Utah's Proposed Fee Increases

[JimP]

If the Utah Governor signs this into law this is what you'll be paying to hunt in Utah.



Utah nonresident hunting fee changes will see double the costs

Item	Current Cost	New Cost
Hunting license	$120	$240
Application fee	$16	$32
Deer - general season	$418	$836
Deer - Dedicated Hunter Certificate of Registration (COR)	$1,067	$2,134
Deer - limited entry	$670	$1,340
Deer - multi-season limited entry buck	$1,130	$2,260
Deer - premium limited entry	$798	$1,596
Deer - multi-season premium limited entry	$1,330	$2,660
Deer -antlerless	$118	$236
Elk - archery bull	$613	$1,226
Elk - general bull	$613	$1,226
Elk - Multi-season general bull elk	$830	$1,660
Elk - limited entry bull	$1,050	$2,100
Elk - multi-season limited entry bull	$1,855	$3,710
Elk - antlerless	$350	$700
Desert bighorn sheep	$2,244	$4,488
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep	$2,244	$4,488
Bighorn sheep - ewe	$1,050	$2,100
Bison	$2,420	$4,840
Bison - Antelope Island	$2,877	$5,754
Bear - limited entry	$389	$778
Bear - multi-season limited entry	$566	$1,132
Mountain goat	$2,244	$4,488
Moose - bull	$2,244	$4,488
Moose - antlerless	$1,100	$2,200
Antelope - limited entry buck	$371	$742
Antelope - limited entry doe	$118	$236
Turkey - general	$125	$250
Turkey - limited entry	$125	$250

 

[ScottR]

Yeah, this will be interesting to see. Betting the release of all this is 100% going to send a LOT of comments into Utah.

 

[D_Dubya]

Yeah, this will be interesting to see. Betting the release of all this is 100% going to send a LOT of comments into Utah.

And what will they care about NR comments? I bet they don’t sell one less tag with the fee increase. I’d be surprised if all western states don’t double (or more) NR license tag prices in the next couple of years - there are way more willing and financially able hunters than there are tags. Wyoming started it last year and it will likely be a race to see what the market will bear. Supply and demand always head towards equilibrium and those with the $ almost always win -( except for corner crossing ). NR hunting opportunities will never be better than they are right now; more people, less game is the future of the West. I don’t like it, but I’ll plan for it and adjust accordingly.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I will not be applying to anything in Utah. Used to hunt there many years ago, but not now if this is signed into law.

 

[JimP]

I did some reading on the bill itself.

From what I read the DWR can raise the fees to this level and not beyond.

So now any increase will be in the hands othe DWR. But we all know what happens when you give the kids unlimited access to a full cookie jar.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

It definitely won’t matter to guys with lots of points. If I had 5 or more it wouldn’t matter to me.
although that’s a lot of money I won’t be starting to try and get a tag for elk or deer in Utah anytime soon.

 

[JimP]

I have 25 bison and 11 pronghorn points.

This may be my last year putting in for them if much of a increase happens.

I wasn't happy a few years ago when bison went from $1500 up to where it is now at $2400

 

[Maxhunter]

Yeah I saw that. I have a bunch of Utah points for deer, elk, and moose.

 

[HuskyMusky]

and not raise resident fees??

charging residents the same as non-residents would really increase revenue! $$$
-they would be able to issue less tags, which would in turn increase success rates, less hunters in the field at one time,
-draw odds would actually increase, because less applicants.

 

[HuskyMusky]

at this point, I could see...
...non-res could draw a premium tag and then charge someone else to "hunt along with them"

 

[JimP]

Well, the sky isn't falling like a lot of internet sleuths predicted. But there are increases for the non residents in Utah.

