Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game "Governor's" Permits & Similar in the West

I'm putting together a small presentation for a course I'm currently taking on Governor's and Raffle Permits for big-game in the West. Can somebody point me towards some credible sources of info? Google searches are coming up a little bit fruitless.

Thanks,

Tanner

For Oregon

Controlled hunt info

Raffle

G' luck w/ others ..

Tom

What do you want to know specifically? The tags generate a lot of money and controversy. If you want to talk to the owner of the bighorn auction permit here in CO to get a hunters perspective let me know and I'll get you in touch with him.

google "spider bull in Utah" or "Antelope Island mule deer hunt" and you'll get all the money & controversy you care to handle

Tuner,

I'm with Drummond; what info are you trying to get?

I know the guy that bought the Colorado Governors deer tag the last two years. If you have any specific questions, I'll ask him for you and PM you. I doubt he'd discuss stuff like that with a stranger.

Those tags go at auction and the amounts are tremendous (upwards of $350K)

Google Doyle Moss and Denny Austad. They're the main pimps in Utah, and no, it's not hunting. For starters they shoot animals on what is pretty much a game preserve, preseason, or better yet, on the winter range. Then you have the Moss Posse on every ridge, and the so-called hunter flies in, pulls the trigger, and mugs for the camera.

The Spider Bull is a prime example and you can't convince me that wasn't a pen raised bull. A 500" bull doesn't go unnoticed on public land in Utah.

I'm pretty well aware of Doyle Moss and his techniques, but I'm not looking to make a presentation solely about it. It will definitely be brought up, though, because that seems to be the direction some of these tags are headed. I know my hometown has about had enough of Mossback and the like.

Tanner

Wyo. has these Tanner, but I know little about them.. Except one of the local guides put the hurt on a small sheep hunting unit, buy getting his wealthy clients to buy a gov. permit.. They are good in any unit, so he really hurt a unit near my home..

Tanner,
Many states have these type of tags. I know many don't agree with them but they do provide $$$ for the state. I wish the funds were a bit more directly used though. For instance all the money from say a mule deer gov tag goes directly back to improving mule deer habitat or deer fencing along the highway or some other deer project instead of into the main fund.
What specific states are you looking at and what info are you still needing?

How do you know this doesn't happen in other states?

Tanner,

I know a fair bit about the Wyoming Governors tags.

For starters, theres already been some misinformation posted in regard to the units that are open in Wyoming. The Governors tags are NOT valid in units that offer under a certain number of sheep or moose tags, IIRC its at least 10. I'd have to look that up to be sure, but at any rate, there is a minimum number of public tags that must be offered before a Governors tag is valid in the unit.

In Wyoming, the tags are distributed to different sporting groups to Auction and/or raffle. Typically, sheep groups get the sheep tags, moose groups the moose tags, etc. Wyoming statuate allows the seller of the permits to keep 10% of the sale price. The remainder is given back to the State to fund on-th-ground projects.

The funds are kept in seperate "accounts" based on species. For instance the money raised by Governors Sheep tag sales are kept seperate from say the Governors Elk tag sales. There is Sheep, Moose, Deer, Elk, and all-wildlife "accounts". The all wildlife account is funded by each of the deer, elk, moose, and sheep accounts kicking in 10% to the all-wildlife account.

The sheep, moose, elk, deer, and all-wildlife each have a committee of 5 people that look over the grant proposals and decide whether to fund them.

The funds are distributed via grants to specifically fund research, projects, habitat improvements etc. specific to each animal. Some grant proposals ask for money from several of the accounts/committees (say a fence removal project in an area that has moose, elk, and deer present). The proposal may ask for money from the moose, elk, and deer committees. Each committee decides whether the project should be funded, partially funded, or not funded at all.

The Governors tag program in Wyoming typically funds around $500,000-$600,000 in wildlife projects.

The program is audited and every cent is accounted for.

Not all States are as diligent in the way the money is handled from the Governors tag sales.

If you want my opinion, I very reluctantly think that Governors tags have a place in Western States Game Management. They do raise a lot of money that is needed to fund research, projects, habitat, etc. However, these tags should be very tightly regulated in number, tightly audited, and there needs to be extensive State Government over-sight.

What I dislike about the tags is that its just another step in the privatizing of public resources. It also highly commercializes wildlife and hunting as well. Further, you're encouraging a system that rewards the Johnie-come-latelys with fat wallets to jump to the head of the line for premium tags.

Whats often forgotten is the undeniable fact that every big-game herd in the country has gotten to this point WITHOUT the fat-wallet crowd. The average, DIY, every day hunter has paid nearly all the freight thats brought back wildlife to the point where its at today.

IMO, theres too much credit given to the fat-wallet hunter when they buy a Governors tag. Conversely, there is not enough credit given to the average guys that paid the entire bill for wildlife for several decades before a Governors tag existed.

Buzz

Actual facts regarding the system does not lead to further hysteria and hype that is fun to read on a internet forum, thanks for nothing

$350,000 for a single tag would equal what, 700 Non-resident hunting tags at $500/each? That's a lot of cash going into the state coffers!

Sometimes the good guys do get rewarded. For one fella I know the Governor�s elk tag was a real good thing.

This guy runs a small sporting goods store. He does OK and he loves to hunt but he can�t afford expensive guided hunts for himself. He hunts DIY often on public land. He is first in line to sponsor any worthy cause. For years he has been very generous about donating prizes from his shop to RMEF, DU, trout unlimited, pheasants forever, etc. etc � you get the picture.

A couple years back he bought a raffle ticket for five bucks that turned out to be the winner in a statewide Governors elk tag drawing. He selected a unit that required many preference points and spent a handful of weekends driving across the state to hunt it - one of Colorado�s premier units. Eventually he got a real nice trophy bull. I think everyone that knows him was real happy for his success.

I think it is important to clarify how the tags are obtained ie Lottery/Raffle or Auction. Also, where did the tags originally come from, were they created for the drawing/auction or taken from the general pool.

There can be a lot of smoke and mirrors in this area. Often much of that smoke and mirrors comes from the group that gets to keep a portion of those funds for "administrative fees".

In short, there needs to be a lot of transparency and accountability.

Buzz, JR, Alamosa, thank you guys for the help on the topic. I've found a couple sources to stem from and should have a decent amount of info to present.

I appreciate your time.

Tanner

One question I've got that may be stupid is- How do these permits end up from being in the Governor's control into the hands of organizations for raffle/sale?

Tanner

In California for the 13 auction tags non-profits need to submit a request and proposal to the state to be able to auction the tag off.

Look up First Nation Kluane Dall Sheep Tag. Probably the best example of pay to play but if you can play my god what a good sheep you will get.

Sincerely,
Thomas

The general theory behind the so-called Governor's tags is that state lets a non-profit auction them off and the money returns to the state. Because the bidder writes his check to the non-profit, he sees a nice charitable contribution on his tax filings.

In many states, there are matching tags for raffle for each tag that is auctioned. That is how a few regular Joes get primo tags each year.
Can't wait untill the IRS taxes them the value of the tag based on auction prices/