Why pay Hunting/Fishing License Fees?
Wildlife agencies are funded through Hunting License Fees. These wildlife agencies are responsible for sponsoring conservation efforts. Everything from Habitat Protection and Restoration, Wildlife Management, Public Access, Education and Enforcement.
Many State agencies have By-laws that these funds stay within the states Wildlife agency’s budget and cannot be diverted to other areas of the States general Fund.
The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act
This act, passed in 1937, is a Federal Law imposing an excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and Archery Equipment. All Proceeds are then directed toward Wildlife Conservation.
These Excise taxes apply to manufacturers of Firearms, ammunition and related equipment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees these funds and allocates them for various conservation projects, such as:
Funds are distributed based on each states land area and the number of paid hunting license holders, which means that when hunters purchase their licenses, they directly influence how much funding their state agency receives.
All states charge more for non-resident licenses than they do for resident licenses.
What are hunting tags?
These tags serve as permission to harvest a specific species. Many Tags have restrictions on where and when hunting can occur.
Types of tags:
Over the counter (OTC) – Most commontly purchased and widely available form of hunting tag. Issued for species which ar abundant enough in a given state to withstand widespread harvesting. OTC tags can often be purchased at sporting goods stores, online vendors, fish and wildlife offices and even some gas stations in different states.
Limited availability or Draw tags – These are hunts that are “capped” so only a specific number of people can legally participate in a hunt.
Reasons for this would be to produce a better quality hunt for hunters and a greater likelihood of animals living long enough to achieve a trophy class size.
To allocate Limited availabilty tags, state game agencies will use some type lottery or draw system. Names of all interested hunters go into a hat. Odds of drawing some limited availability tags might be well below 1%, while other limited availability tags might carry 100% success rates on years when the hunt is undersubscribed, that is when it turns out that there are fewer names in the hat than there are available tags. It is possible to apply for a tag and not recieve it for many years. Many states use preference point or bonus point systems to reward repeat customer and enhance their likelihood of drawing a tag after one or more unsuccessful attempts.
Point system – Preference points and bonus points are a bit different, though the extent of the differences varies from state to state.
Typically, People with the most points (maximum point holders) will draw their tags first. Subsequent tags will be given to the people with the next highest amount of points. Higher point holder have preference.
Each state has its own nuances: Alaska, Idaho and New Mexico do not offer bonus point or preference point systems, so you are starting from scratch each time you apply.
Landowner tags – Generally relegated to hunter with hefty budgets. A Landowner tag lets you buy a high quality big game tag of the sort that would normally be given out only through a lottery.
Other states do offer other Tag options. Go to your States Hunting Regulations and you will find more information and resources.
We recommend getting your Tags/Licenses as soon as possible. As always, please hunt responsibly!
