hopefully call attention the the poor management of the home states. It isn't like as an ID resident I am going to have a great opportunity to hunt OR/WA/CA.

You have got to be kidding me. As the big government machine pushes to transfer our public lands to the states (where the could be sold), you’re going to come on here and complain that people are getting out and using this wonderful resource? As if it’s yours and you own it? I spent just shy of a grand in tags and fees this year to hunt “your land.” Why? Because my state (NY) doesn’t have elk. Give me a break and realize how good you have it.


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[IdahoElk]

You have got to be kidding me. As the big government machine pushes to transfer our public lands to the states (where the could be sold), you’re going to come on here and complain that people are getting out and using this wonderful resource? As if it’s yours and you own it? I spent just shy of a grand in tags and fees this year to hunt “your land.” Why? Because my state (NY) doesn’t have elk. Give me a break and realize how good you have it.


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You mean how good we "HAD" it,I've never seen so many out of state hunters as I have the last three years.I just pack in deeper but friends that can't are beside themselves.
Where do you hunt deer in NY? Can I bring a bunch of friends and hunt the Whitetail rut with you? we don't have Whitetails hear,you don't know how good you have it. Ha!

 

[Trial153]

I’m really empathetic to both sides of this issue. I’m just going to make one observation it’s very general however it seems to pan out often in life.
I very rarely see punitive solutions accomplish the goal. I think better solution will recognize that the resource is valuable to both parties and seek to build on that commonality.

 

[IdahoElk]

I’m really empathetic to both sides of this issue. I’m just going to make one observation it’s very general however it seems to pan out often in life.
I very rarely see punitive solutions accomplish the goal. I think better solution will recognize that the resource is valuable to both parties and seek to build on that commonality.

The problem is the third party in this equation derives their income from our resource and mange it for profit not resource stability.

 

[1signguy]

Before complaining about ID come spend a little time in AZ- that’s if you can even draw a tag...

 

[Trial153]

The problem is the third party in this equation derives their income from our resource and mange it for profit not resource stability.

Management cost money. You want real stability? I am not sure you’d like the cost of it . However is that’s your objective then a better solution is that you fund entire management budget through resident fees for tags and licenses. nonresident revenue can then be treated as a windfall.

I think residence would scream bloody murder if that came to fruition.

 

[paleraider]

You have got to be kidding me. As the big government machine pushes to transfer our public lands to the states (where the could be sold), you’re going to come on here and complain that people are getting out and using this wonderful resource? As if it’s yours and you own it? I spent just shy of a grand in tags and fees this year to hunt “your land.” Why? Because my state (NY) doesn’t have elk. Give me a break and realize how good you have it.

I never in my quote said anything about it being "our land". Nor did I state we should keep people from it. I simply point out that there is an abnormal number of out of state hunters, specifically CA/OR/WA, who have policies in their home states which make it incredibly difficult for them to hunt there. They are collectively coming to ID to fill their tags. So why should ID be in essence supporting their states mismanagement of their herds and hunting access by providing them a low cost always on alternative? Nothing will improve in their state and the herd in my home state will suffer.

Also note my proposal was directed at residents of states that have Elk/Mule deer so not really impactful to most hunters from back east. Also the mantra of "don't complain because you have it better than we do, but we ruined ours and are now going elsewhere, but don't complain" sounds very silly.

 

[paleraider]

Management cost money. You want real stability? I am not sure you’d like the cost of it . However is that’s your objective then a better solution is that you fund entire management budget through resident fees for tags and licenses. nonresident revenue can then be treated as a windfall.

I think residence would scream bloody murder if that came to fruition.

Under my proposal resident fees would stay the same. They would in fact go way up for some non residents and stay flat for others.

 

[paleraider]

Before complaining about ID come spend a little time in AZ- that’s if you can even draw a tag...

So you are saying AZ isn't over run with out of state hunters???

 

[SWOHTR]

Well if anyone cares, I’m leaving ID next year for the east coast, so there’s one less hunter in the woods...

Damn navy.


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[Trial153]

Under my proposal resident fees would stay the same. They would in fact go way up for some non residents and stay flat for others.

What would the criteria be for deciding how much a nonresident pay? I would assume you would have some matrix that would determine the cost for the tag depending on the state they resided in?

 

[paleraider]

What would the criteria be for deciding how much a nonresident pay? I would assume you would have some matrix that would determine the cost for the tag depending on the state they resided in?

My proposal was simply an increased tax for residents of states that already have Elk/Mule deer hunting. I originally proposed something in the $500 to $1000 range. Yet I think, as you mentioned, a matrix could be devised based on the feasibility of drawing in a given state. I would say for a state like AZ where getting a tag is neigh impossible then it should be at the higher end. States like MT or CO which does have good out of state it would be way less say $200. As NM is a full on draw with no points I could see them not paying anything extra as my odds are as good as any one elses. For states like CA/WA/OR/UT who do a horrible job they should pay $500+.

 

[AdamRappe]

I live in Oregon and the elk hunting pretty much sucks unless you have private land. I will be coming to Idaho in the near future.