Originally Posted by Beebs
My thoughts:
1. Require WMA permit to enter the draw. Why should non-WMA permit holders get a chance to hunt land paid for with WMA money before they've invested a dime in the program?I heard that there were several people last year that showed up to SOA hunts without WMA permits. Just require everyone to pay into the system if they want to enter the draw, just like the gator tags. This will also take more revenue for public land/SOA as previously mentioned.
2. Cap out-of-state success somewhere around 10%. Theoretically, someone from Wyoming without an AL hunting license or WMA license has the same odds to be drawn as an AL resident that has bought a hunting and WMA license every year for the past several decades. In fact, I don't even think you need to be a US citizen to enter. Alabama has limited public land, so let's give the residents priority.
3. Let's get a preference point system going so there is a chance to be drawn if you apply long enough.

All of this could be enacted using the gator tag approach. Just instead of having to pay the admin fee for the lottery, just pay your WMA license fee. Make the WMA license fee higher for out-of-state.


Agree with you 100%. There is a preference point system already though. If I had to guess the reason they don’t require WMA license was political. There are so many people opposed to any public land, like someone else said previously there are politicians who try underhanded ways to destroy forever wild. I think it was a year or 2 ago they tried to impose property taxes on the land which would have destroyed it. That’s an example of elected officials not following the will of the people who elected them. How can a bill to kill FW even come close to passing the the vote by the public was so overwhelmingly in favor.

Anyway I bet when they were trying to get approval for SOA program part of the pitch to these politicians was that it was for everybody, not just public land hunters. It should just be for public land hunters and those willing to support it with $16.50. The people on this post dogging public land, hoping FW would dissolve and everything else are probably applying and have the same chance to enjoy SOA program. How awesome is the new dove hunting program for you and your kids that’s now available?

Somebody said our public land is only available for 75% of our season. All WMAs are open to bowhunting the entire season and either sex. The national forests are open to gun all year but only a couple weeks to kill does. That’s not bad. If they opened all the land to the entire rifle season with no limitations there wouldn’t be any deer left. There already isn’t enough on a lot of these properties I wish they would restrict them more.

I have almost as much distrust and distaste for government and politicians as everybody else. But some things are necessary. There wouldn’t even be any deer in the state if the government had not restocked them and created hunting seasons. People can’t be left with a free choice between greed and our wildlife and land because greed will always win.