Utah bend over

[Stein]

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if these extreme increases are being pushed by certain individuals who would like to see hunting go away, kind of like how they're attempting to price and tax people out of gun ownership in WA... Make it unaffordable, participation drops way off, less resistance as it fades into the ether. Hope I'm wrong

Actually, in Utah you have some very influential people who beleive that big game are a state asset that the state has been selling way to cheaply for years.  They have pushed for more raffle and auction type tags and used them as an example of how much money can be made by literally selling big game.  I think they'll continue to push for these increases until the law of diminishing returns kicks in.  Sure, they'll loose a few applicants but until they finally reach the point where they don't sell out the available tags they'll just keep pushing.

I bet there are also resident hunters that want to see fewer nonresidents in the field.  This may or may not directly impact hunter numbers, but their will be fewer applicants and at some point the lesser tags won't get purchased at some price when other states offer a better option.  I bet most residents support sticking it to the out of staters unless they are benefitting from the increase in tourism.

[link]

The only way hunters in the field will decrease is if they lower tag numbers. They will sell every tag available. With the limited number of LQ tags, I can't see a scenario where any cost increase would cause there to be any unwanted tags. When you have 10 tags with 10,000 applicants, you'll never price out that many people. The only loss in revenue is going to be a relatively small amount because a few people stop applying.

[baldopepper]

It's a little more complicated in Utah. Many there really don't care much either way about out of state hunters , especially compared to other western states. What they fear is the influence private groups ( or group) have gotten over the game department. Profitability is slowly overruling opportunity when it comes to decision making. They are very much aware of how much some will pay for "elite" opportunity and their goal is to create as much of that type opportunity as they can..They disguise their goal under the guise of "conservation" just don't add the part of conservation, just not for everyone. I hope other western states don't follow their game plan.

[Stein]

Aren't there leftover tags in UT that don't get purchased?  Some from last year were unlimited on their website.  I don't hunt UT, so I'm not fluent in their system.

[baldopepper]

Aren't there leftover tags in UT that don't get purchased?  Some from last year were unlimited on their website.  I don't hunt UT, so I'm not fluent in their system.

I don't keep close track anymore, but family there tells me they do throw a few bones out by way of tags, but they also tell me those are pretty bare bones. I think they usually have a few spike only elk tags in selected units that go unsold and they're still fairly liberal on their archery hunts.

[bearpaw]

Interesting note, this may all be much ado about nothing, apparently there is a line in the bill that states that the department of wildlife resources can charge less but cannot charge more than the stated amounts. Essentially these are the hard caps and not the set pricing.


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   Exactly Right

We talked to UDWR, they don't expect pricing to go up to the max at once, the Utah legislature has authorized those numbers as the maximum they can charge, we were told to expect a moderate increase now.

[kselkhunter]

We shall see how much they increase this year.  Correct point about the wording that the UDWR has discretion in how much they raise up to the max each year.  The concerning thing is the legislature did increases every few years (ie 2020, 2022, etc.) and UDWR did the max increase every time.  That statement is always in the bills.   So we shall see if they indeed only do a partial increase for 2026, and how much it is.   Perhaps because the increase is so massive this year, they will roll it out over 3 or 4 years instead of all at once.

[Karl Blanchard]

https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/2089-nonresident-license-fee-increases-and-wma-access-changes-and-other-wildlife-related-laws-passed-during-the-2025-legislative-session.html

[dvolmer]

Costs in all of these high desired western states is just going to continue to rise, and I mean REALLY RISE! I don"t like it any more than the rest of you. But if I was going to have someone sell my car for me, I would want them to get as much as they could and what the car can bring. No different for out of state tags. The owners of the animals are the citizens of the state. I would imagine that they want the best bang for their buck. If a certain price non-resident tag has hundreds/thousands of applicants more than there is quota, the simple fact is that they are selling it way to cheap. As long as they sell all of their tags, the price will keep skyrocketing until supply meets demand at the highest cost possible.  If you owned all of the tags, you would do the same. It's nothing more than simple business. The only decent price tags anyone will be eligible for (and have the right too) will be the ones in the state where they live.  If you CHOOSE to live in a state that sucks for hunting (Washington State) then you better have a very big pocket-book if you want to participate in any kind of quality hunting experience in the future.  Like I said, I don't like it either. The states are feeding off of each other.  They each see what the other state has done and how they increased revenue and then they just follow. It's going to blow up exponentially in the near future.  Out of state hunting will soon be a sport for only the rich and wealthy.  Your option will be to pay up or move to the state of your choice that gives you the best options.

[High Climber]

https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/2089-nonresident-license-fee-increases-and-wma-access-changes-and-other-wildlife-related-laws-passed-during-the-2025-legislative-session.html

Not as bad as it looked originally but still pretty steep… looks like $1950 for LE Elk, $599 Gen deer, $1070 LE deer + license and app fees

[Magnum_Willys]

Just put in Montana General Deer-Elk Combo App.  $1450.00   Yikes. Probably last year I do that and Idaho same year.

[kselkhunter]

https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/2089-nonresident-license-fee-increases-and-wma-access-changes-and-other-wildlife-related-laws-passed-during-the-2025-legislative-session.html

Not as bad as it looked originally but still pretty steep… looks like $1950 for LE Elk, $599 Gen deer, $1070 LE deer + license and app fees

Yeah.  Utah stating "it's not doubling it's just moderate increases"...... the LE Elk went from $1070 to $1950.  So 86% increase, but "didn't double".  And LE deer up 60%.   Those are pretty significant increases. 

[time2hunt]

Dear Customer,

We’re reaching out to you because you’ve applied for Utah hunts in recent years, and we appreciate your passion and support for wildlife. Over the past week or two, you may have heard rumors about Utah’s nonresident fees, and we want to reassure you: There will be no changes to any fees related to the 2025 big game or antlerless application periods. (This applies to both of the drawings and to any permits obtained through them.)

Some nonresident fee increases will go into effect later this year, although these changes are generally lower and more modest than speculated. The Utah Legislature passed a law last month authorizing higher nonresident fees to help fund the purchase of large blocks of land that offer protection to wintering wildlife.


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[Bob33]

That's good news.