# Michigan Price Increase



## Critter (Mar 3, 2006)

michhutr said:


> Five years from now we'll be talking about unfulfilled promises. 10 years we'll be wondering why we have the same number of dnr officers that we had before the license fee increase.
> 
> 
> Yet I would not be surprised if another fee increase would be wanted with the same old promises.


There already sending 33 new candidates through the academy right now. That's pretty fast service if you ask me.


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## phensway (Nov 30, 2004)

IMO michigan should charge the exact same amount that the state the nonresident resides in. For example, if Iowa charges me 100 dollars for a non resident turkey tag then michigan should charge the same amount for an Iowa resident to hunt in michigan. That's only fair


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

phensway said:


> IMO michigan should charge the exact same amount that the state the nonresident resides in. For example, if Iowa charges me 100 dollars for a non resident turkey tag then michigan should charge the same amount for an Iowa resident to hunt in michigan. That's only fair


While it sounds great it would be cumbersome considering some states allow 2,3,4,5 turkeys.. Some states you buy a license there is no tags so if you can kill 3 turkeys for one fee do you divide by 3 to accommodate for the price of A turkey like our state offers.. 

Some states you buy some form of general license and than tags on top.. Like our state the tags are cheap so you could not simply charge there rate to kill one turkey but maybe average it over the maximum number of tags..

Additionally this model only works if one state practices it.. What if say Utah adopted it.. A hunter from Utah comes to MI to turkey hunt and is to be charged what his state charges but his state too charges what the other state hunts.. He would never leave the license terminal.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

timbrhuntr said:


> The interesting thing is Florida the home of the gold turkey offers a 7 day NR hunting license and they could easily just make you buy a more expensive yearly one and people would still go. I would have thought that Michigan would offer that option for sure as they don't have any gold turkeys there and likely most hard core turkey hunters will now just go somewhere else that is cheaper and offers more bang for your buck.


Exactly Florida has a unique resource, well according to the NWTF its unique  They can seemingly charge whatever they want and still attract hunters, we cannot.. 

Thats one reason if Arizona was intelligent, they would exterminate every Merriam in the state and stock Goulds whereever there is a snowballs chance they would survive.. With all the hassle and fear of crossing the border they could charge 1000 bucks a tag and sell as many as they wanted..


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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

Sounds a little pricey at $165 but that's what you get when you have rank amateurs running the DNR! 

Soak the out of State folks, that ought to help with the tourist trade!

I do think reciprocal pricing between States seems like a fair way to go.


Old Fred


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## michhutr (Jan 16, 2009)

Critter said:


> There already sending 33 new candidates through the academy right now. That's pretty fast service if you ask me.


If true that would be great. However, I've heard that we will be losing 23-26 field officers over the next couple of years due to retirement and other issues. What is the net gain over the next 5-10 years. Time will tell.


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## GVDocHoliday (Sep 5, 2003)

And another 30 starts another academy this September.


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## Tron322 (Oct 29, 2011)

michhutr said:


> Five years from now we'll be talking about unfulfilled promises. 10 years we'll be wondering why we have the same number of dnr officers that we had before the license fee increase.
> 
> 
> Yet I would not be surprised if another fee increase would be wanted with the same old promises.



you gotta agree with this, all I see with any increase from our government is they have more money to waste, and they are good at wasting it.


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## Tron322 (Oct 29, 2011)

Critter said:


> There already sending 33 new candidates through the academy right now. That's pretty fast service if you ask me.



the majority if not all of these recruits will be working belle isle, State conservation officers will be the law enforcement element on that new acquisition. So I will never see one, never plan on going to belle isle.


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## backroadstravler (Jul 12, 2006)

In the original post the hunter states along with turkey hunting he is also a mushroom hunter which he does for free. How many mushrooms can you pick in Tx or Fl? I have watched NR mushroom pickers. They would park their vehicle in my front yard and go through the woods like they were raking leaves. When approached on private property, the response was we are not hunting we are just picking musrooms. This happens every year on property North of Reed City. What the state should have done is also have a resident and NR habitat stamp for ALL users of the land. That includes hikers, mountain bikers and bird watchers. I think the state dropped the ball when they had the chance.


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## ausable riverboat (May 10, 2010)

I have bird hunted in several states and paid the big bucks. Plus most of the land is private, Michigan is blessed with tons of state land to hunt on for FREE. It's about time Michigan played catch up. And if they don't like the price than they can stay home and go somewhere else.


