So, which sounds like more, an $85 dollar price increase or a 566% price increase?

Our friend Arithmetic will show them to be the same amount in this scenario. And either way you slice it, it will be interesting to see what impact it will have, if any, on out-of-state customer participation.

A Montana State Legislature bill has been referred to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks committee, proposing an increase in nonresident base hunting fees - essentially an application fee paid once a year when an out-of-state hunter applies for or purchases their  hunting license. 

That nonresident base fee is currently only $15. Resident base fee is just $10. Three Montana legislators have drafted a bill that would raise nonresident base hunting fees by more than 500%.

House Bill 145 is introduced by Rep. Gary Parry (R-Colstrip), Rep. Eric Tilleman (R-Cascade), and Curtis Cochran (R-St. Regis). It would increase the base fee for non-resident hunting licenses from $15 to $100, a 566% increase.

WHAT COULD HIGHER NON-RESIDENT HUNTING FEES MEAN FOR MONTANA'S PIGGY BANK?

Yes, on paper it's a substantial increase. To gauge the impact, we referred to some Montana FWP numbers. For the year 2023, FWP received just over 85,000 nonresident applications with the mandatory $15 application base fee. That number has steadily increased each year, so on the conservative side, let's just round down to an even 85,000.

Using a way-too-simple formula, 85,000 multiplied by the additional $85 base fee per applicant would represent an additional $7,225,000 dollars.

Will that additional fee discourage thousands of applicants? That of course would delight many Montana residents who hunt, but that is a whole other topic.

Is the demand to go after big game and bird species in Montana so high that most applicants wouldn't hesitate because of such a big base fee increase?

It's fair to say we won't know unless a vote in the House passes the bill.

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