Wyoming Non Resident Preference Point Increase

[CorbLand]

Agree, they're not immune to inflation. Governments do seem immune to efficiency though.
Given advances in technology, shouldn't administering tags and licenses, surveying animals, etc., become cheaper at some point?
Looking at their budget, it's not a huge percentage that actually even goes to wildlife, hunting , enforcement, etc. Of the 100M budget, Less than half has anything to do with wildlife and hunting, etc.
I guess someone has to subsidize the 6M fish hatcheries....

I didn’t see issuing tags on their budget and that generally means that it’s such a small amount it doesn’t warrant spelling it out.

Yes, all of those things you have listed should get cheaper with technology and from what I understand many have. What hasn’t gotten cheaper is the cost of labor and other input costs to do it.

Animal surveys are largely done by aircraft…has it gotten cheaper to fly in the last 20 years? Same can be said for the paper for tags and mailing them to you. Or the tires on the pickup to go do a project.

Don’t forget that some of that payroll expense goes back to benefiting wildlife. Its where all your biologist and game wardens wages/benefits are going to be. Without them, it wouldn’t matter how much money you had, you wouldn’t be able to do much with it.

Payroll is generally the largest expense a business has. Like I said in an earlier post, a 2.5% increase to that would add more than 1.25 million. 2.5% is still below the inflation rate for 2026 and we are a little over a quarter of the way through.

I will and have been the first person to talk about government inefficiency. I deal with it everyday I am at work. But if your metric for having to raise prices is based on “well they should just be more efficient” then that means every business that has had to raise prices is due to inefficiency. If that is the case, Wyoming Game and Fish has got to be about as efficient as they come because they raised their prices on a subset of customers 50 bucks over the span of what 18 years?

I don’t know about you but my groceries, fuel, utilities, pretty much everything are up well over 50 bucks a month each and that’s just in the last 6 years.

I don’t know guys, I have said that it sucks but a little rational thought answers a lot of the questions.

I am out of this discussion though. If I want to hunt Wyoming some day, guess it’s going to cost me 50 bucks more a year. As someone that has primarily hunted out of state since 2023…50 bucks a year is absolutely nothing compared to the other costs associated with it.

 

[Fetty Wapiti]

Yeah
But I’ll save so much money.

A boat load! And get to hunt generals every year!

 

[826]

As someone that has primarily hunted out of state since 2023…50 bucks a year is absolutely nothing compared to the other costs associated with it.

Right.

Not to mention, how many of you guys that are irritated shoot a $4k rifle or a $2k bow that you replace every 2 years?

Do we really not see the irony in fellas with $700 backpacks, carrying $5k in optics, wearing $3k in fancy pants... complaining about an extra $50 a year?

 

[bigv]

I have one lousy point for antelope....how many will it take to be able to draw for a decent area? Maybe not the best area but a solid one?

 

[Renegade14]

Right.

Not to mention, how many of you guys that are irritated shoot a $4k rifle or a $2k bow that you replace every 2 years?

Do we really not see the irony in fellas with $700 backpacks, carrying $5k in optics, wearing $3k in fancy pants... complaining about an extra $50 a year?

I’ve seen a lot of comments similar to this. But there are a lot of people who don’t hunt like that, you just don’t see them or pay attention to them. There are a lot of people who are still using old backpacks and guns they’ve had for decades. Or people who have to really work application fees into the budget. And it’s not a small group of hunters, a lot of people are in these boats. What about dads who have been buying points for their kids so they can hunt as a family while the kids are young or in school and may not be able to afford buying enough points to stay in the game. Now they have to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars just to enjoy going out with their family or they don’t go at all and the kids probably lose interest.

Lots of comments in this thread are focused on the effects to individuals, but not to groups or the community as a whole.

 

[Jethro]

For most of us, everything in life needs to fit in a budget. If you truly can’t afford $75, try for a random tag. Never have to buy points.

 

[Macintosh]

Right.

Not to mention, how many of you guys that are irritated shoot a $4k rifle or a $2k bow that you replace every 2 years?

Do we really not see the irony in fellas with $700 backpacks, carrying $5k in optics, wearing $3k in fancy pants... complaining about an extra $50 a year?

Of course thats ironic, but its also a little apples-to-oranges, because to a large degree people only spend that money BECAUSE they have relatively easy access to something. My point had more to do with some folks only spending that money on something they can do somewhat regularly. Some of that industry exists because there are a lot of non-residents who can somewhat regularly draw an out of state tag in the west. Im much happier to spend money on something I can do regularly. Im MUCH less likely to spend nearly as much or as frequently on something I cant do very often. If its true that fewer non-residents will have access to tags, then whatever portion of the outdoor equipment market those people drive, will see reduced sales as people will have less reason to spend. As draw odds are reduced, tag allocations reduced, and uncertainty rises--the value of a preference point is also reduced. So its not that people are complaining about paying an extra $25 for an elk point, it's more so that in the entire context of what is happening to any one non-resident hunters chances of hunting in any given year, and what it takes to get a tag ($, time, long-term sustained effort, etc), that the value of a single point is decreasing, yet the price is increasing.

 

[Svivian]

Wyoming is missing out on alot of Pittman funds by not requiring a license before the privilege of applying in the draw.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

Dont give them any ideas from Utah please and thank you . The $190 Fish and small game combo is rough.

 

[Skerhunter]

Actual costs haven’t increased greatly compared to inflation, if you look at the past 20 years.

