Interesting Idea on NR license fees

That's funny. Part of that is about the states management. Why states like Kansas sell out of $500 WT tags in a draw and Nebraska/Oklahoma are half that and only one area in Nebraska is draw.

I prefer to have fair trade with neighbors. So for every Wyoming resident that gets a tag in Colorado the following year one Colorado greenie gets a WY tag. Same with California, Nebraska, Wisconsin, etc... Leftover tags go in the resident pool.

My focus for Wyoming is to do away with NR tags and allow resident tags to be transferrable.

lol
 
I'm inserting a rider to your bill, "Anyone owning a corgi may hunt in WY Wilderness without a guide, likewise for Sheep/Goat/Grizzly in Alaska. Corgi need not be in the field but it's encouraged."
No, that only applies to cowboy corgis in Wyoming. Not full breed. Gotta have some cow dog blood.
 
Interesting concept. I suspect the devil is in the details. Also, not many people from WY are going to come hunt in WI. I see the purpose though. For this to work, you would need 2 states that have significant crossover for the same or different species. For example (I am making this up), people from Nebraska go to WY to hunt elk and people from WY go to Nebraska to hunt waterfowl. By jacking up the waterfowl price, Nebraskans hope to influence WY to decrease their elk license.
 
Part of that is about the states management. Why states like Kansas sell out of $500 WT tags in a draw and Nebraska/Oklahoma

Or perceived management? I get that record books tell only a fraction of the story but Boone and Crocket and Pope Young both look like this:

Screenshot_20220412-154814_Chrome.jpg

Our deer tags aren’t the same value as an Iowa tag or many others IMO, and therefore shouldn’t be the same cost.

Might be a conversation for PM but why don't you think our tags on the same value as others?
 
NC has reciprocal agreements with our neighboring states. Like wllm said, it makes sense for the midwest and eastern states because you are dealing more apples to apples than NC to WY for example. A NR can get 6 deer tags, a bear tag, and 2 turkey tags for $200 here. But our deer (and probably bear) density is much greater than WY. Plus the demand for our tags is way lower. Plus, how would this work for states that don't have the same species. What does a GA resident pay for an elk tag in CO under this structure?

As much as I would selfishly like to see NR prices come down for me, I think it is a way better option to have each state set its own prices and form reciprocal agreements as necessary/warranted.
 
So I think this is the right place for this. I was just filling out our states (WI) annual spring conservation congress survey.

And one of the submitted questions got me thinking. And figured I would pose the question here.

The question read: Would you support the state changing the fee for NR licenses to reflect what the hunters home state charges for NR. For example a WI NR deer tag is $160 where as an IA NR tag is $644. And MN NR is $185. So should WI charge any IA resident wanting to hunt WI the $644 where as a MN hunter would only be charged $185.
I'd agree with this. Means it would be free for me :)
 
Might be a conversation for PM but why don't you think our tags on the same value as others?

Fair call-out. To me, the tags are almost priceless actually- I live for late October/ early November in hardwoods here in WI with a bow in my hand. I would pay $10k a year to bow hunt my own state, it’s that important to me. Dead serious.

I think for most people though, the chance to get a truly mature deer, especially on public land, is way better in Iowa, etc. Wisconsin hands out tags to anyone and everyone and the public here gets pounded (I hunt 100% public and yes, there is still some decent hunting but it’s pounded).

So to answer your question more succinctly, I would say relative lack of scarcity of the opportunity as well as relatively low quality makes our WI whitetail tags less valuable than many others.
 
Is someone in Wisconsin mad at Iowa?
Always. But none of us can figure out why? :) Meanwhile, I'd trade my Iowa tags for Wisconsin tags any day of the week.

As for Iowa Deer Management - exactly what is that? I don't really see them managing in any ways that are actually costly and justify an enhanced fee. We have almost no public land, so there is not much to do anyway.

Iowa probably has high NR tag prices because
1. When hunters have asked for increased RESIDENT tag prices, that has been denied as increased taxation - which cannot happen according to the party in power.
2. When the DNR has desperately needed money and there have been funds available, the same party cuts their budgets.
3. A month ago Iowa cut income taxes some more through 2026. Don't expect to see NR tags cheapen up anytime soon.
 
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