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## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

ausable riverboat said:


> I have bird hunted in several states and paid the big bucks. Plus most of the land is private, Michigan is blessed with tons of state land to hunt on for FREE. It's about time Michigan played catch up. And if they don't like the price than they can stay home and go somewhere else.


I think that was his point, he and many others are going to go elsewhere L.O.L.

For me I try not complain about what another jurisdiction does as far as game laws and tag prices as I am usually happy just to be allowed as NR to be able to hunt there. However to us that have hunted in Michigan for years this still sucks but like you said there are lots of other places with lots of land that you can hunt on for free so might as well try them out instead of Michigan. Thanks for the advise !


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## Beeg (Sep 6, 2000)

I am a non resident and own property in northern Michigan . I DO have to purchase non resident license . I was concerned about how the license changes would affect my wife and I . After looking at the rate chsrt it appeared to me that we would be paying less . I spoke with a lady at the DNR and he said the people like me who hunt multi species would be paying less. With the hunt - fish combo license I will pay $266 and then for an additional $15 add turkey. That will be $281 . In the past those license would have been over $400. .


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

I quit hunting them years ago because I thought all of the expense was too high and I am a resident. It would be another story if the money was invested in turkey management. I spend a small fortune deer hunting every year and most of my license fees and taxes go toward wolf management and Kirtland Warblers. And how much money do the bird and wolf watchers contribute????? Not a dime!!!!!!


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## o_mykiss (May 21, 2013)

Robert Holmes said:


> I spend a small fortune deer hunting every year and most of my license fees and taxes go toward wolf management and Kirtland Warblers.



I'd love to see some stats and evidence to prove your ridiculously wild speculation there


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

Robert Holmes said:


> I quit hunting them years ago because I thought all of the expense was too high and I am a resident.


Are you speaking strictly from the cost of a license? 

It surely cannot be because of gear.. This sport can be as simple and inexpensive as you want.. Broke down all you need is 1 call, a mouth call can be had for as low as 2.25 or a pot for around 10.. Take some low brass 6s and any shotgun you have laying around and watch your range.. 

Throw on an old pair of Khakis, brown shirt and dig up a piece of cork and your turkey hunting..


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## KLR (Sep 2, 2006)

I guess I fail to see where all the angst and hand wringing is coming from.

Missouri tags cost me $100 a piece.
Montana tags cost me $110 a piece.

Both were the cheapest part of either trip.

I guess if you live in South Bend your now $165 tag might cost you more than the travel expenses but for the majority of people you'll have more invested in getting to Michigan than $165...and the tag will still be the cheapest part of the trip.


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

Hookspur said:


> Well, it's too bad, but MI finally decided to join the greed-gang and charge non-residents an outlandish sum to hunt turkeys. The state used to offer a decent fee of $65, but now it will cost $165 or so, and for only a one bird limit. Sorry to say there are better bargains and less confining states to hunt, so I won't be coming back anytime soon. Sure gonna miss the fine folks, great turkey hunting, and awesome mushroom pickin'............


The upside is that you will be able to hunt 2 bucks and some does for $20 a pop.
What's it cost you to for the great turkey hunting in Indiana?


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## Hookspur (Aug 27, 2011)

You might not believe this, but Indiana DOES have great turkey hunting, and it costs me nothing (I bought a lifetime license many years ago). We also have a few deer down this way, so I sure won't need to even leave my home county to kill a few hooved carp! But, I'm a turkey hunter above and beyond anything else, and I travel many thousands of miles and hunt 10-12 states every year. The gist of my post is really just asking why I would choose to hunt MI, when I can hunt any number of other states that offer cheaper licenses, and/or higher bag limits. I am disappointed in the path MI has taken, because I love the times I've spent there. 


My home state is just as guilty as any other of outlandish pricing and the gouging of non-residents, and I hate that, too! Traveling to hunt other states is too much fun, and everyone ought to be able to afford the tags to go to as many states as they can squeeze into a season. I'm all for game departments charging fair prices and spending money on game management, but some states take it far beyond reason. I can list several if you like, but in my opinion, Michigan has now joined that select group. 


What they've done is priced many folks right out of the equation, seemingly without factoring in that there are other options for wise turkey hunters who do their research and simply go spend their dollars somewhere else. Again....why would I go hunt MI for $165 and only be able to kill one bird (a hunt which might conceivably only take a few minutes with Michigan's great turkey population), when I can visit any number of other states offering cheaper licenses and/or higher bag limits? It doesn't make sense.


