Well said NJ. My son in law would like to hunt elk, but when you add the travel costs and time to the license which will be: Small game $80 Habitat $10 App fee $9 Elk license $660 Actual cost: $759. For a 5 day season.
It’s not trivial, and is slipping away from some income levels. Do that to enough people and they’ll no longer care as much about those public lands.
I don’t know the answer, but I wonder how much of the fiscal pressure is tied to DOW being merged with parks.
I still think the requirement to purchase a small game license in order to apply is complete BS. Their reasoning is “The qualifying license is intended to ensure hunters are not accumulating preference points without otherwise making a financial contribution to wildlife conservation in Colorado.”. Explain to me why the mere act of a PP requires making a financial contribution to conservation? The $660 license and $10 habitat tag aren’t enough of a contribution in the years you actually use the resources?
