Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

WY moose sheep point fee increase

BuzzH

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 9, 2001
Messages
16,990
Location
Laramie, WY
Just got word from a trusted source that said the commission approved raising NR moose and sheep points to $150 each today.
 
That's ridiculous. I'm glad I was smart enough to stay out of that game.

Any whisperings on elk, deer, and antelope?
 
Wow. Are they increasing the rest of the point costs as well?

$150, man... that's $150 more than I paid for my last 8 sheep tags. :D
 
That's ridiculous. I'm glad I was smart enough to stay out of that game.

Any whisperings on elk, deer, and antelope?

Yes, they went up too...but only by a few dollars.

Its only a matter of time before they reach the statutory limit on them as well, is my guess.
 
Glad I stayed out of the WY game for the big three. That is one state that figured out how to make money off of the non-resident. Not that the others are a lot different, but WY just rubbed me wrong long ago.

Jeremy
 
I'm thinking about giving up on the NR game now that I live in Montana. There's also rumblings out of Colorado that elk licenses are going to see a significant increase soon. I think western states need to consider that they may be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. At some point NRs will get fed up with this BS. And if fewer NRs hunt out west, what do you think that will do to support for public lands?
 
I'm thinking about giving up on the NR game now that I live in Montana. There's also rumblings out of Colorado that elk licenses are going to see a significant increase soon. I think western states need to consider that they may be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. At some point NRs will get fed up with this BS. And if fewer NRs hunt out west, what do you think that will do to support for public lands?

Not to pick on you, but these comments are pretty common.

When hunters don't show up, this is what happens. As far as I know, there was only ONE group that opposed this whole fee increase package that passed the Wyoming legislature last year. I know the guy that drafted the email and sent it to every member of the WY legislature in an effort to stop it. Not to mention the phone calls and trying to amend the legislation to make it more palatable.

I've said it before, but if the hunting public does not make it a priority to fight for and advocate for their own good, don't be surprised when the world changes around you.

Yeah, I know, hunters don't have the time, they don't have the resources, they don't think they can make a difference, they're too busy, they have family, they need to take the wife on vacation, the kids have soccer camp...heard it all.

Not showing up has consequences and if hunters care about the future, its time to start making the time and showing up...simple as that.

If not, well, get used to being rolled.
 
Not to pick on you, but these comments are pretty common.

When hunters don't show up, this is what happens. As far as I know, there was only ONE group that opposed this whole fee increase package that passed the Wyoming legislature last year. I know the guy that drafted the email and sent it to every member of the WY legislature in an effort to stop it. Not to mention the phone calls and trying to amend the legislation to make it more palatable.

I've said it before, but if the hunting public does not make it a priority to fight for and advocate for their own good, don't be surprised when the world changes around you.

Yeah, I know, hunters don't have the time, they don't have the resources, they don't think they can make a difference, they're too busy, they have family, they need to take the wife on vacation, the kids have soccer camp...heard it all.

Not showing up has consequences and if hunters care about the future, its time to start making the time and showing up...simple as that.

If not, well, get used to being rolled.

I guess you could say I don't have a dog in that fight, because I can hunt my home state. I do have points and I will probably use them soon.(I'm talking elk, deer and antelope points). After that, I'm out.

I would have sent an email in opposition, but I don't recall anyone letting me know this was happening. I don't know if the WY legislature would have cared anyway. It's easy to stick it to the NRs because they aren't your constituents anyway.

None of my frustration is aimed at you Buzz so don't take it that way.
 
I guess you could say I don't have a dog in that fight, because I can hunt my home state. I do have points and I will probably use them soon.(I'm talking elk, deer and antelope points). After that, I'm out.

I would have sent an email in opposition, but I don't recall anyone letting me know this was happening. I don't know if the WY legislature would have cared anyway. It's easy to stick it to the NRs because they aren't your constituents anyway.

None of my frustration is aimed at you Buzz so don't take it that way.

I would be amazed if anything less than a large campaign contribution by a Hunters Political Action Committee (PAC) would have changed the outcome of what was a politically easy way to get more money. Face it, if NR stop applying then residents get another bucket of tags. Sure, some NR will walk or give up on a Top 3 unit and drop down to mid-tier units to burn their points but when you are hiking points 50% and 100% then you can lose 1/3 and 1/2 of applicants and still be even when count the sheep and moose point fees. You still will sell every moose and sheep tag. Heck, is only time until a goat point at $150 is put in effect for the couple or so NR tags. Political contributions pay for the perpetual primary/general election cycle and otherwise takes a huge public outcry to change a politician's vote. Hunters will not see a huge public outcry and if they do it is going to be against them.
 