And yes, I've picked morels all across the country (Texas and north Florida, too). MI doesn't have a monopoly on them.........


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## o_mykiss (May 21, 2013)

Hookspur said:


> You might not believe this, but Indiana DOES have great turkey hunting, and it costs me nothing (I bought a lifetime license many years ago). We also have a few deer down this way, so I sure won't need to even leave my home county to kill a few hooved carp! But, I'm a turkey hunter above and beyond anything else, and I travel many thousands of miles and hunt 10-12 states every year. The gist of my post is really just asking why I would choose to hunt MI, when I can hunt any number of other states that offer cheaper licenses, and/or higher bag limits. I am disappointed in the path MI has taken, because I love the times I've spent there.


What I'm failing to understand is that if you're driving a truck around for thousands of miles to a dozen states, how an extra few bucks for a license is the prohibiting budgetary factor


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## Hookspur (Aug 27, 2011)

Simple mathematics is your answer. The price hike is not just a few bucks. Multiply each state license by 2.5 (about what MI increased their fees) and if every state increased at such a rate it suddenly becomes _much_ less feasible to make such a trip. Heck, I'm rapidly sending myself to the poor house as it is!!! 

But again, the gist of the matter is fairness. After all, what other commodity has gone up 2.5 times in the last year? The turkey hunter traveling to MI most certainly hasn't received anything more for their money, so what is the incentive to come back? For such a huge price hike, you'd think they might've at least upped the limit to two birds. But, they didn't, and what that means is there are lots of other states which are cheaper already, and offer just as good turkey hunting with higher bag limits. Seems like a no-brainer for anyone comparing apples to apples, and the economic law of diminishing returns may just become valid as folks go elsewhere; only time will tell whether Michigan's license revenue will increase or decrease as traveling hunters make that choice.

On the other hand, perhaps this was done as a way of discouraging non-residents from hunting Michigan without coming right out and prohibiting it. Who's to say? There are always plenty of negative folks (including law-makers) who don't want to share the resource with anyone from "elsewhere," and lots of squeaky wheels clamoring to keep non-residents from killing "their" birds. As examples, Indiana didn't let non-residents hunt turkeys at all for many years, and ND still doesn't. Such limitations most certainly weren't due solely to a scarcity of turkeys in either case.....


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## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

o_mykiss said:


> What I'm failing to understand is that if you're driving a truck around for thousands of miles to a dozen states, how an extra few bucks for a license is the prohibiting budgetary factor


I like you and could you lend me a few bucks please because I also think I would like how much you lend me if you think a 97 dollar increase is just a few bucks. :lol:


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## Smith&Brownie (Mar 3, 2009)

o_mykiss said:


> What I'm failing to understand is that if you're driving a truck around for thousands of miles to a dozen states, how an extra few bucks for a license is the prohibiting budgetary factor


Here here!


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## dpweurding (Nov 9, 2009)

My bet here, is that you still hunt our great state, because you enjoy it. Make sure to post your successful hunt photos, with a frown because it just cost too much.


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## o_mykiss (May 21, 2013)

Hookspur said:


> But again, the gist of the matter is fairness. After all, what other commodity has gone up 2.5 times in the last year?


I think a better way of looking at it would be "what commodity stayed the same retail price for a decade while the wholesale price climbed considerably"

Licenses hadn't increased in Michigan in a long, long time, while the cost of operations for the DNR climbed dramatically over the same time period


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Hookspur said:


> But again, the gist of the matter is fairness. After all, what other commodity has gone up 2.5 times in the last year?


Maybe it was way under priced for many years?

Things cost what they cost. If $100 is going to influence my decision of where I go, I'm probably not all that interested in going there in the first place. Heck, depending on what gas prices are doing and where you're traveling from, your gas cost will vary more than $100 for the trip each year.


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## syonker (May 7, 2004)

I agree with Hookspur on the nonresident price increase/same bag limit.

With the cost of travel/staying the same for 1 bird or 1bird+, why would someone come to Michigan to hunt for an eastern turkey when we don't offer multiple tags?

For around $100 in Wisconsin, a nonresident can put together a back-to-back public/private land hunt along with hunting military bases with multiple kill tags.

As a a Michigan resident, that looks like a pretty good out-of-state value for a turkey hunt.


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