Tag cost reaction
Massachusetts
Prices only go up maybe next year pi. This year I’ll still buy it all. Gonna wait till closer to bear season to buy bear tho. If there not around I’m not supporting them.
I'll buy it all as I believe the value is both still there, and the importance of keeping mdfw afloat and able to do research, buy land, manage land, stock, etc is highly valued to me.
Manage land ? Buy land ? I'm perplexed by this and I'm serious. I may b wrong but when was the last time (in mass) was land purchased ? And managed ? May b you can enlighten me cause I don't know
I will buy only (extra) doe tag. May only shoot 1 buck
Lunker land is purchased every year in MA. Mass Wildlife has information they publish on acquisitions every year.
O and I'd be curious about your take on research as well
I'm running out of time . I'll give it hell this season. There's an open wall space between two mounts that needs occupancy and I'm gonna fill it. Jacked just talking about it !
Ok cool that's good is the land they purchase huntable?
The price increase pissed me off so much that I decided to move to Montana and just hunt there :)
I’m moving to Wyoming! Screw mass license prices. We don’t even have elks
Haha I’m not actually moving by! It’s wishful thinking at best at this point in my young life. Lol
Maybe I’ll move to you and shoot your deer? You seem to have a lot. I’m not prejudice. I’ll Shoot all of em. Big small don’t matter.
$112.30 increase for everything....so what buy one less Camera this yr.
Well damnit 8s. I bought 4 this year. And it’s not even time for me to say “I wish I had another to put (here)” and boom. Amazon drops of another next day. Haha
PI, right on...access is the problem.
Hunting and fishing are what I do. I will end up buying most of the licenses and tags but will pass on the odds and ends. I usually buy waterfowl stamps that I never use. That won't happen. Whether or not I buy a bear tag will depend on how much bear fat is left in the freezer from last year. Mass Doe tag? Based on earlier success in NY. .............................I also believe that there will more abuse of the ridiculous "Print a Tag" system we have such as illegal group hunting on one shared doe tag etc. Or shooting a doe then and collecting it later after going home and buying the tag that was awarded a few months earlier but was sitting in your shopping cart.
" An increase in fees gets you more nothing for your money."
So, MassWildlife does nothing? They don't stock fish or pheasants? Don't manage ALL wildlife in the state from mice to moose, sparrows to eagles? They don't manage thousands of acres owned or leased for hunting access?
Not sure what this 'nothing' is that you think you're (not) getting.
"MassWildlife is responsible for the conservation of freshwater fish and wildlife in the Commonwealth, including endangered plants and animals. MassWildlife restores, protects, and manages land for wildlife to thrive and for people to enjoy. " (from the website)
Right on Tekoa. l believe the print a tag with be completely taken advantage of 1000% with increases. Not a doubt in my mind.
"I dont need them to manage the deer herd . They need us to do that. "
If 'we' 'managed' the deer _some_ 'hunters' would manage it down to zero. Education is another thing MassWildlife does.
Anyone who pays taxes into the general fund is funding MassWildlife. To say that they should have no say in things is a little off base.
Hahahaha pi. Well I mean. If the shoes fit, might as well wear em. If it’s free it’s for me.
I watched one of the zoom presentations that MA Wildlife held. They presented a good case for an increase but never addressed why they waited so long to address this financial crisis. Did not instill a lot of confidence in the management style.
This increase is understandable after going so long without one, it's the size of the increase all at once that's concerning. We are being asked to foot the bill for mismanagement and to fund the pensions of guys who are just about ready to retire. This is typical democrat state government stuff. The norm for MA.
This season I will buy extra doe tags as usual. For me personally this will not break the bank but I have no doubt that if this increase is approved as proposed, hunter numbers will decrease and the illegal kill will increase. It will have the opposite effect than is intended. A better approach would be a reasonable increase that people could afford and gradually get MA Wildlife back on it's feet.
Grand Slam you continue to b a sheet stirrer and your abomination of the English language is absurd and your child like arguments show the tru person you are. Ask me what kind of person you are I will tell you. Obviously you are the same disruptive child that has been kicked off the site many times. I don't understand why you get off on coming back time after time an acting like a clown. Take off the makeup and act like a man.
I think their "research" consists of counting the harvest then posting it on line
I agree with pi 110 % but I will pay the extra for I cannot not hunt. I will say the increase is absurd and literally robbery and can see nothing for the good for hunters in the long run
I’m with you on the overcrowding issue, but I believe hunters are going to have to learn to work with a much larger group of people than we have been used to. More people/development putting further stress on open space isn’t going to change anytime soon. I live near a large wma that I drove by yesterday and there were literally 2 dozen cars parked there. I’ve lived here my whole life and have never seen that before. I doubt that land use by the public is going to change any time soon but what can change is educating those people to the fact that those lands are open to hunting and recreation in large part to efforts made by hunters. As for having to pay more than others user groups, as a consumptive user I’m ok within reason. I do think the current rate hikes on the table are out of line, but if we don’t have a seat at the table no one will here. There are no easy answers moving forward.
Cutting more trails for the walkers is hurting no moving the wildlife away. The same wildlife they say they want to see more of
Shadow, interesting post. A little problem may arise when certain groups realize they will have to share ideas with hunters. You may find they are both inflexible and incorrigible deep dyed antis. I can't envision a civil dialogue with them, sorry to say. I hope I'm wrong.
