Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska New license fees

I know they were passed a while back, but I just got my copy of Caribou Trails the mail and saw them there.

Resident hunting went from 25 to 45 bucks

NR caribou tag doubled to 650

Doesn't affect me (permanent geezer license).. Just thought someone out there might need a bit of sticker shock to jar them out of the political thousand yard stare.

I guess other tag fees likely went up too but they were not covered in the flyer.

Hunting/trapping/fishing went up to $95

I love my lifetime geezer license!

From what I heard everything doubled NR wise... means we will have to take a different tac this coming fall, but thats ok too.

Its never easy to handle a double in a fee, when they should have been creeping up all the time.. but its life. 4 years hopefully till residency and it'll get a bit easier. LOL.

Well the increases were overdue. Its been 20 years since anything changed up there.
As long as F&G gets the money for management and research - its well worth it.
Yes the NR's get hit hard but that was destined to occur. In the lower 48, the NR's pay the freight too. You have to set goals and stick with them. No one is getting younger and nothing is getting any cheaper. I am glad I got up there as much as I did and look forward to a few more.

Somewhere I've heard you can buy your hunting license at this year's price if bought before 1/1. Your NR game tag would be purchased when you get in AK and that would be the 2017 price.

I doubt that because you have to wait until the new licenses are printed and they will reflect the new prices... but I might be wrong, especially if you factor in the internet access...

There just might be a workable angle...

I heard on the radio that you can purchase 2017 licenses at 2016 prices online until Jan 1st, when the hikes go into place.

I'll buy mine when I put in for the draw. Surprised they haven't jacked those prices up too.

btw, the $300 for a Sitka Blacktail tag is crazy.

Keep in mind that sbts are so rare in most of the state as to make them threatened/endangered, so consider yourself lucky. 😜

Perspective for you. NR deer prices in the Lesser 48

Arizona $315
Colorado $376
Nevada $240
Utah $268

This does not include application & license fees which can be substantial.

I know the prices. I like our Sitkas, but I'd not put them on par with a western mule deer. Especially when you consider the cost/logistics to come hunt them.

$300 for an OTC Sitka, which residents are handed 4-6 tags for nothing, is crazy.

Okay, you win. I got a special itch for muleys.



Utah and/or Colorado for me in 2017. Have significant points built in both states.

I would not have an issue with the state charging for resident harvest tags...

IMO, they missed the boat with an across the board doubling. I can see sheep, bb, moose, and goat but the secondary species will suffer a decline in sales which will offset some of the gains made. A more modest raise in prices of the secondary species would have kept tags sales the same and preserved the gains made with the more glamorous species.

Lots of NR folks want to hunt SBTs.

I'm sure that after the year Kodiak is having they will. (grin)

Time will tell, but I'm not optimistic that doubling the tag fees across the board will have the effect they wanted it too.

I don't see tag fees as being a deterrent to non res hunters. Between air fair and incidentals they've already spent a minimum of a couple grand to get get up here and get a license, I don't see an additional $150 for a SBT tag as being a deciding factor whether or not they come up. Now if most hunters were getting multiple tags and now they only get one tag, I see your point, but time will tell.

A fair number of guys would pick up a SB, blackbear, or wolf tag when chasing other species, and those tags would go unfilled. Basically free money for the state. I guess we just wait and a see if they are willing to pay $450 for a black bear tag in case one wanders into camp. I'm never a fan of big knee jerk raises in prices.

My family members and buddies down south who would come up and hunt deer are pretty shocked at the new price and have mentioned they'll probably cut down on the amount they come up. That not only cuts down an tag/license revenue, but cuts the amount of dollars they would bring with them.

It also reduces hunting pressure...

I hear 'they're' paying 16-year-olds a living wage for flippin' burgers in some places so this ought to be no problem as the rest of the work force keeps pace.

Regardless it is what it is, and likely it needed to be done. As we've said, like gas prices, an overnight double really sucks... its easier when it gradually increases every year like it should more or less.

Costs us about 700 to fly both of us up. Truck is free. 200 bucks of fuel. 85 buck license and 450 buck tag, it was a reasonable way to hunt. Fishing was reasonable too, now we'll have to back off a bit and hunt and fish smarter.

Yet others that spend lots of cash on the trip, this won't matter in the least.

Regardless, whats the value of being in this great land you have up there? Priceless in many ways.

Do you think doubling the cost of an R tag which isn't much to start with will slow much of anything down? I'd think it would slow down the DIY cheapsters like we are that are NR, and not even make locals think twice basically. Especially since they have thousands in gear/gas time off etc... spent on a hunt to start with.?

If the money goes ONLY to fish and game, its not so bad really, as long as no one else rapes the funds...

Doubling the cost of most "tags" would still result in a free tag.

Regardless (say you increased it to $50/animal), I think the only impact it would have is that people would actually think before they picked up their tags, so there'd be fewer tags floating around in the wallets of people with no intention of hunting that particular species.

Man fellas , that's absolutely nothing. I'm too ashamed to disclose what I've spent on deer hunting here in Texas in the last 6 years and what I got in return. I recall saying many times that they needed to raise the price of resident licenses and tags a while back. Still one heck of a bargain!

Did anti hunters licenses go up? Them chit eaters should contribute also.

Truth 😎

TX resident license is around 70 bucks IIRC, its super combo, 6 deer tags, 4 turkey tags, archery stamp, fishing stamp, saltwater stamp, state duck stamp 1 oversize redfish tag and I think thats about it.

Not sure what the NR price is for tags though. But broken down per tag ours is cheap still. LIkely to cheap IMHO.

But paying to hunt here isn't cheap although there is enough public access that folks don't use thats either free or around a 50 buck public permit cost.

The scenery pales in comparison though. But i"m glad of the fact we can still afford a lease in the hill country.

I'd like to know if commercial fishing licenses went up since they seem to be stealing a huge chunk of bear food.

I bought my 2017 nonresident license and tags online today at the 2016 prices. Saved a nice chunk of cash, but like others have said, I would have paid the new prices and been glad to do it.

I'm getting mine 1st of next week.

Are Brown Bear tags mailed? Nothing to print after I payed on line, figure the locking tags are mailed but the paperwork also?

I see where there is an option to buy 2018 licenses as well, has anyone tried doing this to see if someone could get the next 2 years worth at the lower price?

Well I gave it a shot and it worked, you can also buy 2018 licenses at the current prices. Just an FYI.

Crap... I should do 2018 too.. Not sure I can talk myself into it right now though.. but 2017 is done.

I tried to buy the 2017 license at Sportsman's today. They said they couldn't sell any 2017 licenses till after January 1rst. I came home and bought it online.

I'll do it online for the old price as well but can't see spending $300 + to shoot a blacktail.

They probably don't have there vendor books yet. Plus they would loose a tiny bit of extra commission

I got my locking tag in today's mail.

Mine was in the mail last week.

Species?

swamp donkey as usual for me.

My tag is for a grizzly.

Good luck fellas!

Six and a half hours left...

Bought my annual fishing, hunting and 1 deer tag. I'm going to hold out for a lunker instead of tender vittles.

King stamp didn't go up so I'll get that in few months.

You cotton rock sucker!!

Now you're just being mean!

Got my locking Br Bear tags in the mail and paperwork. Paperwork looks different from the old stuff.