Another angle to this story.........
The number of hunters in this country is at an all time low. Going lower with each generation. I personally, as a NR (except in bygawd Texas) only wish to get a chance...slim or otherwise. If there are leftovers, as in Colorado, then a chance there too.
It is a fact that hunting has become a "money" intensive endeavor. We can reminisce of days gone by and how one could go and hunt for little or nothing, but no more. Come and gone. My concern is that as the costs go up, the interest from those that follow us dwindles, and game management does it thing.........there may be more tags available than an individual state can sell. Already the case in Colorado.
Here in Texas, we don't have that problem. Hunting is pure capitalism. You either own the land or lease the land or you don't hunt!!! (Very little public land) As for the arguement that the animals belong to the state and therefore the residents.............works in theory..........but what happens when landowners "high fence" their property and those animals become permanent??? Yep, you guessed it........just became private animals with no compensation to the state or it's residents.
So remember that when you are writing you state congressman.