A guy starting out in 2006 would have paid an approximate total of $1105 or $1586 (special) to hunt a 10 point unit in 2016. That same guy could be hunting another 10 point unit in 2026 for $1223 or $2481. Thats a 0.5% increase per year for the regular draw and 2.3% for the special. I’m sure the extra bs fees drive this up some, but it’s close enough.

If prices continue to increase at around the same rate in 2036 prices will be around $1300 for the regular and $3200 for the special. Only down side is you will be getting a gen tag vs a limited entry tag with only 10 points in 2036 .

I don’t see these prices cutting down demand a whole lot for people currently play the points game. Younger/new hunters I wouldn’t be surprised to see a decrease moving forward, mainly due to hunts needing to be a 10 year plan vs 1-3.

 

[bozeman]

 

[BRTreedogs]

I’ve seen a lot of comments similar to this. But there are a lot of people who don’t hunt like that, you just don’t see them or pay attention to them. There are a lot of people who are still using old backpacks and guns they’ve had for decades. Or people who have to really work application fees into the budget. And it’s not a small group of hunters, a lot of people are in these boats. What about dads who have been buying points for their kids so they can hunt as a family while the kids are young or in school and may not be able to afford buying enough points to stay in the game. Now they have to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars just to enjoy going out with their family or they don’t go at all and the kids probably lose interest.

Lots of comments in this thread are focused on the effects to individuals, but not to groups or the community as a whole.

Can’t those people just enjoy hunting in the state they are a resident?

 

[bozeman]

 

[bozeman]

 

[826]

Of course thats ironic, but its also a little apples-to-oranges, because to a large degree people only spend that money BECAUSE they have relatively easy access to something. My point had more to do with some folks only spending that money on something they can do somewhat regularly. Some of that industry exists because there are a lot of non-residents who can somewhat regularly draw an out of state tag in the west. Im much happier to spend money on something I can do regularly. Im MUCH less likely to spend nearly as much or as frequently on something I cant do very often. If its true that fewer non-residents will have access to tags, then whatever portion of the outdoor equipment market those people drive, will see reduced sales as people will have less reason to spend. As draw odds are reduced, tag allocations reduced, and uncertainty rises--the value of a preference point is also reduced. So its not that people are complaining about paying an extra $25 for an elk point, it's more so that in the entire context of what is happening to any one non-resident hunters chances of hunting in any given year, and what it takes to get a tag ($, time, long-term sustained effort, etc), that the value of a single point is decreasing, yet the price is increasing.

They didn't reduce the number of tags, they increased the cost. So the only way this has reduced anyones chances of hunting is if they can't afford it, my whole point is maybe don't buy that $2k bow this year, or the $4k rifle you don't need or the latest and greatest Sitka pants..... and you'll be able to afford the extra money for the preference point.

 

[Macintosh]

@826 , totally get that. You are 100% on the money there (so to speak). I only mentioned because I think people are looking at the PP $ in the context of lower draw odds (same # of tags but a lot more people vying for them so my personal chances of hunting are less), as well as in light of the real and threatened changes to the system that do affect actual tag numbers (half of the NR allocation going only to guided hunters, and going from a 20% allocation to a 10% allocation). I do think peoples reaction to the cost of a preference point has to include this context to understand why people are bent out of shape about a relatively inconsequential $ change. And I do think it's also fair to say that the $ investment you are comparing to existed in the past largely as a result of an opportunity that questionably no longer exists, ie being able to hunt almost every year or at least every couple years as a non-resident. If thats true, then I would expect people in this situation to abandon BOTH of those things at about the same rate.

For me, I DONT spend that $ on equipment every year. Hunting out of state in the west is stupid from a $ standpoint already, so if it costs $1000 to get a tag between the PP and tag, versus 1200, or 1400 vs 1600 I dont really care. It's really much more a question of whether it makes sense to spend the time and mental energy dealing with it every year for something I can only do once a decade or less, when i could just go on a cool backpack fishing trip whenever I feel like it. For someone on the fence in that regard, a simultaneous price increase might just be the tipping point, hence the whining.

 

[dustyboots]

Oof more raised fees

 

[Kimber7man]

"If I apply in WY, what exactly do I receive in return for that $75 fee?"
asks the 20 year old non-resident.

The need to do it again at least every other year, or you lose your points.

 

[BRTreedogs]

The need to do it again at least every other year, or you lose your points.

Point creep ain’t gonna get better, if we explain to people how to keep there points

Just saying.

They less they know.

 

[Kimber7man]

As a NR I’m ok with whatever they decide to charge for preference points. I just wish they wouldn’t have implemented the rule that you have to buy a point every other year or you lose all your points. I don’t think we should lose something we bought just because we didn’t buy another one.

 

[CMF]

I’ve seen a lot of comments similar to this. But there are a lot of people who don’t hunt like that, you just don’t see them or pay attention to them. There are a lot of people who are still using old backpacks and guns they’ve had for decades. Or people who have to really work application fees into the budget. And it’s not a small group of hunters, a lot of people are in these boats. What about dads who have been buying points for their kids so they can hunt as a family while the kids are young or in school and may not be able to afford buying enough points to stay in the game. Now they have to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars just to enjoy going out with their family or they don’t go at all and the kids probably lose interest.

Well said.

Lots of comments in this thread are focused on the effects to individuals, but not to groups or the community as a whole.

And a lot of comments don't look at the full cost. When it's going to take a minimum of 5 points to draw maybe 10, it adds up. And as you mentioned, I'm putting in for kids too. It's not going to stop me from applying. I can afford it. But I think it sucks for people who can't.

Animal surveys are largely done by aircraft…has it gotten cheaper to fly in the last 20 years?

Yes. Drones.