Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Montana Tag Sales Languish, Again...

Montana Hunting License Revenue Falls Short $3.3M

Nonresident hunting licenses failed to sell out before the application deadline for the fourth consecutive year, leading the state to offer the remaining licenses up on a first-come, first-served basis.

In 2010, a ballot initiative significantly raised prices for nonresident big game licenses. Before 2010, FWP instituted a lottery system as many more nonresident hunters applied than the state had licenses available.

Under the new prices in 2011, licenses undersold during the application period for the first time, although all the licenses were eventually sold, said Ron Aasheim, FWP administrator.

In 2012 and 2013, FWP did not sell all of the surplus licenses, and it remains to be seen if the state can sell the surplus this year.

Montana offers about 17,000 big game combination licenses and 6,600 deer combination licenses to nonresident hunters. As of Friday afternoon, more than 1,700 big game combos, nearly 1,700 elk combos and more than 550 deer combos remained.

The total undersold licenses amount to more than $3.3 million in potential revenue for FWP. Montana sells the big game combination license for $971, the elk combination license for $821 and the deer combo for $575.

FWP is considering asking the Legislature for the first fee increase to several hunting and fishing licenses since 2005, citing a $1.24 million budget shortfall.

Although several factors contributed to the shortfall, underselling licenses was �part of the issue,� Aasheim said.

Montana is below an 11 state average for resident fishing licenses and all resident hunting licenses except wolf. Nonresident hunting licenses are above the average for black bear, deer, elk, mountain lion and upland game bird, but below average for moose, mountain goat, antelope, bighorn sheep, turkey, wolf and most fishing licenses.

Montana�s big game archery season runs Sept. 6�Oct. 19; and the general rifle big game season runs Oct. 25�Nov. 30.

Good. They finally found out what folks are willing to pony up. Let the locals pony up now.

Lack of money is most likely the reason, the recession is no were near over with, let alone any sort of economic growth!

FWP wants more money? For what? In the part of the state I frequent, there are so few animals that it wouldn't take much of a staff to 'manage' them. I'd not want to pay if I was an out-of-stater either. I skipped on a cow or doe tag this year because the chances didn't look good around the time it came time to put up money. Talking to a few FWP employees at a checking station last year, they are spending a bunch of money hiring people to kill specific packs of wolves for killing livestock. What they haven't done is get a handle on the number of elk and deer the wolves have killed.

The whole affair pisses me off so bad that smoke starts coming out of my ears. And now that populations are so low in many areas, of course they aren't going to attract big-dollar spenders.

That's always a great idea no matter the product.....slow moving inventory gets a price increase.

Bwaahahahahahahaah! Remember now, this ain't the private sector.

That was my thought exactly. They want to increase prices? That should help sell more licenses
I don't know how much truth is in the article.


Some people, such as myself will pay whatever we have to, but I doubt raising prices (for residents or nonresidents) will get the FWP their desired revenue. Montana is already expensive enough for deer and elk. I wouldn't doubt it actually lowers their total revenue.

Regardless, I buy the deer combo every year. The elk combo...not so much. I hunt the Bitterroot, and don't remember the last elk I saw in the back country there. There's quite a few mule deer there though.

Happy to do so!

I'm good with keeping the non-res tags high and raising the res tags. Res tags are crazy cheap, I'd pay double what they are and not complain.

Being MT is in the hole $3M, it's pretty obvious most residents don't feel the same way you do.

+1

JGR Revenue is down 3.3 mil�..a drop in the bucket to MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, I believe one of very few agencies to have a budget surplus every year. They are all about the almighty dollar, trust me. Managing game�.not so much�.

how about letting us residents buy a second deer or elk tag at non resident prices like idaho dose, i would buy a second deer tag every year

The deer are at a massive low in population! The last thing they need to do is sell more tags! What they need to do is put them on a draw in the whole eastern third of the state before the hunting is destroyed and not after.

I'd like to see first year hunters be able to buy an over the counter tag but after that have it on a draw system.

Mudhen: I predicted this very thing would happen back when the Montana Department of Fish and Game BECAME the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and PARKS!
Indeed the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and PARKS has become a greenassed entity of which I don't have a fraction of the respect I used to have for that governmental agency.
They could care less about fish and game and maintaining healthy poupulations of such - they are now a money collecting and money stirring agency - nothing more, nothing less!
And thats a shame!
Sad.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Agreed!

if montana is gonna sell the non resident tags to non residents, and the nonresidents dont buy them, residents might as well have a crack at that pool of tags at non resident prices, montana gets the revenue,, residents get more opportunity if they wish,,,

montana decided not to sell doe tags this year in lots of region 6 and 7 there is another bite out of the budget they will complain about,
if you guys want a draw system for tags move to nevada or arizona and wait for years for a tag, montana provides lots of access as well as opportunity for us residents that i wouldnt want to change,
after the first year a kid draws a tag i would hate to see kids waiting 2-10 years to get a second tag to hunt, talk about not providing opportunity to the next generation of hunters that will make decisions for us as hunters,,

i would gladly give up my over the counter general license and go to a draw system if every kid from 10-21 years old gets a buck tag every year,

An OTC tag every year for residents doesn't do a damn bit of good if there's no deer.

