I don’t want you to misunderstand and think that I disagree with all your activities and positions. In the time I took to research, we share some common ground.
I guess I fail to see how advocating for a 90/10 spilt vs. 80/20 split in tag allocation creates a bigger pie vs. giving residents a bigger slice of the same pie.
Once again, residents should have better opportunity in their State than non-tesidemts I am not arguing that point. The flip side of that is that when non residents buy tags at non resident prices they are throwing a lot of monetary support toward whichever State the are buying tags in. Discounting that contribution seems a bit silly to me.
But hey, what do I know? I am just a guy who likes to hunt in and enjoy new landscapes that is willing to pay through the nose to do it.
Hey what do I know about this issue?
For starters, even though I've stated it over and over again, NR's need to put their listening ears on. From here on out, I'm only going to cut and paste this thread in regard to 90-10.
To address the money issue, NR's do contribute more of the LICENSE revenue in WY, but not the over-all budget. Look it up, I'm not a secretary.
If you believe money is the answer to these problems, you'd be wrong. I just listened to the commission meeting, where Doug B. made the comment that they've just thrown 9 million into mule deer to improve herds. The GF is currently sitting on about a years worth of surplus funding...meaning we have a surplus of right around 50-60 million according to the Director last time I met with him during a roundtable discussion.
So, yes, all States appreciate the NR contribution of money, but its not fixing the woe's of wildlife and if money really was the key to solving the issues then I'd address you to look at bighorn sheep management. We've spent a metric chit ton of money to "build a bigger pie"...and all I'm seeing is money going out, and tags being reduced. If money per animal spent created a bigger pie...we'd be swimming in bighorns. But, we aren't.
Another thing to keep in mind is that NR's in Wyoming under a 90-10 bill would NOT lose a single full priced elk tag...not one. Regulation sets 7,250 full priced tags going to NR's. All 90-10 would do is shift more tags into the general pool and tag 6% of the LQ tags from NR's. But, the net loss would be ZERO. If NR's can't be happy hunting on perhaps THE BEST general tag in the United States for elk...well, too bad, go somewhere else. When it comes to the LQ tags, I won't apologize for wanting 1,000 more Residents to enjoy those tags than a NR. The other states I apply for elk in, UT, NV, AZ (formerly MT) all hold me to 10% or LESS of their tags. That's fine with me. We also have to quit looking at this in the short term...1000 tags a year doesn't increase draw odds, but its 1000 more Residents that get to enjoy LQ elk hunting. Over 10 years, that's 10K more residents that reap the rewards of what they put up with to live here....and that is significant, on all counts.
Yes, NR's will lose 15% of their sheep tags, meaning that 30 or so more Resident sheep hunters get the chance. Again, they've earned it, they've lived here, they shop locally year round, they support wildlife year round. Again, the odds don't increase significantly, but over 10 years, 300 more Residents would get to hunt sheep. That is significant to 300 Residents.
Same with moose, goats, and bison...every state that has those species limit NR's to a range of from ZERO to 10% of their tags. Its not unreasonable for Wyoming Residents to expect the same.
I would recommend at this time to leave LQ deer and LQ pronghorn at current allocations. Being that NR's are receiving OVER their allocation of both...I don't see why there would be any belly-aching. I can tell the NR's, that their whining about 90-10 in regard to full priced LQ elk, moose, sheep, goat, and bison...has resulted in many R's now just pushing for ALL tags to go 90-10.
I've said it a lot, and I believe that NR's have had it way too good, for way too long in Wyoming. Wyoming's generosity has turned into NR's thinking they're entitled to something. That entitlement has led to a false premise that NR's think Residents are a bunch of assholes for wanting to change the allocations to benefit our citizens. We want what the rest of the Western States Residents enjoy...and that's not an unreasonable expectation.
Well, the times have changed...and changed a lot. In spite of adequate funding, increased studies, all that...our herds just aren't doing as well. Meaning that there just isn't the wildlife available to share. This year, almost 10K less pronghorn tags than issued in 2020. That number down over 20K pronghorn tags that were issued in 1990. We've lost about 1k pronghorn permits a year over the last 30 years. If this trend continues, expect R's to reduce NR allocations. Again, I'm going to work on ways to favor the Resident hunters and make sure they aren't on the side-lines while a NR takes their place. I wouldn't expect a Resident of AZ to increase my allocation of tags just so they could watch me hunt one. I would also expect less opportunity to change to favor Residents in tough times, including reducing the NR allocations.
So, the facts point out that a vast majority of the NR complaining about 90-10 is about nothing more than WHERE they hunt, not a drop in total tags. Region wide NR general deer tags, no impact under 90-10. All 7,250 full priced tags, no change in total tags under 90-10. As pointed out, NR's get over-allocations of pronghorn, LQ deer, cow/calf doe/fawn deer and pronghorn already. Yes, 10% loss of moose, goat, and bison and 15% of the sheep quota. Those rare hunts should be 90% resident opportunity. Not much to complain about, and I would just recommend those that would quit applying under 90-10 good luck in the other Western states that provide vastly less opportunity. In particular opportunity with any quality.
Finally, under 90-10 building a bigger pie will benefit both NR's and R's, and it is a goal we all need to focus on. IMO/E, building that bigger pie has much more to do with local involvement, that Residents shoulder a vast, vast majority of, than a NR cutting a check every year, or 3 or 5 to whack a big-game animal.
But, like I said, what would I know...I'm just the guy blowing vacation days, money, fighting crap legislation, attending meetings, putting thousand of miles on my vehicles, taking time away from hunting, family, etc. etc. on top of taking shit from all angles working for wildlife here in Wyoming. Wish I could just cut a check for a NR tag once every 1-5 years and skip the real work...
Carry on...