“This is the spot” I said as I put my truck in park and grabbed my fishing pole. Blake and Eric had a surprised look on their face as they gathered their gear and watched me make a v-line for the creek. A small stream of water that you can step over suddenly turns into a pool of water with the help of a beaver damn. Not exactly what you would expect for a honey hole in Colorado, but I had been here before and knew it would produce.
I had to strike first, because once these fish catch onto the game they hide in underwater hallows waiting for the commotion to cease. I casted a black and yellow spinner along the deepest part of the pond. Reeling just fast enough to keep it off the bottom and far enough away from the damn it didn’t snag on a stray stick. The first cast resulted in a miss. The second cast my prey was not as lucky, I wrestled him to shore and constructed a make shift stringer from a willow branch.
That was the only action I’d see in the afternoon. Back at camp I fired up the propane stove, coated the fish in oil, added some salt and pepper, wrapped it in tin foil and threw it on the stove. The three of us stood around telling stories and discussing strategies for the next eight days of bow hunting elk in the mountains.
When the meal was ready I opened up the tin foil on an old folding table and the three of us picked at the fish with our hands like a bunch of coyotes devouring their prey. The sun was setting over the Rocky Mountains as someone commented “Dang! This is pretty good.” Smirking, I replied “It’s the best $670 dollar trout you’ll ever eat.”
The comment got a laugh out of everyone, however it was a sobering reality. We had eight days of hunting ahead of us, but shooting an elk with a bow is hard. The chances of going home with tag soup are dramatically higher than punching our permit. A permit that costs $670 dollars and gives you the opportunity to hunt elk and fish in Colorado. I had some close calls and missed opportunities, but in the end I did not harvest an elk and settled for that $670 dollar trout.
I hunt. It’s my passion. It’s my hobby. It’s what I spend my money on. Hunting comes with a cost, and if you want to hunt and fish in multiple states you better be prepared to shell out some cash. In 2020 I decided to track how much I spent on licenses or basically the opportunity to step into the woods to hunt or cast a line. I didn’t keep track of what I spent on gear, food, gas, lodging, ect while pursuing activities in the outdoors.
In full disclosure I am ok with what I spend on permits. I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t. I believe the money goes to help wildlife and habitat. However, the costs add up. Below is a list of what I spent on licenses, preference points, and permit lotteries. Understanding the draw system in all the various states is confusing and a topic for its own article. However, I think it is important to point out that some of these costs are only going increase my chances of drawing a tag in future years or I am just entering my name into a drawing for a once in a lifetime opportunity.
There you have it. I spent $2,173 dollars on licenses or the opportunity to draw a license. This isn’t a small sum of money and one of the reasons I have to keep my house cold in the winter and hot in the summer (just ask Stephanie). In my opinion the rising cost of tags to hunt is one of the reasons the number of Americans that hunt and fish continue to decline.
State wildlife agencies know the future of hunting and fishing rely on getting more Americans to participate. Most states offer very affordable youth tags and have youth seasons to encourage participation. This is a good start, but as soon as the individual turns the age of requiring to pay full price for tags is where they lose hunters and fishermen.
I grew up hunting and fishing. I didn’t hunt and fish much in college. I was focused on wrestling and school and didn’t allocate time to outdoor activities. When I thought about going hunting the cost of licenses were a barrier. Imagine a college kid coming home for Thanksgiving and wanting to go duck hunting with his dad in Nebraska. By the time you purchase the hunting license, state duck stamp, and federal duck stamp you’ve spent over $70. That’s a lot for one or two morning in the duck blind.
Fortunately, I jumped right back into hunting and fishing after I graduated from college. I was single, had a good job, and went on my first Colorado elk hunt. That hooked me and the rest is history. Others choose a different route. They get married, have a family, and just don’t have the discretionary time or money to hunt and fish. I believe if state agencies want to increase the participation numbers of Americans they need to focus on the 18 to 34 demographic. Because when we lose hunters and fishermen at this age, it’s tough to get them back.
As fewer people purchase tags, the cost continue to rise in order to meet revenue goals. How high will they go? Tough to say, but I bet I eat a $1,000 trout before I die.
How Does This Apply to Business
Imagine the head of product development, the head of finance, and a sales guy sitting in a meeting. They are reviewing a new product and the cost is twice as much as the product the salesman was previously selling. The salesman complains “This is way too expensive!” The number of people that will buy this will significantly go down!” Too which the finance and product development guy replies “Yah, but you only have to sell half as much.”
Price is a function of supply and demand. I don’t really remember the details from Economics in college, but your ideal price is where the supply curve and the demand curve intersect. If the price is higher than this point the demand will go down. It’s a decision businesses have to make and there are many pricing/customer equations that will reach short term revenue goals.
However, what is overlooked is the lifetime value of a customer. Once you lose a customer it’s tough to get them back. Acquisition costs to attract new customers often cost a lot more than keeping a customer happy. If the goal of the business is longevity, you can’t set prices that drive away customers.
The higher price model will work for a while, because a business can get to the same revenue point with fewer customers. But once all the customers are gone, so is the business.
Until next time remember…you’re going to have to earn it.