We as hunters wanted the $40 dollar increase on the 2nd deer tags. Read

[Mr T]

I think I would be a lit less frustrated, ticked, etc. if the increase did not happen after the drawing.  Seems like slimy business to have the price cranked up after applying for the tag.  Feel like I was taken advantage of by the 'ol "bait and switch".  How much beef can I buy from the butcher for the price of the 2nd deer tag, application fee, and service fee?

[lokidog]

Quote from BIGTEX  "There are some second deer permit hunts that don't meet the quota for permits, especially on the islands. I wish WDFW would sell off the permits that were not drawn, like in other states. There is a nice chunk of change that WDFW never gets because the fact too few people put in for a hunt. Any $ helps in these economic times."

They don't meet the quota because they are PRIVATE land areas and most land owners do not want unknown yahoos hunting in their YARDS as that is where the bulk of the animals reside, not in large foodless tracts of forest.  By raising the prices for tags in these areas, they will never reach the quotas and remove the numbers of deer that the biologists "desire".  Especially on some of the smaller islands where the deer are smaller than average.  There is no way in Hell I am going to pay $60+ dollars to harvest ONLY a doe and get 20 to 30 pounds of meat!!

If WDFW had the best interest of the animals AND hunters (the people who presumeably pay their salaries) they would take factors like the needs and desires of LOCAL landowners into consideration.

[winshooter88]

If you really want to get mad, ask yourself why the general fund attributable to WDFW is going away.  I sat next to a very pregnant unwed lady the other day who told me in great detail how she is getting the state to pay for her upcoming birth.  Her second.  Both paid in full by taxpayers.

This is at the request of WDFW.

WDFW wants to be more self-reliant on their budget. They want to get a smaller portion of their budget from the General Fund and more from the Wildlife Fund. This is why this year several licenses fees were moved from going into the General Fund to the Wildlife Fund.

Sorry Bigtex, but I have talked with Phil Anderson, Dave Ware and Nate Pamplin about these cuts and they all said that the cuts came straight from governor Gregoire as part of trying to reduce the deficit. None of them said that they didn't want any money from the general fund. They said that they would like all the money from tags, licenses and permits and money from the general fund. The reason they want money from the general fund is because the money from licenses, tags and permits isn't enough to fund all the things that are required of the WDFW.

[Special T]

"All the things required of the WDFW" and there is the hook. I believe that if the WDFW focused more on its CORE responsibilities then they could fund themselves. 

Lots of business have had to tighten the belt and figure out its CORE objectives  are, what their customer really want, and shed good parts of their businesses that are no longer relevant. 

[Curly]

WDFW should be getting money from the General Fund since they are spending a lot of money on wolf management (or should I say lack of management  ).  Anyway, WDFW is getting pulled in a lot of directions that I don't believe us sportsmen should be paying for.

[winshooter88]

Mr T, the fee increases were announced early this spring, but they didn't take effect until September 1st. If you had bought your second deer tag before 9/1/2011 you would not have had to pay the higher price. Maybe you should sign up for the WDFW e-mail list so that you get all the information that they dispense.

[Little Chief]

Here is the fact of the matter folks the WDFW has done all of us a huge disservice and they’ve acknowledge this error. They should be held accountable in a court of law with class action suit for failing to communicate these increased fees in timely and meaningful manner.  By omitting the license fees from the regulations they prevented hunters from making an informed decision regarding special draw permits. How much revenue might the state have lost if they would have communicated these changes in the published regulations? What did we as hunters pay for special draw permits this year, $6.00? On average how many special hunt applicants select multiple draw opportunities based on species, quality, and let’s face it freezer space. How many of us wouldn’t have even bothered to submit for these tags would we had known about these increased fees. I would venture to guess that this number could reach into the thousands.       
They compounded this issue by failing to communicate directly with those hunters privileged enough to receive these permits. Many of you like myself will not even consider purchasing my second deer tag and until I have filled my first.  For some it’s a financial commitment for other it’s an ethical issue but inevitably I guarantee that the State of Washington is well aware of when second deer tags are purchased.  This premeditated manipulation of the fees was engineer to drive revenue and in my opinion they’ve admitted to as much. 
They had the resources and means to communicate with us directly regarding these changes and they failed to do so. In any other line of business this would be seen as an unacceptable practice, so why should the state be any different? Sure we can contact our local politician, we can gripe at our local game management representative, or we can complain to one another about how unfairly we’ve been treated. In my opinion I think we could accomplish much more as a collective body of Washington sportsman and bring into question legitimacy of such manipulative business practices. We can’t make up the rules as we go, why should the state be allowed to?       

[Special T]

LC I don't think a class action suit is the answer. We have been making our voice heard.(or have been trying to) So our next best option is voting our $$$. The don't have to listen to what we say, but they are FORCED to listen to the $$$. They have ignored our words for a long time, they can only ignore our spending habits for so long before there is a change in leadership.

Curly Unfunded mandates is the root of many political problems. the WDFW should prioritize its spending and actions. No funting no work... If hunters are paying the freight, well then they get the programs.

[Jack Diamond]

 

[buckfvr]

Yea I feel like maybe were just living in to different worlds, I drew a modern doe tag this year and also am a master hunter  so if I do not fill my general tag I can take a doe in December. I have landowners calling me asking if I want to come out to their place and shoot a doe. Offering me a 6 pack if I do. Granted i'm not trying to boast but it just seems to me the 3 GMU's in which I hunt in have more than enough deer to not only withstand the current special permits but also would be great if they increased them as well.  I am no wildlife biologist so I might be off with that comment but when I go on a 5mile drive and see 47 white tails just from the road that maybe game management needs to be adjusted a little bit.



I can also road trip and see many, many whitetails on private lands.  I have permission to hunt a good deal of it near my place, and  going from the seat of your truck to the walk about in the woods.........even adjoining lands will at times be void of deer.....noticeably so when they have gone to the fields.

It is difficult for traveling hunters to get permission to hunt local farms and ranches, not as bad for those who live in the area, but still not easy.  My own observations and advice would be to not take deer you see on private properties into account when considering more tags/permits.  Trespassing signs are abundant and in many cases equal sanctuary.

Its more about changes in management practices.....from managing totally for revenue, to REALLY caring about our game animals, and managing for healthy herds.

Save some budget monies?  Many ways to achieve that, like doing away with multi-tasking and letting our game wardens be just that.....quit spending money on all the latest tactical and commando gear, and spend more time in the woods, like they did years ago.   Getting politics out of the game management business would change many things for the better.  THe political arm of WDFW, IN MY OPINION, prevents our wardens from contributing  to the well being of our herds. 

[180-GRAIN]

With prices like that its no wonder we have problems with poaching! I will be putting in for less tags next year for sure. This state is rediculous in there way of thinking. I will probably be moving soon to. Its getting to the point where a washington resident pays about the same to hunt as a non-resident in different states. They better rethink there price increases or i would say within the next couple years they will be having more wildlife violations on there hands then they will be able to handle.