Priced Out? Utah’s New Tag Fee Controversy | Big Hunt Guys, Ep. 166

I am sure everyone got the letter and links from Utah this morning explaining that limited entry elk tags went up 86% from $1050 to $1950. I am sure it will not do any good, but here is the letter I sent to Phillip Gray and Kenny Johnson, both on the board that made that decision. Mr. Gray and Mr. Johnson, I received the email from Utah DWR this morning in regards to tag, license, and application price increases. While I am glad to see Utah decided not to double the cost of everything, I was very disappointed to see that your board increased the limited entry elk tags by 86%, from $1050 to $1950. This has effectively priced me and many other blue collar elk hunters out of Utah, and made our points that we have been purchasing worthless. Director Peck stated that "We're reviewing the intended goals of the legislation and are evaluating each fee based on the relevant market values of neighboring states and the opportunities we offer." This statement is just not true, as the market values of neighboring states hover around $1000. If you are citing Wyoming's "Special tag," that is an option for elk hunters to potentially increase their draw odds, with the regular tag still being available. I am sure that all of your limited entry tags will be sold, just not to people like me. Your state's greed has gotten in the way of what hunting should be, under the guise of "conservation." Unfortunately, Utah has now reset the bar for other states to follow. Soon elk hunts, like those found in Utah, will be a rich man's sport, much like the "Governor Tags" that get auctioned off every year. Thanks for your time. Respectfully, Logan Sebela

It seems to me that the hunting industry plays a huge part in this. The emphasis for companies and media influencers has been on bringing in more and more hunters and we are seeing record numbers of hunters applying for tags and I don’t blame them. But when you have a higher demand then you can supply the cost is going to have to go up to deter people from applying. I ran into a very prominent voice from meateater this last year in Wyoming and I was talking to him about how his hunt was going and all he did was complain about the amount of people he was seeing and the competition for such little amount of deer and elk. The funny thing is is that he was hunting in the same area(region g) that Rinella talked about and filmed one of his hunts in and then they have the nerve to complain about the number of people in that unit. I don’t blame people for wanting to hunt and provide meat for their family but the fact of the matter is that this is the reality of the future because of the constant wedge between residents and non residents because of the increased competition and it’s something we’re gonna have to get used to or fight against.

I am 18 years into to points with Utah and no longer can afford there fees. I am out and shall never give the state of Utah another dime.