LAST EDITED ON Nov-18-18 AT 08:59AM (MST)[p]IMO it boils down to the fact they're going to charge what they feel the market will bear. Wyoming and Montana have already proven that applicants (especially NR applicants) are willing to pay a large point/app fee for the "Big 3", without much fuss, and without much reduction in applicant numbers. This is what happens when the demand for something exceeds the supply by more than 100x.
By the way, the cost to apply for Sheep, Moose and Goat in CO will increase by more than just the point fee. Assuming they won't let us opt-out of the point fee, from what I can tell, the total non-refundable fees to apply for the big-three will be over 400.00 (non-resident). This includes the increased app fee at 9.00 per species, the increased fee for the now-mandatory annual hunting license at 80.00, and the habitat stamp at 10.00. If those numbers are all correct, the NR total to apply will be 417.00 in non-refundable fees. Last year it was 19.00 total.