To be clear on this, it was a surprise move. The Dept was asking for $2 increase on moose and $3 on sheep. The Commission found out in one question that the statutory limit was $150 total for each and the motion was made.

No one saw this coming.
 
I would be amazed if anything less than a large campaign contribution by a Hunters Political Action Committee (PAC) would have changed the outcome of what was a politically easy way to get more money. Face it, if NR stop applying then residents get another bucket of tags. Sure, some NR will walk or give up on a Top 3 unit and drop down to mid-tier units to burn their points but when you are hiking points 50% and 100% then you can lose 1/3 and 1/2 of applicants and still be even when count the sheep and moose point fees. You still will sell every moose and sheep tag. Heck, is only time until a goat point at $150 is put in effect for the couple or so NR tags. Political contributions pay for the perpetual primary/general election cycle and otherwise takes a huge public outcry to change a politician's vote. Hunters will not see a huge public outcry and if they do it is going to be against them.

I agree with you in the big 3. There's not enough tags to go around make a difference one way or another. My comments were in response to Buzz saying elk, deer, and antelope points were going up.
 
I am so thankful I opted not to join into the Big Three point game in Wyoming! I have a buddy here in Oregon who has bought 10 Moose points and is just now figuring out he will probably never draw.....unless of course this move causes a lot of people to stop buying but even then it's an expensive road.
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking about giving up on the NR game now that I live in Montana. There's also rumblings out of Colorado that elk licenses are going to see a significant increase soon. I think western states need to consider that they may be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. At some point NRs will get fed up with this BS. And if fewer NRs hunt out west, what do you think that will do to support for public lands?

I just don't think NR's will go away. Western hunting is getting more and more popular. Have you seen point creep in WY? I don't know if doubling tag prices would stop point creep there. Yea Colorado will sell a few less OTC tags if they raise their prices but I'm sure they'd still generate a lot more revenue.
 
I doubt NR numbers will dwindle. They might for a year or so, then it will once again increase. Kind of like when gas prices shot through the roof. I stopped fishing with my boat for a year, then slowly got back to making those trips. Yes, they cost more, but they had enough value to me to do it anyway. Sheep aren't getting more populated, and people will, I hope, always find them a fascinating animal to hunt.

This will have an initial, but limited effect on the NR applications.

Jeremy
 
When it comes to fee increases, tag cost etc from the perspective of a non-resident it simply becomes an exercise in supply and demand economics where each state is offering a product of varying quality and naming the price they think the market will hold. Wyoming had an 18% jump in applicants in 2017 so they have room to up their prices and they arguably offer the best overall hunting experiences of any state out west. What is $50 in the scheme of NR western hunts? No real players in the sheep advocacy game even care about the cost to hunt them. Look at the percentage of Governor's tags and pay to play outfitter tags for non-resident hunters relative to the number of tags available in North America in a given year. Very few NR's are going to sweat out a fee increase on the Big 3 game species in Wyoming especially once you consider how many of those tags nearly require an outfitter because the opportunities are in designated Wilderness areas. Wyoming G&F had the upper hand here and exercised it because no one was going to really complain.
 
That tips the scale for me. I have 7 moose points, but with over 5600 other NR applicants at the same or higher point level and my age, it is not worth it to me to keep holding on to the dream that I may get lucky. I hope Wyoming put the $525 I have already contributed in points to good use. I will continue with deer, elk & antelope as I do enjoy hunting Wyoming and at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with those points.
 
That tips the scale for me. I have 7 moose points, but with over 5600 other NR applicants at the same or higher point level and my age, it is not worth it to me to keep holding on to the dream that I may get lucky. I hope Wyoming put the $525 I have already contributed in points to good use. I will continue with deer, elk & antelope as I do enjoy hunting Wyoming and at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with those points.

What a bummer, but it's a smart choice. Honestly, your odds of applying in units with random tags available and skipping the point system all together would probably give you just as good of odds over your lifetime without playing into their scam. And it is a scam. Even the light at the end of the elk, deer, and antelope tunnel is getting dimmer every year for above average hunts.
 
What a bummer, but it's a smart choice. Honestly, your odds of applying in units with random tags available and skipping the point system all together would probably give you just as good of odds over your lifetime without playing into their scam. And it is a scam. Even the light at the end of the elk, deer, and antelope tunnel is getting dimmer every year for above average hunts.

You cant apply for a unit without paying the point fee in the random for moose and sheep. If you apply, they automatically take the point fee.
 
Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Forum statistics

Threads
110,814
Messages
1,935,401
Members
34,888
Latest member
Jack the bear
Back
Top