WDFW Proposed pricing for 2011

[Special T]

Well I won't quit hunting but i can tell you I will focus more on a couple of different kinds of hunting... This last year in protest i just got my deer and elk tag only... no bear cougar.... Next year i might go back to ID so i might just get my small game and bird stuff.... I don't think anyone of us will "QUIT" hunting but instead of purchasing the full boat.... Fresh salt combo fish and hunt everything, many of us will pick what we really enjoy, or what we are sure of.... I KNOW i will kill ducks phesant and Yotes on the east side, and ducks here.... I just might wait to purchase anything else to make sure i'm going... Purchasing your tags early if your not putting in for special permits is DUMB! it gives them your money sooner so they can spend it..  Who knows maybe i should quit hunting deer and elk and just hunt Bear, Couger, Bobcats and yotes? lots cheeper... Still get to get out in the woods.... If i found a 243 12 ga over under savage like my 22lr 20 ga I'd do it in a heart beat... 

[DBake]

Use this pricing with permit drawing for all deer, elk, moose, goat, sheep, and turkey. Lower the price and extend the season on bear and couger hunting, we need to cut back on the over populated game. Oh, and open up wolf hunting.

[1bugman]

If I use this info correctly, I paid about $232.40 for all my tags, licenses, and permits this year. OUCH. Next year if I put in and get ruffly the same tings, I will be paying $302.20. NOT IN THIS ECONOMY. They're sure making hunting hard to do. Making it only for the ellite. This sucks!!!

[mulehunter]

I would wait till 2011 Season regul Book come out and look whole thur see if I feel worth put my money in. 

Small Game is only my Important list. Shoot all Coyotes!  I cant live with out SmallGame License in my wallet.


Mulehunter 

[wa.hunter]

This has been a very interesting post:
Being a hunting group and most of the comments coming in regarding the hunting  fee increases and the opposion against it in general. Is fair to actually assume that wildlife side of WDFW has done an excellent job of selling off and marketing everything that floats on the water and walks on the land to raise money? We have everything from licenses, to tags, to permits, applications for special permits, raffles, multi species raffles, auction permits, etc, etc. Now it appears the only way to raise more money is to increase fees.. Is it though??? Just a thought but why are we not marketing it if it swims? Maybe fishing should be picking up the slack or maybe I should say the shortfall in the budget.. Why is for example a 40-80# sturgeon less valueable than a turkey for example at $16 0r $18  each, or for that matter a second deer or elk at $60 each  when I get a 15 steelhead, 26 salmon, 3 sturgeon and 5 halibut on a report card for a very minimal amount of money. On top of that I get a license to fish that is basically for 365 days a year. Personally I think it is time to do a better job of marketing these other resources and give the hunters a break. Could you imagine what and over size sturgeon auction tag would bring? I bet it would blow any auction tag we currently have out of the water.

[Curly]

This has been a very interesting post:
Being a hunting group and most of the comments coming in regarding the hunting  fee increases and the opposion against it in general. Is fair to actually assume that wildlife side of WDFW has done an excellent job of selling off and marketing everything that floats on the water and walks on the land to raise money? We have everything from licenses, to tags, to permits, applications for special permits, raffles, multi species raffles, auction permits, etc, etc. Now it appears the only way to raise more money is to increase fees.. Is it though??? Just a thought but why are we not marketing it if it swims? Maybe fishing should be picking up the slack or maybe I should say the shortfall in the budget.. Why is for example a 40-80# sturgeon less valueable than a turkey for example at $16 0r $18  each, or for that matter a second deer or elk at $60 each  when I get a 15 steelhead, 26 salmon, 3 sturgeon and 5 halibut on a report card for a very minimal amount of money. On top of that I get a license to fish that is basically for 365 days a year. Personally I think it is time to do a better job of marketing these other resources and give the hunters a break. Could you imagine what and over size sturgeon auction tag would bring? I bet it would blow any auction tag we currently have out of the water.

Good points.  I think you just convinced me to quit hunting (at least in this state) for this year and go fishing instead. 

[shedcrazy]

I already bought all my liscences and tags before the price increase!!

[Special T]

I think that many people here are upset with the VALUE we get from our $$$...  As with most Government bureaucracies the only option is to raise money by increasing the price for the same set of services.... As someone in sales i can tell you that there are more than 1 way to raise $$$. I think many of us would gladly pay our share if the rules and permits were based solely on science and good business practices... Get the Governor out of the budgeting process... The fee based system of taxation is only fair IF the money we sportsman go directly to the services WE want.... ESA  and other BS should be some other agencies problem... That is how we have had Bunny huggers invade our sportsman organization..
They give us the "Sales Pitch" that it helps support the bios that we sportsman cannot afford!  Well we are getting swindled! When we search out bios for ESA work and their isn't enough grant money, we have a specialist in one area working in another?
Would you pay the top dollar to go to a Chevrolet dealership if you owned a Ford? Hell No!
We should be hiring great bios for fish and game that we can HUNT! and then if they can get a grant for some other stuff great... This happens to be the reverse of what is actually going on.   

