Outfitters ready to take your licenses!
Colorado
Just listened to the wildlife commission meeting on resident non resident allocation. Listen to the testimony when it gets posted.
They are making some really wild claims about how CPW lost 28 million dollars because they use a soft cap instead of a hard cap. The item they really don't mention is of those NR's who didn't draw a limited, did they then just go buy an OTC elk license so really no money was lost....
3 outfitter reps testified, no sportsman.
Get ready folks, someone wants to take your licenses.
Listen to it myself. No surprise that Robert Bray took advantage of the situation to push his agenda, more nonresidents for his outfitting operation.
The problem with these commission meetings are they are held in locations and times when most working folks can't attend. Most should be held somewhere like Castle Rock and on Saturdays so they would have a more sportsman turnout rather than outfitters.
No problem. We were told that the net effect of upping the land owner tags would result in more public opportunity. I'm not sure how much more we ended up with, but we could just carve off some of that opportunity for the outfitters. ;^)
I can't really blame them. When you are a business and history has shown that with some lobbying you have a good chance of increasing your product availability at no cost, it makes sense to pursue it.
Just like LO vouchers. We give them a highly desirable product for $3.00ea that sells for $100.00 - $10,000.00 and/or enhances their ability to outfit or lease access, the only surprise would be if they skip a year of trying to get more.
The difference between the CPW, hunters, land owners and outfitters is that land owners and outfitters as a group grasp how valuable tags are.
Everyone that likes to hunt public land on their own need to definitely stay abreast on these issues. It's pretty sad what's happened in New Mexico and other states. Not only does NM offer a fairly large chunk of tags to landowners but there is an additional chunk of tags that were taken from the nonres public draw pool a few years ago and are now only available in a guided draw pool. I actually quit applying in NM after that happened! Something similar happened a couple years ago here in Colo with landowner tags. Why not offer these tags in a public draw and allow hunters decide whether they want to hire a guide or go unguided? I can understand why landowner families should be offered tags to hunt their own ranch but this is far cry from what is currently happening with landowner tags! This tells you what kind of attention guides and outfitters get when decisions are made.
I want to correct one small thing grasshopper said about the testimony today. And I hope everyone remembers it. It was actually three Colorado Outfitters Association members AND one Big Game Forever employee that testified in favor of increasing nonresident licenses. You can listen to the introductory presentation by Cory Chick from the licensing division about how the draw works, followed by the testimony, at the link above.
Big Game Forever are not friends of sportsmen. They use the fear of wolves as their baseline to benefit sheep ranchers and the like. Why do you think they were in favor of the August bear hunt. It had nothing to do with opportunities, but everything to do with protecting ranch owners
"The difference between the CPW, hunters, land owners and outfitters is that land owners and outfitters as a group grasp how valuable tags are."
I think CPW, LO's and Outfitters all see the monetary value of tags. I'd say a majority of DIY hunters don't comprehend the fiscal impact that leads to a majority of the commissions decisions. I try to follow the numbers, but it gets confusing at times.
Denny is an enemy to all of us. While I like Chris as a person he is also not a friend to anyone but those who make money off of hunting.
