ORIGINAL: Montana Bob
You are a non-resident coming to my state to use my resources.
Why come here? The animals you want to hunt not where you live?Don't have enough where your from?
It seems simple to me that you seek an area with less people and/or more animals.
Less People = Less Residents to buy Licenses and contribute to the Keepers of the animals.
Most of these Western States with good game populations don't have the resident population of people and/or hunters to contribute and benefit from the non-resident and in turn my area is kept pristine and full of animals for you to hunt.........At a Price.
Seems simple. Play here, Pay Here!
You are coming here because we offer something you don't have and you wish to.
Seems like simple economics to me. You want to drive the Benz you will pay.
If you can't afford or don't wish to pay, stay at your own state and use your own resources from your state at a resident price if you don't think it's worth it to play here.
For you non-whining non-residents who do hunt here and contribute Thanks... It your $$ that helps keep this place a fine place to hunt.
First off, you need to refrain to "my" in your posts... you don't own the state, the animals or the area.
All you are is the recipient of a Wildlife handout from the State of Montana...
Anytime the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks needs more money, they bleed the unable to vote in the state elections non-resident.
If the City of Missoula decided to set up Toll Booths at every entrance into the city and charge Missoula non-residents $40 per car as a "City Street Usage Fee", how long do you think that they would be able to do that before a judicial body decided to step in. According to your argument, the City of Missoula would not only be justified in doing it, since they would be "the keeper of the streets", you would support their decission to do it.
Frankly the only reason that residents of these "hunting desitination" states justify the absolutely unfair pricing of the hunting opportunity to non-residents is because they want to keep receiving their handout.
Because if it was about giving the resident the most opportunity to hunt possible, these residents would want all non-resident hunting eliminated. Of course they don't want that because the resident license and resident tag prices would go up atleast 2-3 times the current rate.
It is all about the handout... You even said it yourself in not so many words... non-residents should pay for the Benz but residents should get it for next to free.
SA
PS. Why should non-residents have to pay more to hunt waterfowl? I hope that you are not claiming that Montana is the "keeper" of this migratory game bird.