I am conflicted on this. On one hand I am not rich and don't like paying more money. On the other hand, I have 15+ points in several states, including Utah and want to draw a tag before I am too old to use it. Fifteen years ago I was in my twenties and really didn't think I would be in this situation. Point creep keeps moving the goal post.
I live in Idaho now and everyone that hunts hunts public land. "Hunting Lease" is not even in the vernacular of hunters here. In Texas where I am from, if you met a hunter that was one of the first things that came up, "Where is your lease?". Looking at lease prices down there last month they range from 3-8k and up but average is probably around 4 or so. A lot which have required expenditures like protein etc. on top of that. Even broke guys that like to hunt in Texas will fork over a couple G's to hunt the same ole smallish bucks over a feeder in a cow pasture every year. When you look at how much more of an experience hunting wild elk, not sitting in a box blind ten feet from your four wheeler, on millions of acres of scenic and mountainous public land non-resident elk tags are cheap. IMO that is the elephant in the room when it comes to why tags are so unavailable. They are too cheap relative to their value.
Once again, not a big fan of paying more. I don't want the lil guys like me priced out. However, if they lil'guy could depend on drawing a 'gooderish' elk tag every few years, paying $2500 and actually harvesting and elk he would be better off than 85% of nonresident diy that head home with an empty truck bed paying 1k for a tag.