Wyoming Senate File 103: Mar 2021 proposal to raise cost of non-resident tags

375 Ruger Fan

Gold supporter
AH ambassador
Joined
Jun 14, 2015
Messages
6,619
Reaction score
15,904
Location
Shreveport, Louisiana
Media
266
Articles
5
Hunting reports
Africa
8
USA/Canada
9
Australia/NZ
1
Member of
NRA, DSC
Hunted
Nam, Zam, Zim,RSA (Eastern Cape & NW), Canada, NZ, Alaska, TX, LA, MO, OH, MT, ID, WA, WY
I received an email from a Wyoming outfitter that I used a few years ago for a antelope hunt. It seems the state politicians wants to reduce availability of tags to non-residents and jack up the prices. Outfitters are obviously concerned as this will likely reduce the number of clients.

Wyoming Senator Larry Hicks has filed Senate File 103, a 90/10 license allocation and fee increase bill that would be devastating to your ability to draw a Wyoming big game hunting license in the future.

We need your help to contact members of the Senate Travel, Recreation and Wildlife Committee as soon as possible to share your opposition to the bill and how it would impact your ability to hunt in Wyoming. The bill will be heard by the committee at 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

Please keep your messages focused and specific to how this appalling bill will hurt your future plans to hunt in Wyoming. Please let the senators know that you have made a financial investment in preference points and license fees and remind the Senators of the positive economic impact nonresident hunters, like yourself, brings to Wyoming.

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to these Wyoming Legislators it is critical they hear from you and how a 50 percent reduction in licenses would affect your ability to hunt and Wyoming’s economy.

The Senators are listed below:

Chairwoman Affie Ellis (Cheyenne) Affie.Ellis@wyoleg.gov
Senator Mike Gierau (Jackson) Mike.Gierau@wyoleg.gov
Senator Tim Salazar (Dubois) Tim.Salazar@wyoleg.gov
Senator Bill Landen (Casper) Bill.Landen@wyoleg.gov
Senator Wendy Schuler (Evanston)
Wendy.Schuler@wyoleg.gov
 
I sent an email, we will see how this goes. Wyoming has been overly generous with non-resident tags more than any other state for a long time. Most states give about 10-20% of the their tags to non-residents, Wyoming has been one of the more generous states. We will see how this goes.
 
I sent an email, we will see how this goes. Wyoming has been overly generous with non-resident tags more than any other state for a long time. Most states give about 10-20% of the their tags to non-residents, Wyoming has been one of the more generous states. We will see how this goes.

As for someone who has been paying for preference points for 19 years, can't say I agree with you assessment on Wyoming's generosity toward non-resident hunters. Heck, almost 50% of Wyoming is Federal land, so aren't we all residents?
 
I sent an email, we will see how this goes. Wyoming has been overly generous with non-resident tags more than any other state for a long time. Most states give about 10-20% of the their tags to non-residents, Wyoming has been one of the more generous states. We will see how this goes.

When your state has the lowest population of the 50 US States non residents just might be the largest purchasers of tags in Wyoming.
 
As for someone who has been paying for preference points for 19 years, can't say I agree with you assessment on Wyoming's generosity toward non-resident hunters. Heck, almost 50% of Wyoming is Federal land, so aren't we all residents?
And in Wyoming, the better big game hunting areas on FEDERAL land require a non resident to have a guide. What is the justification for that and how do they get away with that?
 
No dog in this hunt but they are some pretty hefty increases for non residents.
 
And in Wyoming, the better big game hunting areas on FEDERAL land require a non resident to have a guide. What is the justification for that and how do they get away with that?
Only the wilderness areas.

But you can say that the outfitters association did a good job of lobbying to get that law passed.
 
I sent an email, we will see how this goes. Wyoming has been overly generous with non-resident tags more than any other state for a long time. Most states give about 10-20% of the their tags to non-residents, Wyoming has been one of the more generous states. We will see how this goes.
Colorado gives out 35 percent of it’s big game tags requiring less than six preference points to nonresidents. If more than six PP it’s 20 percent.
 
How are they going to finance the Game and Fish on what they charge residents for tags? And how are they going to pay for their new $8,000,000 G&F office building in Cody?
 
How are they going to finance the Game and Fish on what they charge residents for tags? And how are they going to pay for their new $8,000,000 G&F office building in Cody?
Building was paid for by taxpayers, same as every other state owned building in the state.
 
As for someone who has been paying for preference points for 19 years, can't say I agree with you assessment on Wyoming's generosity toward non-resident hunters. Heck, almost 50% of Wyoming is Federal land, so aren't we all residents?

I live in New Mexico, we give out 6% in an outfitter pool and 4% in a non-resident non outfitter pool. The other 90% goes to residents.

Public land is a matter of opinion, this has been debated by everyone under the sun and federal laws says that wildlife is owned by the state. You can complain about the small amount of non-resident tags if you like, but it won't change anything. The state owns wildlife, if you want a bigger piece of the pie move to Wyoming.

