Higher Priced Non-Resident License

[tjo]

I vote no.

[predator]

Originally Posted by shaman

If KY dropped its NR license fees and opened its doors they might double the 57K non-resident hunters,

Again, a very good post on your part, but it seems that I'm still failing to get my point across.

The main reason the Ky Dept of Fish and Wildlife Resources was formed is clearly stated in KRS-150.015:

"The declared purpose of Acts 1952, ch. 200 and the policy of the commonweath of Kentucky, is to protect and conserve the wildlife of this commonweath so as to insure a permanent and continued supply of the wildlife resources of this state for the purpose of furnishing sport and recreation for the PRESENT AND FOR THE FUTURE RESIDENTS OF THIS STATE".

You have been a member of this board for a long time and are well aware that two of the main complaints from resident hunters are:

(1) NRs leasing up and/or running up the prices of hunting land in the state
(2) Overcrowding of our places that we do have to hunt and fish

I fail to see how trying to double the number of NRs, in effect adding 57,000 more NR hunters, would do nothing but compound the problems stated above.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not anti-NR. In fact, I have been fortunate to hunt and fish 10+ states and 3 different countries over the past several years and plan to add to that total in the near future, so that last thing that I would want is a nationwide price-gouging of NRs, but I still think Ky is in need of a correction of it's NR fees. I'll even go a step farther and state again that all fees, both resident and NR, be adjusted upward and eliminate the exemption for tenants.

It is still beyond my comprehension, that the same people, not pointing at you shaman or anyone in particular, that pay $2.70 for a gallon of gas, $4.00 for a pack of smokes, $250.00 for a treestand, $1,000.00 for a bow and $5,000.00 for a 4-wheeler are the same ones that yell the loudest when a small fee increase is mentioned and declare that hunting is become a rich man's sport.

[Pugs]

Originally Posted by predator

"The declared purpose of Acts 1952, ch. 200 and the policy of the commonweath of Kentucky, is to protect and conserve the wildlife of this commonweath so as to insure a permanent and continued supply of the wildlife resources of this state for the purpose of furnishing sport and recreation for the PRESENT AND FOR THE FUTURE RESIDENTS OF THIS STATE"..

OK, so I'm going to be a future resident. Does that satisfy your "mine, mine all mine" post?

[shaman]

Oh, I'm not disputing what the rule book says, and if you all want to keep what's yours yours-- fine. However, it's just that you've got this problem with the Zone 1 deer herd, that so far the residents can't seem to take care of.. You've got all this good press about how GOOD KY deer hunting is. I watched Tim Farmer's episode on the B&C bucks just last night. You have all this nascent demand for big racks, but those doe in Zone 1 just keep breeding and breeding and. ..

1) You can do your best to keep all these BIG BUCKS for yourselves and deal with the ZONE 1 herd size in some other way. You can tax the beejesus out of the 54K non-residents and milk a few dollars out of them for the KDFWR.

. . . or . . .
2) Turn around and soak the beejesus out of the non-residents for yourselves, while at the same time being nice and accommodating.


When I come to Bracken County, I've got Rooster's Nightclub and Dana's Place in Berlin within a short distance for dinner. Rooster's is only open on Saturday night. Dana shuts down her pizza oven at 8 PM. You go to Ohio or MI during deer season or PA for deer season, and every little hole in the wall has a sign out saying "Welcome Deer Hunters" or "Breakfast starts 4 AM" or "Dinner until 11 PM-- Hunter Specials!!!"

. . . and you don't even have to roll out the red carpet anywhere but Zone 1 and let those non-residents come help you out. You don't even have to be all that nice.

As to the non-residents buying up all the leases and land, I'm not sure that Zone 1 has that problem. What I see is a lot of For Sale signs on family farms, and a lot of those signs have been there a long time. This is prime deer hunting land that is just sitting vacant. My land has not appreciated dramatically since 2001.

And no, I'm not whining. I can afford it. In fact, I should probably just be sitting back and not saying very much, because in a few years I 'll be retiring to KY and living on the land permanently, and then I'll be on your side of the fence and wanting to keep out all those nasty non-residents.

