Following these threads on multiple forums. Some of my takeaways..........:
Yes some of the NR complaints come off as whiny -no doubt some are. Maybe I have been in the past for all I remember. But I think when money is involved, it adds stress and its hard to adequately put the legitimate portion of your frustration into words.
Some otherwise truly knowledgeable and reasonable residents come off a bit harsh, and less often (but not never) actually nasty - i think it is not their normal character, or I hope it is not. A surprising number have an "oh well, not my problem. Don't like it, don't come" attitude. I think this infighting is sad and misses the point. I have generally really enjoyed my face-to-face interactions with residents of all the western states I've been, and I don't recall leaving any bad feeling about me with them. In person at least. We're not so different, you see.
NR should know by now, and expect they will pay, and be happy to pay reasonably more than residents. And all the arguments about how much we contribute to the local economy are getting tired. Let's focus on the issue at hand, licence/tag fees and less so application fees...so the question is, "how much is too much?"
Residents are right that no matter the cost, most if not all NR licences will get sold. So should that be a good thing? Shouldn't costs reflect some kind of realty other than simple ability to pay? I think so. Lessening hunter involvement and interest at lower economic brackets is not good for conservation. I would never have gotten started if times were like this. I wouldn't care as much about the issues. My 2 cents is worth little, but multiplied by thousands of far-flung people across this great country, it can amount to a powerful voice for conservation of western habitats for us and our children's children, and even for our non-hunting neighbors.
Don't forget there is no natural law or very wide moat protecting residents from unreasonable fee increases in the future. So cost control should be a deeply shared interest.
Most people seem to think that DOW has no option to otherwise limit interest, or numbers... but they COULD just limit tags. They CHOOSE not to. Based on a tempting pot of money which they realistically and unfortunately will not exhaust anytime soon. That's the reality, for sure, but it doesn't NEED to be. That said, unlikely to change with us all so fractured. Again, sad.
In a nutshell - NR feel deeply, or at least I do, the just because fees CAN be raised to eye-watering levels... doesn't mean they SHOULD be raised. I beleive there is a sometimes hard to define moral and ethical issue entwined in this and to say otherwise is to turn your back on the history of American conservation, and the importance of encouraging, not discouraging, access to public lands for the pursuit of public hunting. If anyone chooses to turn their backs on their fellow hunters so, easily, don't be surprised when backs are turned to you.
We are all residents of 1 state and NR of 49 others. This issue is not east - vs west. Or north -vs- south. Over here, we have some prolific hunting in the east. You can come here, pay 125 bucks or so and shoot several bucks and all the does you can carry. Turkeys? Included in PA licence, maybe 20 bucks or so in NJ. Your welcome to do it. We have bays and ocean beaches and you are welcome to grab some sun in the summer or go crabbing or grab a surf pole and try your hand at stripers or blues, or hit the boats for a trip to the gulf stream for tuna if you want. Night out on the town in NYC after a day of blue-ribbon trout fishing or kayaking on the upper Delaware? Feel like catching a land-locked salmon or two? It isn't like it's hell on earth here. Camping ? Hundreds of options. Hiking? Ever heard of the Appalachian Trail. For any of these things it will truly cost you only nominally above what a resident might pay, if at all. We don't have much elk (though growing in PA, KY, WV and elsewhere) or the Rocky Mountains of course so we enjoy coming out to you for that. Most of us go home after. Some come back permanently and become residents (I have not heard too much positive talk about THAT but that's for another day.... ha ha).
Final point. I am not bitter and withdrawn over the fee increases, I am applying in several states and paying up to do so. Happily? Maybe not as happy as I COULD be. But still fortunate for the opportunity, hell yeah. But maybe I'd feel better about the future of the sport, as I see it, if it wasn't slipping out of the grasp of so many.
So good luck to all in their hunts, be they near or far. And may 2019 be the year we like-minded hunters of the mighty elk try harder to come together, rather than act like so many other whiny or snippy or negative or hopeless groups There's plenty of those already. Let's not let R/NR be the equivalent of what Rep/Dem is in politics.