Copied and pasted from a news release:

Hunting and fishing fees for nonresidents will be increased, as follows:

• Nonresident hunting, fishing and combination license fees will not double, but will see a moderate adjustment. Nonresident 365-day fishing licenses will increase from $34 to $49 for youth and from $94 to $120 for adults. Nonresident 365-day hunting licenses will increase from $34 to $44 for youth and from $120 to $144 for adults. Nonresident combination licenses will increase from $38 to $58 for youth and from $150 to $190 for adults. This change will be in effect July 1, 2025.
• Hunt drawing application fees for nonresident hunters will also not be doubled. The new price will be $21 per application, a $5 increase, beginning on Sept. 1, 2025. There will be no changes to the fees for any applications, licenses and permits offered through the current 2025 big game application period.
• Nonresident hunting permit fees will be right-sized to value, based on the species and permit type. For example, limited-entry permit fees will be adjusted more than general-season permit fees, and once-in-a-lifetime species permit fees will generally see a higher increase, proportionally, than other permits. Nonresident buck deer permits for general-season hunts will increase from $418 to $599, and limited-entry permits will increase from $670 to $1,070. Nonresident bull elk permits for general-season hunts will increase from $613 to $849, and limited-entry permits will increase from $1,050 to $1,950.

These permit fee changes will not go through the DWR's typical public process of review — involving the Regional Advisory Councils and Utah Wildlife Board — since they have already received legislative approval.

Changes to nonresident license fees will go into effect on July 1, 2025, and changes to drawing application fees and hunting permits will go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.

 

[ScottR]

Well, the sky isn't falling like a lot of internet sleuths predicted. But there are increases for the non residents in Utah.

Copied and pasted from a news release:

Hunting and fishing fees for nonresidents will be increased, as follows:

• Nonresident hunting, fishing and combination license fees will not double, but will see a moderate adjustment. Nonresident 365-day fishing licenses will increase from $34 to $49 for youth and from $94 to $120 for adults. Nonresident 365-day hunting licenses will increase from $34 to $44 for youth and from $120 to $144 for adults. Nonresident combination licenses will increase from $38 to $58 for youth and from $150 to $190 for adults. This change will be in effect July 1, 2025.
• Hunt drawing application fees for nonresident hunters will also not be doubled. The new price will be $21 per application, a $5 increase, beginning on Sept. 1, 2025. There will be no changes to the fees for any applications, licenses and permits offered through the current 2025 big game application period.
• Nonresident hunting permit fees will be right-sized to value, based on the species and permit type. For example, limited-entry permit fees will be adjusted more than general-season permit fees, and once-in-a-lifetime species permit fees will generally see a higher increase, proportionally, than other permits. Nonresident buck deer permits for general-season hunts will increase from $418 to $599, and limited-entry permits will increase from $670 to $1,070. Nonresident bull elk permits for general-season hunts will increase from $613 to $849, and limited-entry permits will increase from $1,050 to $1,950.

These permit fee changes will not go through the DWR's typical public process of review — involving the Regional Advisory Councils and Utah Wildlife Board — since they have already received legislative approval.

Changes to nonresident license fees will go into effect on July 1, 2025, and changes to drawing application fees and hunting permits will go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.

Sounds like enough people made comments to stop them them from going all out.

 

[JimP]

Sounds like enough people made comments to stop them them from going all out.

I'm sure that you know how a number of state wildlife divisions work.

The Utah Legislature just set a ceiling and then the Utah DWR would set the prices. What the DWR did was to set the price at where they did to enable them to be able to raise them without having to go back to the Legislature to ask for the increase.

It's no different than other business that have price caps in place selling for less than that cap but can increase the price in the future to that cap.

I did find it interesting that all those that were screaming doom and gloom never came back onto their platforms and tell the truth on what the prices actually were increased to.

 

[ScottR]

I'm sure that you know how a number of state wildlife divisions work.

The Utah Legislature just set a ceiling and then the Utah DWR would set the prices. What the DWR did was to set the price at where they did to enable them to be able to raise them without having to go back to the Legislature to ask for the increase.

It's no different than other business that have price caps in place selling for less than that cap but can increase the price in the future to that cap.

I did find it interesting that all those that were screaming doom and gloom never came back onto their platforms and tell the truth on what the prices actually were increased to.

They never come back LOL