From the Missoula paper today.....
Interest in big-game licenses and permits is up about 20 percent over last year, but a lot of out-of-state tags will go on sale this Monday.
Drawing results for non-resident hunting licenses and resident special permits were released on Wednesday after an earlier-than-usual drawing deadline of March 15. The schedule shift should give hunters much more time to schedule vacations and other travel plans, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim.
“I think because of all the publicity (about the March 15 filing date), we woke up some folks who’d usually forget about it,” Aasheim said.
This year, 43,195 Montana residents entered the drawing for restricted elk permits, along with 7,637 non-residents. Another 20,746 Montanans sought special permits for mule deer, along with 2,519 non-residents. The total application pile was about 20 percent higher than last year, Aasheim said.
However, a number of those out-of-staters took advantage of a new rule letting them return all or part of their multi-tag licenses if they failed to win permits for the specific districts where they wanted to hunt. For example, someone could draw a $939 combination deer/elk/upland game bird/fishing license but fail to win a permit to hunt elk in the restricted districts around the Missouri Breaks. That person could return the whole license for an 80 percent refund. Or they could turn in just the elk portion for a $358 refund and still hunt deer and birds.
The state offered 17,000 non-resident elk/deer combination licenses and sold all but 938 of them. The state used to have a waiting list of about 1,300 people competing for those licenses, before a voter-passed initiative increased the prices and took away guaranteed licenses for visitors who hired Montana outfitters.
Nevertheless, Aasheim said things are improving somewhat. Last year, the state failed to sell almost 1,200 out-of-state licenses in the initial round, although most of those were later sold over-the-counter.
This time, 2,158 non-residents refunded their elk permits and another 771 returned their entire license after the drawing. Those returns will go on sale, first-come first-served, through the FWP website and at agency regional offices.
Montana Outfitters and Guides Association director Mac Minard said the high license costs and limited chance of getting a popular district have hurt the out-of-state hunter market. Idaho and Wyoming have similar economic challenges and wolf predation, but their non-resident business has only declined slightly, he said. Montana’s price boosts of about 60 percent for elk and 40 percent for deer has depressed the drawings.
“We attend sports shows across the nation,” Minard said. “There could be 400 ambassadors in a hall, all trying to promote tourism as an outfitter. But Montana continues to be a place where non-residents are not sure they’re wanted, according to our pricing structure.”
Meanwhile, May 1 is the deadline to apply for resident moose, bighorn sheep, bison and mountain goat licenses available through a special drawing. Hunters can use the automated licensing online service at fwp.mt.gov. Application information is also available on the FWP website. They can also buy 2012 SuperTag chances online to enter the SuperTag Lottery. Eight lucky hunters will win a SuperTag license for all eight big-game species: moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, elk, deer, bison and mountain lion. An unlimited number of chances can be purchased at $5 each. Proceeds go to enhance hunting access and boost enforcement.
Read more:
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/earlier-drawing-deadline-voter-initiative-alter-opportunities-for-hunting-licenses/article_e5d4de44-8c1c-11e1-91d7-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1soIzavN4
