gl7mm,
The Eastman's article you refered to is so full of inacuracies, i hope Mike Eastman will publish my factual rebutal.
For starters, after trashing Utah, the auciton tags, no big bucks, mis treatment of non residents, THE COVER OF THE EASTMANS' ISSUE, IS A TEXAS HUNTER, WITH A MONSTER UTAH BUCK PUBLIC LAND BUCK, 95% CHANCE AN AUCTION TAG !! How is that for Hypocracy at its finest ?
This is also a VERY SIMPLE issue to understand, that Eastman doesn't. Utah's auction tags are 5% of the total offered. So, as the tags generate millions, and millions more in matching funds are invested, the herds have grown dramatically, the total number of auction tags has gone up, the percentage stays the same - 5%.
If you go back 10 to 15 years, under this program, Sheep tags have gone from 8 to nearly 70, trophy elk from 500 to over 2,000, super quality deer from less than 200 to 800, and dramatic improvement in general season quanity and quality for 97,000 hunters. the Henry Mts - now probably the best deer unit in the world, was closed to hunting, so few deer, and so few two point bucks, same with the Book Cliffs. Lots of tag money went to make those units, NOW world class, thus your drawing odds are LONG, everyone wants one of those tags.
so, as an example, when there were 500 trophy elk tags, there were 25 auction tags. When the herds grew, and now there are 2,000 tags, that means there are 100 auciton tags. Utah didn't just print elk tags like Arizona and Nevada are doing, and dramatically decreasing the quality of bulls, Utah invested in the habitat, and grew the base herds.
You are correct from the pure standpoint of yes, in Wyoming, a non resident will draw a deer tag in 3-5 years. IN Utah, the Henries, Pauns. or Book Cliffs might be 1 in 20 or 30.
However, the Utah general season tags, in which the quality of bucks is approaching Wyoming, you could draw a Utah general tag most likely every 2-3 years. A Wyoming hunter shot a 37 inch MONSTER buck on a general season, public land permit this year in Utah.
While other states sit and moan about no money to make things better, the Utah system is a bit like a business. Take 5% of the profits, reinvest them into the company, and grow the business. the 5% of the Auction tags generate almost as much money as the 95% provided in the normal draw. the 95% draw tag money goes into basic day to day operations and managment. The 5% goes to dramatically improve habitat, acquire new habitat, start new herds, and overall increase herds, quality of bucks, bulls, and rams, and more opportunity.
The biggest problem now in Utah, is that when hunting sucked a big one ten plus years ago, only 20,000 hunters applied for the limited tags. Now, that the hunts are WORLD CLASS, over 225,000 people apply, thus, making the odds terrible.
AT any rate, some facts i hope Eastman's will publish, if not, here it is.
Don
Who knows, me and the old man are still talkin about it. 
