# Nonresident hunting limits stand



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Nonresident hunting limits stand

http://www.casperstartribune.net/ar.../wyoming/a978c4af72fb13b387256ffe000595d3.txt

By JEFF GEARINO, Star-Tribune staff writer Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Wyoming and other Western states will be able to continue limiting nonresident hunting and fishing licenses under a bill passed Tuesday by Congress.

A supplemental appropriations bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday includes an amendment that will protect the traditional authority of states to regulate hunting and fishing, said U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who cosponsored the bill.

The bill allows states including Wyoming to continue distinguishing between residents and nonresidents when issuing hunting and fishing licenses.

"Wildlife is one of Wyoming's most important assets, and this bill reaffirms that Wyoming citizens, who bear most of the costs associated with managing wildlife, will remain in control," Enzi said in a statement.
The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials have been following the bill closely and said the law will help preserve the state's right to regulate hunting within its borders. Game and Fish directors could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The agency has long held that Wyoming's limitation on percentages of licenses allocated to residents and nonresidents -- and the cost differential between the two -- is the state's prerogative and not a violation of interstate commerce or equal protection clauses.

Many of the Game and Fish big game license allocations are set by the Legislature through state statutes. For example, the 20 percent of deer and antelope licenses and the 25 percent of bighorn sheep licenses going to nonresidents each year are statutory. Other license allocations are done by Game and Fish Commission regulations.

Enzi's measure was prompted by a 2002 ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling said that Arizona's law allotting just 10 percent of bull elk and antlered deer hunting tags to nonresidents was an act of "overt discrimination."

"The people of Wyoming know how to manage the wildlife in our state better than the 9th Circuit Court or the federal government," Enzi said. "This bill makes sure that Wyoming citizens, who have the most pride in area wildlife, are the people in charge."

Enzi said on Tuesday, the Senate passed the supplemental appropriations bill conference report accompanying H.R. 1268 by a vote of 100-0. The House passed the conference report May 5 by a vote of 368-58.

He said language in a previous Enzi cosponsored bill, which would keep control of hunting and fishing regulations out of the hands of the federal government, was included in the supplemental bill passed Tuesday.

In the meantime, Game and Fish officials are waiting on a ruling in another case that also challenges the state's requirements on nonresident hunters. That case is now before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The lawsuit was brought by former Wyoming resident Donald J. Schutz, a Florida attorney who at one time attended Laramie High School and the University of Wyoming. Schutz's lawsuit alleges that the state's licensing system violates equal protection laws and that the guide requirements for hunting in Wyoming wilderness areas is unconstitutional.

Wyoming won a similar court case and appeal in 2000 in a lawsuit that was filed by the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association in 1998. Wyoming outfitters had long complained before the suit that the limited number of hunting licenses available to hunters from other states hurt the state's outfitters and guides and prevented them from making as much money as they could on hunting revenues.

Reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at (307) 875-5359 or at [email protected].


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Bush signs law allowing states to set own hunting, fishing rules

ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/12/2005 11:37 pm 
http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=99412

A bill affirming the authority of states to regulate hunting and fishing has been signed into law by President Bush. 
The legislation frees states to set their own regulations and in some  including Nevada  upholds rules that favor residents over out-of-state applicants. 

The measure, sponsored by several Western lawmakers including U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada, was in response to a 2002 federal appeals court ruling that said states restricting nonresident hunting tags must do so in the least discriminatory way. 

Versions of the bill were passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, and then attached to an emergency appropriations bill for defense, terrorism and tsunami relief that was signed by Bush late Wednesday, Reids press secretary, Tessa Hafen, said Thursday. 

This is a big victory for Nevadans and for sportsmen everywhere, Reid, D-Nev., said when the measure passed the Senate earlier this week. 

The hunting provision states its in the public interest for any state to be able to regulate fish and wildlife programs within its boundaries, including by means of laws or regulations that differentiate between residents and nonresidents or fees charged. 

It further asserts that such restrictions do not fall under the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. 

The law follows a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an Arizona case filed by three New Mexico outfitters who claimed restrictions on nonresidents in some big game hunts were discriminatory. 

Having prevailed in the Arizona case, the outfitters sued Nevada in July, alleging Nevadas draw system that reserves most big game tags for residents was illegal because it discriminated against nonresidents. 

The people of Wyoming know how to manage the wildlife in our state better than the 9th Circuit Court or the federal government, said U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. 

Wildlife is one of Wyomings most important assets and this bill reaffirms that Wyoming citizens, who bear most of the costs associated with managing wildlife, will remain in control, Enzi said. 

National hunting groups largely have stayed out of the fight. 

Its a tough one, a divisive thing. As an organization we dont have a position and are not likely to take one, said Dan Crockett, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in Montana. 

Both sides have legitimate arguments, he said. 

I understand the concern that if you live in New York or Nebraska and you have to pay roughly 148 times as much to hunt for the same elk I hunt for in Montana, Crockett said Thursday. 

At the same time, the last time I checked, Montana was 46th or 47th in per capita income, so sometimes people make a deliberate trade-off to live somewhere and have these sort of opportunities, he said. 

Though other states use restrictive criteria for some hunts, Nevada is the only state that uses a quota system for all big game species. 

Last year, about 112,000 people applied for tags in Nevada. Of the 19,800 tags issued for big game, 18,255 went to residents. 

The restrictions have been questioned in Nevada after a son and father, who was on the Nevada Wildlife Commission, were charged with providing false information to illegally obtain resident Nevada hunting licenses for the son in 2002-2004. The men have pleaded no contest, but are trying to withdraw their pleas, saying they didnt do anything wrong in obtaining the hunting licenses.

To comply with the federal appeals court ruling, the Nevada Wildlife Commission in March adopted new rules to try to even the playing field between residents and nonresidents. 

Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy said Wednesday that the new legislation signed by Bush wont affect this years big game lottery because the rules already have been set. 

Wildlife commissioners meet today and Saturday in Reno to set tag quotas for different species. The annual lottery is conducted in June.


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## sagittarius (Jun 2, 2004)

In Illinois ... Senator Sieben filed yet another amendment on HB1074 today (5/13). Senate Amendment #4 calls for graudating the NR deer permit fees from $325 in 2005, to $375 in 2006 and $425 in 2007. The cap will remain at "no less than 20,000. 

This amendment will have to go through the rules committee... onto the full senate floor for approval, and then back to the house again... before going to the governor. 

What is not included in the NR permit fee is the required annual NR hunting license cost is $50.75 (5 day = $28), application fee of $13, habitat stamp of $5.50 which is an additional $69.25. 

If this passes in its current form, a NR deer hunter could pay $494.25 to hunt deer in Illinois in 2007. 
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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Federal appeals court upholds North Dakota hunting restrictions

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota's restrictions on nonresident hunters are legal, a federal appeals court says in rejecting a challenge from Minnesota.

North Dakota allows residents to hunt ducks and geese a week earlier than nonresidents, and the state charges out-of-state hunters more for licenses. Minnesota officials argued that the restrictions discriminate against outsiders and violate interstate commerce provisions.

The 8th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Congress allows states to regulate such activities.

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/15189747.htm


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