Pretty steep increase. Once again, hunters funding conservation. So long as hunters benefit I guess we can take it.
I've only hunted on the Little Pend Oreille USFWS refuge here in WA. That seems like a pretty good one with plenty to do out there. Went down to Arizona to the Kofa and Cibola refuges a few times. As far a waterfowl at Cibola, it was a train wreck of regulation, lottery drawings, and lack of access to anything productive... pretty dismal experience. Both Kofa and Cibola were primo big horn, mule deer, quail and cougar habitat though (if you ever come up with a tag).
I'll tell you what though, in AZ I met two USFWS patrol officers or rangers. One was responsible for Cibola and the other Kofa. That was it, they had zero backup. The patrolled entirely solo and dealt with all kinds of craziness from poachers to Mexican drug mules. They were both like 6'6", 225 of pure muscle, and armed to the teeth with kick-ass trucks. These guys meant business and certainly looked to be the right guys for the job.
