08/07/2026
Nonresident hunters are often unpopular with residents who don’t like seeing out-of-state hunters competing for tags, access, and a limited wildlife resource, but those nonresidents also pay a huge percentage of the bills. In the states I looked at, nonresidents account for 22% in Pennsylvania, around 25–30% in Oregon and Texas, roughly 35% in Wisconsin and Arizona, about 44% in Ohio, nearly 50% in Georgia, and somewhere around 70% in Montana. They may represent a relatively small percentage of the hunters, but because nonresident licenses and tags often cost more, they generate a massive amount of revenue for state wildlife agencies.
That doesn’t mean game agencies should simply chase nonresident dollars. Unfortunately,a lot of agencies have forgotten that their goal isn’t just to maximize revenue. Their first priority should be maximizing hunting opportunity for the people who actually live in their state and fund that state year after year. Nonresident opportunity has a place, but residents should come first. Nonresidents should be the afterthought, not the business model.
— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Owner, DeLong Lures
