@Mtn_Infantry - I get your point and the concept makes sense - buying one Sheep tag at $1,000,000+ goes to the Sheep habitat/preservation etc.. But, how do You judge success? If within a few years there are still No over the counter tags or reasonable ‘point system’ tags drawn for average Hunters - Nothing meaningful has improved or changed. Also, doubtful all those $$ are going directly to sheep habitat —- and if they are can it result in a meaningful increase in sheep population?
Lastly, there are multiple ways to raise money for wildlife and the “auctions” are only one - an easy one because a few Wealthy Hunters can (and will) always by the tags and can claim moral high ground doing so —— moral high ground is donating the $$ and NOT hunting the sheep until population increases. I admit, if I had the $$ I would buy a tag too AND hunt the sheep. I just don’t believe this is the best way to conserve & improve sheep populations — why Not add $5-$10 to every Hunting license and also include a point system and lottery draw? I do NOT have the answers and the current procedure, while flawed is better then nothing
From that auction tag at least 80% if not 90% will go towards sheep conservation and 100% will go back to wildlife conservation in the state of NM. Not all the auction tags work that way but a majority of the ones bringing the big dollars do. Additionally the likelihood of OTC sheep tags in many of these units is unlikely bc of how unstable their population is. If you want OTC you need to go hunt Montana Unlimited Units. Guess where a lot of the money funding and protecting those opportunities comes from?
I could be wrong but I believe the sheep herd/unit the potential record is in, is there as a result of an auction tag. If we look at the number of sheep tags in the lower 48 presently available in both the draw that number is without a doubt where it is because of auctions.
You are 100% correct auction tags are a just one way to bring in revenue for conservation and specifically sheep conservation.
Can you increase license fees, or the non-refundable amount? Yes, this issue there is that money doesn’t just go to sheep like that auction tag did it goes to everything in the Fish & Game Dept. and in some states goes into the general fund. Let’s break the 13 mil down. At an increase of $5 the applicant doesn’t get back, that’s 260,000 applicants in that one state, what about the other 2 dozen tags that went for $250-750k?
Can you do a raffle? Sure, at $5/ticket you need 260,000 tickets sold. What stops the same gentleman from buying 200,000 chances? You cap it on a max number of tickets? Does that yield you enough ticket purchasers. The super tag raffles in WY and other states would say no.
Some state offer both an auction tag, and a raffle tag like Wyoming in addition to the draw tags. Arizona got rid of their auction tags, we’re about to find out if their new method raises the same amount of money.
There’s no perfect solution, but at present I haven’t see. a better system or method to raise more money. It’s not much different than how many African countries use their wildlife to raise money for the preservation and protection of their wildlife with quotas. Supply drives demand which drives prices, just look at wild lions or elephant permits in the top trophy producing areas.
I can’t afford a raffle tag, even if i held onto and saved the thousands of dollars i spend each year on points, applications, and raffles trying to draw a sheep tag but I recognize that those better off than me are slowly giving the opportunity for other hopefully sheep hunters in the future.
Also your comment about Maine and points is slightly off. Maine has points which are based on the number of unsuccessful years an applicant has applied. Those points equate to extra chances. They also allow for someone to buy additional chance. They’ve got permits sold via auction, guaranteed guide tags, and raffles, in addition to the draw. This system is similar to a Bonus Point System some state’s operate compared to a preference point system.
