Proposed FWP license fee increases could have benefits

Increasing hunting and fishing license fees will surely be one of the most hotly debated items during the current legislative session. Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) has proposed substantial increases in virtually every license issued to Montana residents.

Proposed license fee increases range from a 33 percent increase for a bear license, over 50 percent for deer and elk licenses, 80 percent for antelope licenses and a whopping 300 percent for an upland bird license. Fishing licenses will increase from $13 to $20.

These fees will only pertain to resident licenses, not non-residents. Non-resident fees were increased in 2001. License revenues from non-resident hunting and fishing already make up nearly 70 percent of FWP’s license fee revenue.

If you think paying $20 for a resident deer tag is high, consider the non-resident who pays more than $300 for a deer tag or $777 for a guaranteed outfitter sponsored deer tag.

At first glance, the proposed license fees seem high. But we need to view them in historic perspective. The last general increase in hunting and fishing licenses was in 1991. That increase in license fees allowed FWP to build up a multi-million dollar budget surplus. But over the years, increasing costs to maintain our wildlife resources and new programs have eaten away at that budget surplus.

Without an increase in license fees, the budget surplus will be gone in the near future. Since our Legislature only meets every two years and it takes a year or more to implement new license fees, the current Legislature must act now.

Many hunters and fishermen feel that FWP personnel are overpaid and under worked. I disagree. For example, compare the average salary of a federal wildlife biologist with that of a FWP biologist, I know the average state biologist is paid at least 25 percent less.

I don’t know of another state agency that has such a cadre of hard-working folks who contribute lots of donated time to their job. Here’s an example: Last year, I decided to call regional fisheries manager, Jim Vashro, at 10 p.m. I knew this was five hours past normal quitting time, but I had his direct line and wanted to leave a message. Guess what, when Vashro’s telephone rang at 10 p.m., he answered the telephone. He was at work.

During the past few years, FWP’s budget has increased less than the cost of inflation. So those folks are not living high.

Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching is big business in Montana. Wildlife contributes more than $1 billion to Montana’s economy each year. Except for a small amount of taxpayer dollars for the state park system, virtually all of FWP’s income is license revenues or matching federal dollars tied to license sales and hunter/angler equipment purchases.

While I think hunters and anglers should support reasonable license fee increases, there are two aspects of the proposed increase that I think should be reconsidered. I suggest phasing in the increases during a period of years. Increased license revenues are needed, but all of the proposed increase is not needed next year.

I also believe the FWP should rethink requiring applicants for moose, sheep and goat tags to make license deposits in advance. The proposed new fee for those licenses are $150 each. If a family of four applies for all three of those treasured licenses, they will have to send in $1,800.

If you want to leave a message with your legislator about license fee increases, you can leave a message at 406-444-4800.

Meanwhile, the weather has warmed up, so this will be a great weekend to get back to some ice fishing.

(Warren Illi’s commentary first appeared in the Daily Inter Lake.)