WY Elk, what does the future tell us?

[Overdrive]

I don’t doubt that is in the bill. However if they were really serious about public awareness you would have to opt in, not out. Will be interesting to see, but I don’t put much faith in public awareness.

Read the Bill it covers the opt in and opt out criteria, the division has always been good about putting the fees out there for the public, I have full confidence they'll do it here too.

But since this is a Wyoming hunting thread I'll say with confidence Wyoming hunting will still be going strong, available licenses might get tougher for NR but it won't keep people from applying every year.

 

[5MilesBack]

I wish we could opt out of Ritter's Road & Bridge fund with every registration, that we've been paying into now for well over a decade.

 

[klj100]

As someone stated above because of forums there are more applicants each year. Wyoming also for a while non residents had priority over non residents for tags...which was great for money....but I think residents are years of complain got some more tags in certain areas sent their way.

 

[tdhanses]

Eventually if you want to hunt the west you’ll need to be a resident, truthfully CO could use a million new conservatives in the front range.

 

[Bearwhisky]

We were in a recession 2 years ago and the mountains were packed.

Its not the same when families get 10k+ in stimmy checks


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[Poser]

Its not the same when families get 10k+ in stimmy checks


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Who is getting 10k in stimi checks? The last check was March of 2021.

 

[woods89]

Its not the same when families get 10k+ in stimmy checks


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Worth noting also that there were a lot of fairly "creative" PPP applications as well, at least in my area........

 

[trekinit]

I see mentions to recessions and/or high gas prices = less out of state hunters. I don't think this will have a notable impact. Non res hunters are typically not your low or even middle income folks. If you can afford to fly halfway across the country, rent a car, buy thousands of dollars of gear and hunt, you are likely in a position where you don't necessarily care about $1000-$2000 added to your overall expenses. Recessions don't impact middle-upper / upper income households NEARLY as much as lower-middle income households.

Regarding social media's impact, I see the pros and the cons.
Yes, it has definitely glamorized hunting and added a bunch of new people to the sport. The influx of folks sucks to those of us that experienced hunting before it was the "cool" thing to do.
However, in turn this is MILLIONS of dollars being added to annual budgets for habitat improvement, surveys/studies, wildlife management, and so-on. It's also a fact that hunter numbers have been declining across the country. If we don't promote hunting, we don't get hunters. If we don't get hunters, we don't get funding. Tough problem to solve and change is hard. Interested to see how this pans out over the next few years to see if the trend continues.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Seems like the gas prices didn’t keep people home like some thought. It’s interesting, I was talking with a friend yesterday and we were pondering if the BRO guys ( whose stuff I have enjoyed watching) will be a little upset when their children will wait 5-10 years to get out of state tags. I mean they did it to themselves, by they I mean all the YouTube/ Instagram hunters, old Steven included. His brother wrote a pretty scathing article about which was spot on. It’s kind of sad. I shot my best elk to date by a long shot this year, posted a few pics up here and MM and showed friends and family. I don’t have the socials outside of a couple hunting forums. I didn’t even tell my friends and family or coworkers where I shot him, I’m hoping I can hunt the drainage a time or two more before it’s over ran… People keep saying the interest in western big game hunt or the outdoors will wane… maybe. I think the addiction to the internet/ phones, which (I admit I use way too much) will continue to fuel this fire for years to come…

 

[wapitibob]

Gas is $3.69 in WY, $6.00 where I live. Got back yesterday and put 3,000 miles on the truck in a week.