I spoke with the head of a sportsman's club yesterday and he informed me that when you send in your $10 for a doe tag the Fish and Game actually receives $40. There is some sort of a kick-in from a tax on hunting supplies and related stuff. Anyway, the deer numbers are down in Vermont and the F&G hands out doe tags as if they were candy. I have heard people say that it was all about the money but I just thought they were being cynical. This gentleman believes that it is indeed revenue driven. And now that I know about the $40 dollars they receive per doe tag, I believe it. You used to be able to drive around the back roads in my town and see 15 deer in say half an hour. Now you are lucky if you drive around for an hour and see a single deer. Every hunter I talk to is pissed. What is your opinion?
My thoughts.......... After growing up there, and hunting VT for around 15 years, I'll never go back unless drastic measures are taken. I don't care so much about a lower deer population, for me the problem is the lack of quality deer. In nearly 15 years of hunting the state, I saw maybe 2 bucks that were 2.5 years old, never anything older. My guess is that they are trying to reduce herd numbers so that the habitat can recover and eventually support better herd numbers, similar to what happened in PA. Without crop land (the VT farms are all going/gone under), or significant logging efforts, a mature forest can only support so many deer...........
Yes it is a 1 to 3 ratio of license fee to federal funds. The funds come from taxes on guns, bows etc. Due to the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937.