[1bugman]

I already bought all my liscences and tags before the price increase!!

[NWWABOWHNTR]

I will wait to b uy my licenses and tags this year after I get my disablity rating from the VA,  could save me a lot of money.

[grundy53]

Format is somewhat hard to interpet at first glance, but after figuring it out, I don't think the increases are insurmountable.  I could'nt see where youth fees are going up and I think this is important to  continue to encourage young hunters.  I think we all have to understand that if we are going to hold tax increases in check, user fees are going to have to go up and, in my opinon only, this is fair.  I only wish there was a way to pass some of the game managment cost along to non hunters and fishers, as they certainly are invlovled in management issues with no way to pass on user fees to them.  

OR do what everybody else does when the run short of money...cynch up the belt, make sacrifices, cut their spending. It's not "fair" it's stupid. the voters chose to cut there taxes for a reason, This state is irresponcible with there money and they need to figure out enough is enough! 

[grundy53]

I don't get why so many people are so pissed off with license increases, the license is usually the cheapest part of my hunting season. I buy the big game combo with all 4 species for about $80. By the time I gas up my truck, buy food, gear, amo, etc I have already spent more for one trip then I do for a license! I went fishing on the Hump a couple weeks ago and it cost me $54 in gas round trip, which is more then a combo fishing license. Do you really think increasing the big game license by say $20 is really going to drop that many people off from hunting? Considering $20 is only about 7 gallons is gas these days. I know people who are unemployed who still get their combo license and hunt every weekend. Hell if they wanted to raise it by $40 if it was to go to increased enforcement I wouldnt care.

It would be interesting if you were to list all of the purchases you made for hunting season (ammo, gas, food, gear, butcher, etc) and see how that compares to your license. I am willing to bet the license would make up maybe 25% of your total spending.

You got to be freaking kidding! Yes it might not be the most expensive part but it adds up and with these increases it's getting to be one of the more expensive parts. And after spending all of that money on all the other stuff that you need for hunting season why would you want to pay even more? How about they use what they already get(which is enough) and don't waste it?  It's not just $20 that your talking about it's $20 on top of what they are already charging. it's freaking ridiculous and state sponsored extortion. 

[billythekidrock]

I don't get why so many people are so pissed off with license increases, the license is usually the cheapest part of my hunting season. I buy the big game combo with all 4 species for about $80. By the time I gas up my truck, buy food, gear, amo, etc I have already spent more for one trip then I do for a license! I went fishing on the Hump a couple weeks ago and it cost me $54 in gas round trip, which is more then a combo fishing license. Do you really think increasing the big game license by say $20 is really going to drop that many people off from hunting? Considering $20 is only about 7 gallons is gas these days. I know people who are unemployed who still get their combo license and hunt every weekend. Hell if they wanted to raise it by $40 if it was to go to increased enforcement I wouldnt care.

It would be interesting if you were to list all of the purchases you made for hunting season (ammo, gas, food, gear, butcher, etc) and see how that compares to your license. I am willing to bet the license would make up maybe 25% of your total spending.

You got to be freaking kidding! Yes it might not be the most expensive part but it adds up and with these increases it's getting to be one of the more expensive parts. And after spending all of that money on all the other stuff that you need for hunting season why would you want to pay even more? How about they use what they already get(which is enough) and don't waste it?  It's not just $20 that your talking about it's $20 on top of what they are already charging. it's freaking ridiculous and state sponsored extortion. 

It is also the most important part.

[Smokepole]

Times are hard, and I need the meat to feed my kids.  A second deer tag going up 162% is ridiculous.  I get maybe 40lbs. of meat off a unit 410 deer.  Remember, these second deer are ones you want to thin out anyway.  So that's gonna be $1.50 a lb. and I haven't even left the house yet.  I can buy store bought meat for that.  What are you thinking?

Clearly, this bureaucracy is a monster gobbling up funds.  Selling game to wealthy headhunters.  

If you must generate funds, let developers pay some of the cost of habitat management.  Hunters are the solution to balancing the game population/habitat ratio.  Don't punish us at harvest time.  Save our contributions for enforcement and conservation education & get rid of your pet programs.  We're trying to provide for our families.

I do know how these bureaucracies work, since my wife work for a federal agency.  If money goes unspent, it is considered unneeded.  So, if there is money left in the kitty at the end of the year, there is a big panic in the office to spend it quick, before the budget is cut and programs eliminated.  If they spend it all, there are no questions asked, and next year they can keep their jobs, and get a nice fat budget to piss away.

I've been a law abiding sportsman since 1970, but you are pushing me too far.  If you can't create better ways to generate revenue, then I will not be able to keep you on.  At least, I will not be able to do what you say.

I don't know how you can sleep at night.  

[wa.hunter]

I see the same thing with the big increase on the second deer tag, however why is there no increase for the second elk tag.. my guess is that the master hunter user groups that get these tags have been speaking up. If deer goes up so should elk with no favortisum to other user groups.