Resident vs. Nonresident Hunting

Who should get preference when it comes to allocating hunting permits in terms of resident vs. nonresident hunters? This is a debate that has gone on for a very long time now, and the issue is different across the United States and Canada.

Every year airports are swarming with hunters carrying their gear-packed bags, traveling out of state during the hunting season. The ongoing debate deals with what some hunter groups are calling “discriminatory” hunting regulations put in place for these nonresident hunters, such as shortened seasons, license and registration surcharges, and draw tags limited to a certain percentage increasing the likelihood of drawing a tag for resident hunters.

It would be impossible to cover all the details of this issue for every state, so for the purpose of this article I have chosen to mostly focus on New Mexico in the southwest region of the United States and British Columbia as part of the western region of Canada. Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this age old issue, I believe we should all get to know the roots of the problem. Or at least I would like to share the information that I have discovered during my research.

Hunting regulations were almost non-existent in the United States before the 19th century and this is said to be mostly because of the colonist’s reaction to European rules that allowed only landowning upper-class folk to hunt. Plenty of wildlife, which provided the food necessary for survival on the frontier, added to the lack of hunting regulations. Once the transportation and industrial revolutions came about in the mid-nineteenth century, human dependence on hunting had declined and at this point hunting took on two different forms: commercial hunting and recreational hunting. Hunting regulations were put in place out of concern for the wildlife. In fact, President Roosevelt was a passionate hunter and after his numerous hunting expeditions he became convinced of the need to establish regulations that will protect the game species from further destruction and possible extinction.

Commercial hunting of certain species was banned and recreational hunting was limited by requiring hunters to buy licenses. Nonresident hunting restrictions were constituted by courts and commentators as “discriminatory” hunting regulations.

Hunting Regulations in British Columbia

B.C’s law states that all nonresident hunters that want to hunt big game in the province of British Columbia must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter or by a resident who holds a Permit to Accompany. All nonresidents who are looking to hunt small game may do so without being accompanied by a guide outfitter.

British Columbia is said to have benefited from nonresident hunters for hundreds of years, yet the changes to the policy that determines how hunting permits are allocated are being criticized for favoring foreign interests. Before these changes were made, guides and outfitters only received 10% of most big game hunts, with the exception of sheep and goats, for which they received 20%. The new policy was implemented in order to help guide outfitters stay in business while at the same time giving priority to resident versus nonresident hunters.

Since the new allocations start at 20%, guide outfitters will get a higher percentage of permits under the new rules. As a result the B.C Wildlife Federation, which advocates for local hunters, states that nonresidents are getting too big of a share. The B.C Wildlife Federation says that the number of B.C resident hunters has increased in the last decade by 20%, while nonresident hunters hiring guide outfitters has dropped significantly.

In the Peace Region, 98% of permits for hunting antlerless elk will be allocated to residents, with only 2% given to guide outfitters. Although this sounds like a win for residents, it seems opinions vary, some say that the reason behind this high percentage that residents are getting is actually because antlerless elk are not considered a “trophy’’ animal by most foreign hunters and therefore there is no market for them.

Either way the debate rages on with resident hunters asking B.C government to review the changes recently made to hunting regulations.

Hunting Regulations in New Mexico

New Mexico is 46% public land and 54% private land.Tags for private land hunts can be sold to anyone but the price is usually higher than the price of public land tags, therefore mostly nonresidents purchase them.

When it comes to the nonresident vs resident hunting debate in New Mexico, the issue surfaced in the late 70’s and progressively got worse with time.

At the moment New Mexico state law has established the following quotas for draw hunts: 84% of draw licenses are awarded to residents, 10% of draw licenses are awarded to residents and nonresidents applying with a New Mexico registered outfitter and 6% of draw licenses are awarded to nonresidents applying without a New Mexico registered outfitter. Also, residents do not need to purchase a license to hunt non-game species which include prairie dogs, ground squirrels, Himalayan Tahr, porcupine and rabbits, while nonresidents must purchase a Nonresident Nongame License or any New Mexico nonresident hunting license.

Interested in knowing more about this issue in New Mexico I contacted the executive director of the New Mexico Council of Guides and Outfitters (NMCOG), Kerrie Romero. Kerrie states that the last thing New Mexico guides and outfitters want at this point is to lose any more nonresident opportunities. Kerrie believes that within the next year or so a legislative move will be made to further diminish nonresident hunting opportunities. They are fighting by trying to demonstrate the significance nonresidents have in contributing to New Mexico’s tourism.

Tourism is New Mexico’s second largest industry, bringing more than $5.7 billion annually with New Mexico’s fish, wildlife, and habitats annually contributing $3.8 billion to the state’s economy through hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. Kerrie hopes that by getting the Department of Tourism to recognize the benefit hunters provide to the wildlife conservation as well as the economy, they will successfully demonstrate what an important role nonresident hunting plays and get the upper hand in this debate. Kerrie also points out that private landowners contribute significantly to the habitat, providing a suitable environment, water and food for big game animals.

Resident advocacy is fighting for what they believe local hunters are entitled to. Guide and outfitter organizations are fighting to sustain their businesses. Opinions vary and regulations are different from one state to the other. Whether this stormy debate will soon come to an end is yet to be seen.