Mass buys land or puts money into land purchases every year. It’s not all huntable though. They pair up with conservation organizations to protect land which is good but the Orgs are the major player and control the land after purchase.
Ya.... you guys really need to move. Just sayin :)
Got room for a few of us Pete??? I’m still young. I can pack meat out to earn my keep.
I'll take that as an invitation. Thanx man
Pro that's what I was thinking. And if true that is not a plus for advocates for the increase.
You guys have a lot of energy to rehash this whole thing. are you hunting turkeys at all? I’m exhausted.
Season change tru dat my season has all ready started. My most agresive season ever. More stands small kill plot and more cams monitoring new spots. Have a plan in place and has been great so far
I'm tight on time, and there were to many posts so I didnt read through em all. But Lunker:
1.) WMA's are all at least partly paid for via MDFW and our financial help via licenses etc. Some is grants, some is land owners selling cheap or donating. But yes, most WMA's involved some money from us, and the "land stamp" we have to buy with every license (it's built into the cost currently). The overwhelming massive majority of them are huntable. Just a few, where landowners mandated at the time they donated land, are not huntable.
2.) they have done and continue to do TONS of research on bears, turkeys, deer, turtles, eagles, different fish species etc etc etc. Basically everything that we hunt and which lives here (slight exaggeration).
3.) they manage lands. Wish they could do more. They log, do controlled burns (love to see more of those), manage parking/access spots, manage some boat ramps, etc...
Lunker, Git 'em this fall. You earned them. Good luck, may the force be with you.
Big D thanks I'm all over it. It's really not like work when it's fun. Will that's all great stuff I just never have seen them "at work" the only time I even heard of them doing any kind of research was from hicks story about them looking for the evasive boring beetle. Not saying they don't just never saw them
In the court of public opinion hunters are tolerated but not really accepted. Their opinions are not as important as their money. They are not treated fairly even by the department that is supposed to serve them. Simple as that.
"And why do we have to fund all that other stuff ?"
Because it's managed by MassWildlife, not by the Division of EDIBLE Wildlife. The 'mission' was expanded decades ago. And here we are.
Yeah, it sorta sucks that we hunters and anglers are footing the bill for non-game species. BUT, we spend more time outside than the non-sports, and we get to enjoy seeing more wildlife, so I can think of better things to complain about. Like reservoir property being posted against hunting, just for one example. Or recreational kayakers using 'ANGLER' access/launch areas without paying a bleeping dime.
I don't know how an American can argue those words. Those words are much deeper than just hunting. If you don't see the American way of life being assaulted it must b blissful. Just saying
Pi, good points. This is how regimes come into being. Those in power just expand this and change that until their subjects are suffused with new laws and regs. I know it's been said before , "wake up America".
I've started and deleted a few thoughts on this. The catch for me is the focus on pay to play so to speak. It seems like the idea of increasing cost and not allowing one to only pay for what they decide is important to them, is a sticking point (hybridizing posts here guys)... So, say the price hadnt largely jumped for stamps/tags (antlerless, bear, turkey etc) and only 10bucks was added to the license cost. Would that still be as bad of an overreach... Or is it the magnitude of the increase in one chunk that's bad? For example, if they went up 10 bucks for the license and 3-5 bucks on the stamps every 5 years, would that feel as bad?
It's possible that ultimately it ends up with MDFW absorbed into the rest of the state and funded more via the general fund. There was an article I read a while back noting Missouri takes like a cent from roughly every 8 dollars spent I believe, and fund their fish and wildlife programs. They have an amazing system. But, in that case, when you buy a gallon of paint at the local paint store, you are also buying some controlled burn to improve grouse habitat in the berkshires on a WMA some place... When you are buying a new set of socket wrenches you are also paying for a radio collar bear tracking study or maybe a boat ramp on the CT river. In that case, you wouldnt notice the price, but you also wouldnt control what YOU are paying for. That's intriguing. As it allows work which may focus on one species but ultimately helps all - including those I do focus on - to flourish. So, protecting some vernal pool rich area with rare salamanders may not seem like it helps me see deer or shoot turkeys... But it does. So I'm ok paying.
I fully get that we wont ultimately agree on this, and that is fine. And while Ill pay it, Ill also admit it's a big jump and feels like a shock to the system. So I get friction. It's not oppressive or over reach feeling to me though. But I'd suspect there are many issues I think are fine that others may feel are oppressive or full of overreach. So I can see that it's not an all in issue and am 100% sure that I'm not "correct", given there are many ways to potentially help keep MDFW flowing well.
I would say yes the jump was steep. I would also say if it went up slowly nobody would have said a peep. I think this is just another strong arm grab( for lack of a better term) we see more and more every day. When does it stop. Might I all so add just hunters and fisherman take the punch ? Not cool
I suspect they knew from the git-go that the initial proposal would draw fire. So they opened bidding high and will seem oh-so-reasonable when they back off half way.
(If you watch auctions you see the same thing a lot. Eventually they relist the thing with an added "or best reasonable offer."
I always buy every permit and tag beginning of Jan whether I think I'm gonna hunt bear, turkey, use a ML etc or not. Next year it'll just be what I need to get in the woods.
Dana C you are so right--- probably followed the number one classic textbook rule in negotiations. Present your highest request and let the opponent settle for the middle.--which is what you wanted anyway and the opponent thinks they got a great deal.
The best deal is when ,at the conclusion, both parties walk away a little disappointed.