But then again, probably not. I'll probably be out there trying to organize the "Dead Deer in the Back of the Truck" contest in downtown Brooksville and trying to get the signs made for the big spaghetti dinner at the high school, because I'll know I can stay out of the woods one day a year and make a ton of money for my community and myself and hunt the whole next week in peace after the goofy out-of-staters leave with their wallets lighter.

[Fat Tony]

Originally Posted by shaman

I am a resident of Ohio, and hunt exclusively in Zone 1. Kentucky affords me a much better opportunity to hunt deer and turkey. My family owns 200 acres in Bracken County. I've written several times here about how much I appreciate the opportunity to come across the river to hunt.

I've been watching this thread develop, and I cannot figure out why there is such animosity here to non-resident hunters. Yes, I am from out of state. Yes, we own property here. No, I am not one of the last-minute Johnnies at the Walmart. Yes, since my shoulder went bad, I've been gun-only, but I had 25 years in as a bow hunter before I gave up. I have a medical waiver to hunt with a crossbow. I am somewhat of an outdoor writer, and I frequently write to promote NKY and the Ohio Valley as a hunting destination. My family puts a large amount of money into the local economy in the way of taxes, gas, food, and license fees, but we think it's worth it.

I think the animosity stems from the inherent view that other hunters are competition. Never have been able to figure it out. Resident or non-resident, KY hunters spend so much time worrying about other hunters getting their buck that its become comical.

Threads like this get started every fall on here. Add in the inevitable "Why do youths get all the deer" threads and you get the picture. Just take it in stride and enjoy the time outdoors, folks.

Do NR hutners pay enough? I think so. Some think they should pay more. Wonder if those same folks think that out of state hunters that own hunting property in KY should get a tax break for using less state and county services? Probably not.

[Coon Pup]

I hunt Kentucky because that is where I have some land I can hunt. I work in Kentucky but live in Ohio. Trust me I spend a lot of money in Kentucky. I think two hundred some dollars I spend to hunt turkey and deer in kentucky is steep because I live 10 minutes from Kentucky. I could hunt Ohio but the land I have to hunt is further away then Kentucky so I choose to spend my money in Kentucky. I haven't bought an Ohio license in 5 years, so who is losing out on all my wildlife dollars. Ohio!!! Kentucky should be thanking me!!

[predator]

Originally Posted by JDMiller

However... if I ever get asked on a resident hunting survey.... my vote now will be for a lottery draw system for NR deer tags. NR's can pay the application / increased tag fee to KDF&WR and they can bankroll it drawing intrest for 6 months. Come July.. draw.. send the fee back to the unsuccessful aplicants but keep the intrest. Sounds like a winner to me.

JD, your idea is sounding better all the time!

[Double D Farms]

Is there a study some where that I haven't seen? People are talking about NRs running up prices & pushing residents out of their hunting spots. How many NRs are there now compared to 20 years ago? I would think that since hunter numbers are down that maybe fewer NRs would be hunting. My FIL & his buddies bought a farm in Todd county 20 years ago, all where NRs, FIL later moved to KY. We leased land near where they bought prior to that, I've been hunting KY for 25 years. WE bought our farm 3 years ago. Could Kentuckians actually be paying more for land? Prices are down right now is anyone who's complaining about me owning land buying it up while it's cheaper? Could urban sprawl be responsible for some of the price increase & loss of opportunity?

[Charmerbaits]

I grew up in Western Ky and moved to Indiana aout 10 years ago due to work. Granted a lot of land is leased but if you'll get out and do the leg work there is still plenty of private ground out there to hunt. Just get out and ask. Me and my nephew have picked up somewhere between 7000 and 10000 acres to hunt this year. We're not paying a dime to hunt any of this land we just got out and found the owners, were nice, got permission and don't tear up anything.

Charlie

[shaman]

Let's say we have roughly 55,000 NR tags made available. Let's say 60,000 NR applicants actually apply. Okay, now let's say you have a . . . somebody give me a number. . . $50? application fee? Okay. Somebody better than me run the numbers.

60,000-55,000 leaves 5,000 applicants requiring refunds. Let's just say it takes $10/refund to process these checks and get them mailed out. Compare that to the interest on $50X 5,000 for . . . say 6 months at passbook rates.

If you don't lose money on this scheme it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to the what you lose by not making this state more attractive to NR's and raking in the private revenue.