Wyoming proposal to slash Non-resident hunters

[robby denning]

Just caught this from an anonymous source (as in I don't know who sent it to me, but it checks out legit). Robert Hanneman from Huntin' Fool also verified this information.

Wyoming is proposing to slash NR tags. This is what I received:


Here's the info:

SF0103 "Resident and nonresident hunting license issuance and fees," was filed last week and will be assigned to the Senate Travel, Recreation and Wildlife (TRW) Committee, tomorrow. The bill will need to make it out of the committee to be considered on the floor.

HERE is a link to the Bill.

The bill has two major changes:

1. It changes Wyoming's current limited quota tag allocation for all big game species (elk, deer, antelope, moose, sheep, goat, bison) to 90% resident hunters, and 10% nonresident hunters (90/10).
2. It increases prices for nonresident limited quota big game tags. For years, Wyoming's nonresident tags have been significantly underpriced compared to other states and this bill brings these prices up to market levels. These price increases result in $8 million/year of new revenue to the WY G&F Department.

Getting tough to be a NR hunter. Not sure what voice we have with Wyoming, but wanted to make sure you all knew this was being proposed. Debate like gentleman please so that this thread can stay up!

 

[ChrisAU]

Great

 

[BBob]

I don't like it but I won't campaign against it. It's what we (hunters) in AZ asked for many years ago when AZGFD consulted with us with what we thought we should do to keep NR hunts from over impacting resident hunting. If we asked for and got the 90/10 here I can't blame WYO for doing the same.

We didn't arrive at the 90/10 and tag price as it stands today overnight, it went through some ups and downs mostly because of a lawsuit/lawsuits from a certain NM outfitter. I don't remember the details anymore but in the end a solution was found, that outfitter and his pals were basically told to go pound sand.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

Hunting public lands is going to be only for the rich and the politically connected. That is really unfortunate for the public hunter.

 

[wapitibob]

Not likely to pass in current form but NR getting 25% of the Sheep and 20% of the Moose licenses is absurd.
Add to that, WY issues a higher percentage of NR tags across all species than any other state, by a large margin. I'll gladly pay more to keep 16% of the Elk and 20% of the Antelope licenses. Not really a fan of paying more and getting knocked down to 90/10 though.

 

[Fitzwho]

Posted in the other thread, but just got finished reading the bill. $1100 for a general elk tag, $655 for a deer and $600 for antelope sounds like straight price gouging to me.

Guess I'll stay up to date on the poceedings for this one and go hunt deer and antelope this year if this is going into effect for 2022 and just not buying a point for elk ever again. I went on a general elk tag a couple years ago. And the only reason it would be worth $1100 is if I got paid $1 for every other hunter I ran into.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I am sure this will be hotly debated, but I've made many life choices and sacrifices to ultimately reside in my preferred state of Choice.....Idaho.

I don't run the gamut and apply for 8 western states for non res opportunities. I get that MANY do this and it's a complete lifestyle.

Asking if this is really a terrible thing for the folks who made those same sacrifices and choices to reside in Wyoming?

 

[Justin Crossley]

I wonder which fees are "significantly underpriced"? I applied for elk this year and my choice was either about $700 for a regular application or $1,300 for a "special" app.

 

[zion zig zag]

I am sure this will be hotly debated, but I've made many life choices and sacrifices to ultimately reside in my preferred state of Choice.....Idaho.

I don't run the gamut and apply for 8 western states for non res opportunities. I get that MANY do this and it's a complete lifestyle.

Asking if this is really a terrible thing for the folks who made those same sacrifices and choices to reside in Wyoming?

Same, but I live so close to WY that hunting public ground there is just as close if not closer than public ground in Idaho. Utah to a lesser degree but still very close. Not that that entitles me to it but it's starting to hem me in a bit with the changes.

 

[Bowhunter50]

Wow! I was already contemplating quitting Wyoming since I don't have the time to hunt all the states I started applying for and I had to cut some out. More tags for those willing to pay those prices! Good luck to them and everyone hunting Wyoming!

Wonder how much this will change NR draw odds... Maybe the drop in NR tag numbers and increase in prices will cancel each other out

 

[CM]

Does this get rid of the "special" draw and move the special and regular together? I didn't see any mention of the special draw in the bill.

 

[BigBird69]

I think it's a slippery slope. I understand that the way the law is currently written game belongs to the state even though they might reside on federally owned land.

I also understand that if you piss off enough people laws can be changed. How long will it be until the law is changed so that tags for game residing on federal land is managed at a federal level and resident and non-resident quotas no longer apply? At the end of the day residents might end up with less tags than they did before.

 

[BuzzH]

Posted in the other thread, but just got finished reading the bill. $1100 for a general elk tag, $655 for a deer and $600 for antelope sounds like straight price gouging to me.

Doesn't to me...sounds about like what I pay to hunt UT, AZ, NV.

Wyoming has been undervalued for a long time.

 

[BuzzH]

I think it's a slippery slope. I understand that the way the law is currently written game belongs to the state even though they might reside on federally owned land.

I also understand that if you piss off enough people laws can be changed. How long will it be until the law is changed so that tags for game residing on federal land is managed at a federal level and resident and non-resident quotas no longer apply? At the end of the day residents might end up with less tags than they did before.

Never happen...case law, s.339, Baldwin, etc. etc. etc.

 

[pirogue]

in the end a solution was found, that outfitter and his pals were basically told to go pound sand.

Based on a recent thread, WY’s commission does’nt have the balls to tell the outfitters to go pound sand, like AZ did. Proven by the fact they are now holding NR’s money for 4+ months before awarding tags.

 

[BigBird69]

Never happen...case law, s.339, Baldwin, etc. etc. etc.

Like I said, laws can be changed.

 

[BuzzH]

Like I said, laws can be changed.

Reversing case law and changing established legislation is no easy task...ever tried it?

 

[pirogue]

Doesn't to me...sounds about like what I pay to hunt UT, AZ, NV.

Wyoming has been undervalued for a long time.

Where I went to school, Arizona’s $665 plus $160 equals $825. Not even close to a proposed $1100.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Would be nice if federal tax dollars going to manage such resources were adjusted accordingly to the States that want to limit/keep out nonresidents.

 

[BuzzH]

Where I went to school, Arizona’s $665 plus $160 equals $825. Not even close to a proposed $1100.

You aren't hunting elk in AZ every 1-3 years...factor in the 160 license the 8-10 years between AZ elk tags, you just blew past $1100...more along the lines of $2200 per elk tag.

I'm well aware of the actual cost for the 4 rifle bull tags I've drawn in AZ...it wasn't just a one time $160 license and a one time $665 tag fee.