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Committee backs two changes to elk application process: 10% cap for nonresidents and qualifying-license requirement for all applicants
Summary
The Wildlife Management Committee unanimously approved two elk-license measures to send to the January board: cap nonresident-drawn elk licenses at 10% of total and require all applicants (resident and nonresident) to hold a qualifying hunting license before applying. Staff will present licensing-sales data and regulation drafts in January.
The committee unanimously approved two linked reforms to how elk licenses are allocated and issued and forwarded both items to the January board meeting for drafting and final action.
Proposal 8(a) would limit elk licenses drawn by nonresidents to 10% of the total available in a given year. Commissioner Scott Floridore and others said the change responds to resident concerns about perceived nonresident shares of high-demand tags. Commissioner Kristen Koppenhaver noted that a 10% cap is roughly the historical average and said the change would align the state's practice with other states protecting resident access.
Proposal 8(b) was amended on the floor to require that anyone applying for an elk license, resident or nonresident, first hold a qualifying hunting license. Jason Dacoski told the committee that implementing the requirement will require regulatory rewriting and staff will provide detailed licensing-sales timing and behavior to the board in January. Dacoski said changing the application eligibility will affect how and when the agency sells elk applications, particularly during off-season marketing events.
The committee voted unanimously to advance both items as amended. Director Smith said staff will prepare the drafting work and present licensing-sales and distribution data at the January meeting so commissioners can review implementation and timing implications.
