I guess I’ll throw my two cents in here. First, a lot of people think the reason the DOW is giving you a chance to get a cow tag in addition to a bull tag is to draw the non-residents back to Colorado. There is some truth to that much not much. The reason CDW is offering a second tag is to stabilize the increasing elk population. Next, The prices now for a bull tags are now in line with most other western states so what's the complaint? It’s like you were stealing for all these years and you just got caught! Now its time to fork out the money like you’de be paying elsewhere. And I think its the only state where you can still buy a guaranteed over the counter bull tag, correct? Yes, a lot of nonresidents stayed away last year because they were “boycotting” the increase in prices. You think that hurt the economy? Overall it probably had a smaller affect than you’de think. According to which stats you read, the nonresident turnout dropped about 35-40%. Now you figure that the non-res licenses fees about doubled and the DOW actually made money! Yes some small businesses were hurt but as a whole the Colorado economy was affected very little. Lets face it, the wildlife agencies in every state are a business, they are in it to make money. They will do what they have to. Colorado is in a very fortunate situation with a growing elk population and there are not a lack of people that will continue to come here, even if tags were $1,000. They know they can have 1/3 of the nonresidents shop elsewhere and still profit. They projected they would lose a lot of business (hunters) initially when they raised the prices.....it happened but eventually this will increase quality which will in turn bring back enen more people, especially after nonresidents try other states and likely will not have the success as they are use to in Colorado. The fact that the average hunter has a far better chance of getting an elk here than anywhere else just because of the sheer number of elk we have will keep people coming back regardless of price. Don’t you think the DOW knows this? I think the cow tag this year is just a tool to keep the population somewhat steady, but the DOW would like the population on the high side of course. We as hunters probably don’t think the DOW is managing the wildlife all to well (quality), but as as a business they seem to be meeting there objective (quantity) which equates to money. The DOW realized way to many people were coming here and eventually the elk population would take a dive and residents would complain more than they are now. To keep elk numbers high (which is where they make the biggest portion of their money) they would have to limit the hunters yet still make money. To do this they simply raised their prices. Non resident hunters stayed away, profit still went up, and the population of elk still increased (of course the lack of good hunting weather didn’t hurt either), thus the reason for the extra licenses. Game Over, DOW wins!