I have points in Wyoming as well, not as many as you do but I have been using mine along the way.

Points do not equal a shared ownership of wildlife. You bought points in hopes that at some time in the future the points would equal a tag. The points you bought are kind of like being the 30th person down in a pyramid scheme especially for sheep and moose. Due to point creep you will be lucky if your 19 points equal a tag in the next 5 years if ever. The backlog of sheep hunters continues. This year you have about a .25% chance of drawing a tag in 8, 5, 4, 3 and 2 not in any particular order. Every year more people who have been sitting on the sidelines and not applying jump in and insure that point creep pushes you down 2-3 points.

This happened to be in a unit I used to hunt antelope in as a resident. It used to take 5 non-resident points. Then last year it took 7. I had 7, but I was one of 5 people that didn't draw a tag.

If you are sitting on 19 moose points there are multiple places you could have drawn this year.

Wyoming doesn't owe us anything we don't live there or pay taxes, and the code of federal regulations outlines that states control 100% of all non-migratory wildlife. So we get what we get.

Besides as much as I hate to see the rising cost of licenses and the decrease in quotas, if I lived in Wyoming I would want more for residents. Just like I am sure if you had a natural resource where you lived you would want it aimed at residents.

Here in New Mexico these idiot residents are screaming for a points system. Just look at the problem is causes in Colorado and Wyoming.
 
My final thought on points systems comes from the movie Tommy Boy. Points systems are kind of like a guarantee on a really crappy tool, or electronics device or on a car part. I am talking about the kind made in Chinese sweat shops by workers who are paid $1-3 per day. It makes you feel good, but isn't worth anything.

True random odds programs like Idaho and New Mexico where you actually have a shot at drawing a tag are a wonderful thing. Even Wyoming's program on random odds is pretty good, albeit they don't give out as many tags that way. If you had been applying for a sheep tag for the past 19 years, you might have actually drawn one. Under Wyomings points program at 19 points, I hope you do draw a tag, but there is nothing stopping the state from changing the allocation and making the points program worthless.

Here is the quote:

Tommy:
Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why do they put a guarantee on a box? Hmm, very interesting.

Ted:
I'm listening.

Tommy:
Here's how I see it. A guy puts a guarantee on the box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.

Ted:
Yeah, makes a man feel good.

Tommy:
'Course it does. Ya think if you leave that box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter.

Ted:
What's your point?

Tommy:
The point is, how do you know the Guarantee Fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy, but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.

Ted:
But why do they put a guarantee on the box then?

Tommy:
Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for right now, for your sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality item from me.


What I am really saying is that there was never a guarantee of a tag, even though it has always been sold that way.
 
As for someone who has been paying for preference points for 19 years, can't say I agree with you assessment on Wyoming's generosity toward non-resident hunters. Heck, almost 50% of Wyoming is Federal land, so aren't we all residents?
And 24% of their budget comes federal funds.

Thank you for posting this. This pretty much will make many units once in a lifetime for non residents.
 

Attachments

  • WGFD-Revenue-Fact-Sheet_FINAL.pdf
    177.3 KB · Views: 135
That us to be wilderness areas only.
And in Wyoming, the better big game hunting areas on FEDERAL land require a non resident to have a guide. What is the justification for that and how do they get away with that?
 
And 24% of their budget comes federal funds.

Thank you for posting this. This pretty much will make many units once in a lifetime for non residents.
Your not going to get around where the funding comes from, the state owns the wildlife. This has already been decided by the Fed's years ago.
 
Building was paid for by taxpayers, same as every other state owned building in the state.
Commissioner Rael said " The Commission has planned for over a decade to build this office , and managed our operating fund so we could responsibly allocate sportsperson dollars within our means for this building."
Sure doesn't sound like it was paid for by taxpayers.
 
As for someone who has been paying for preference points for 19 years, can't say I agree with you assessment on Wyoming's generosity toward non-resident hunters. Heck, almost 50% of Wyoming is Federal land, so aren't we all residents?
I'm a Wyoming resident and land owner with over 20 moose points and the unit I live in had nonresidents draw with fewer points than I have! As a former silent partner in an outfitting operation, I fully support this bill, we have as wyoming residents protected and diverted for the Outfitters association too long!
As a non-resident you can backpack, 4 wheel, fish, hike or another activity except carry a gun or hunt
in a Wy wilderness that is federal land just to support the outfitters. Want to hunt there you need an outfitter and may need to have them sign off to buy a really expensive elk or deer tag. As a resident I can hunt wilderness so why is it safer for a resident?,,, cause we can buy a elk tag over the counter to hunt much of the state!
Do you bring a lot into the state money wise, you bet! Does this entitle you to 20-25% of the tags, if so I want 20-25% of AZ or UT to give me a tag where Ive applied to for years!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,624
Messages
1,131,353
Members
92,679
Latest member
HongPilgri
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top