The problem with gov't entities like FWP is that when they do a shytty job, they don't and can't get fired by those they answer to, their customers, like in a free market private enterprise.

F&G depts have been mucking it up in several places across the country, yet they still collect paychecks, and dept revenue for it. Incorporated gov't is the worst way to do almost everything.

Why not set quotas for all 7 regions and make them a draw. I never understood a statewide tag. How can you control the population if a hunter can hunt wherever he wants?

i understand we dont have the deer we had 4 or 5 years ago, but quit shooting every doe in the country that will help,, especially the first year after a hard winter, not 3 years later,

i have 11 muley bucks scouted up right know that will be 150-170 class 4 pointers, all on bma or public land, seen couple pushing 180 two nights ago that could meander off and on private/ public boundary,, we will see how the season goes, i am very hopeful

hell of a lot better deer hunting than in idaho the last 5 years hunting and scouting there i havent turned up a single 170 class buck,,,in a general season over the counter tag

i also understand that throughout the west i think mule deer populations are lower than what we would like, thre will probably be a day when all mule deer hunting will be by a drawing in all western states,, that will be a sad day when the managers of our deer herds let that happen,,,

JG: Yeah that's a riot! "They ain't selling....we'll raise the prices! That'll fix it!"

Fundamental rules of supply and demand don't apply to government at any level.No wonder this country is in trouble! LOL!

Did any of these bureaucrats ever go to college? Or get a degree in common sense? Hilarious.

I agree with 300STW about shooting does. I've watched non residents completely eliminate all the deer in several areas I used to hunt over the past 30 years. There should be no doe hunting on state or federal ground since they are the future of the herds. What I've seen happen is an area carries maybe 20 deer in 5 sections but after seventeen hunting parties flashing cash to the landowner are done there is absolutely nothing left. I have BMA areas close that are totally pounded to the point where there's not enough cover for a pheasant to hide in let alone a deer or elk. A group of friends apply annually for the 700 antelope tags and never intend to use them since there's hardly any thing left to shoot. I wouoldn't care if FW&P raised the local tags 10 fold if it would help and cut the number of nooresidents they think we need to cater to. As stated elswhere there are so few deer in some areas buying a tags is only donating to the state.

There are no mulies across the west. I just read a stat that the deer numbers in Colorado are almost half of what they were in 2006! Yet they won't dump the 4th season rut hunt, nor will they quit shooting does.

The Jicarilla Rez has got mulies, if'n you got the cash.

I want to make sure the f&g depts here in the west don't destroy the hunting by their poor management of the populations, both of the deer and elk, and of the predators as well. At this moment, much of what I can do is just hope. I've done plenty of non-filled tag buying the last few years. If this is what it takes, I'll do it.

I am amused by the commentary from out-of-staters on what Montana needs to do.

I always figured that if I want a say in what Montana does, I need to move there and become a resident.

The real question seems to be "Does FWP manage by dollars or by wildlife?"

This isn't the same F&G we had 40 years ago. I believe that we have more environmental people in FWP than hunters. That being the case, it would only make sense that the game would be managed to the advantage of the game, not the hunter. Although the regulations don't seem to mirror that philosophy, I really don't think that the FWP is a bunch of accountants either.

Deer numbers are down, Elk numbers are very stable, Moose are almost gone around the Greater Yellowstone area. There are lots of influences that affect game populations as well as tag sales, but I don't think they are mutually compatible.

About 4 years ago a bunch of Sportsman groups got together to put a ballot initiative out to eliminate the Outfitter sponsored licenses for out of state hunters. There is an undeniable gap between what sportsmen want vs what Outfitters want. To eliminate the sponsored tags was to get more hunting opportunities for residents and to stop the concept of the state subsidizing the outfitting business with those tags.

Since that initiative passed, the out of state sales have not made quota. Before that, there were no NR tags available. I don't think it is the economy as much as how well the outfitting business had clients lined up for hunting. As those tags go unsold, it does leave a deficit that didn't exist previously and that hasn't recovered.

Will it recover? Who knows, it will take time to wash out. In the mean time we need to be better informed on what the game populations are vs tag allotment and give input to what we have for FWP to help keep Montana's game managed to a level we have come to enjoy.

I have lived and hunted Montana all my life and I can tell you, other than moose populations, all the game in Western Montana is more abundant than it was in the mid 60's...

Must be the same folks that run the D.C. Metro system- ridership is down, so we have to raise fares and increase parking fees. That'll make 'em want to ride!

By the way, we also like to kill a few folks now and then, just to make things more interesting.

I am not from Montana but it seems to me the problem in this statement isn't the out of towner willing to pay the land owner for the opportunity.

I will refrain from armchair quarterback comments but the pooch was obviously screwed.


Did see 4 mule bucks last Monday on public land. 2-3 year olds, hope they survive the hunting season!

This time of year seeing bucks is easy.