Nonresident hunters should be aware of numerous changes to nonresident deer and elk tags for 2021 before tags go on sale at 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Dec. 1.
- Nonresidents will have to pick an elk zone, as in the past, but nonresident tags will be limited in all zones that were not previously capped for both nonresidents and residents. There is no change to the existing cap on nonresidents in capped elk zones.
- Nonresidents will pay higher fees in 2021, which will also take effect Dec. 1. A nonresident adult hunting license will be $185, a deer tag will cost $351.75 and an elk tag will cost $651.75.
- Nonresident deer hunters will have to pick the unit they plan to hunt and can only hunt in that unit.
- Nonresident hunters planning to buy an elk tag and deer tag should also beware the deer tag will only be valid in one hunting unit, whereas most elk zones consist of several units.
- Fish and Game has a new license vendor, and anyone planning to buy a license and/or tag should go online prior to Dec. 1 and set up an account, or check their existing account to make sure it is valid. If the hunter’s account does not have correct information, contact a customer service agent at (800) 554-8685. You will not be able to buy a license/tag online without a valid account.
- Under the new online licensing system, if you have a license and tag in your shopping cart, they are reserved for you. You will have 5 minutes to complete the purchase or they will go back into the pool of available tags.
- For highly sought-after tags where sellouts are expected within minutes (like the Sawtooth Elk Zone tags), nonresident hunters should log on about 15 minutes in advance. Everyone logged on in advance will be put into a “waiting room” and randomly selected to make a purchase, so there is no benefit to logging in well in advance of the sale.
- Numbers of nonresident deer and elk tags available on Fish and Game’s website ahead of the sale may not reflect what’s available for sale on Dec. 1 because some nonresident tags are set aside for outfitters. The online license vendor will display the number of tags available for sale in “real time."
- Nonresident general-hunt tags can be exchanged for other general tags if they are available, the nonresident quota has not sold out, and the hunts have not started. Also, if a hunter draws a controlled hunt tag in the spring, the hunter can exchange the general-hunt tag.
- New nonresident limits apply only to general-hunt tags. Nonresidents can still apply for controlled hunts, and will remain limited to no more than 10 percent of the tags in each controlled hunt.
- There is a new limit on reduced-price tags for nonresident disabled American veterans, which is 500 nonresident DAV deer tags and 300 nonresident DAV elk tags for over-the-counter deer and elk hunts. After those are sold out, nonresident disabled veterans can still buy deer/elk tags if available, but at full nonresident prices.