Local Sportsmen Weigh in on Proposed DNR Fee Increases
By Amy Polk

Fishing and hunting license fees will be raised gradually over the next four years under the latest plan to create more revenue for the Department of Natural Resources. If fee increases are adopted, the new revenue would curb an $8 million deficit projected for the 2008 Game and Fish Protection Fund.

The plan was proposed and is being considered now by lawmakers, and replaces a 2006 Natural Resources Commission proposal to raise all fees immediately. The new proposal also includes a provision to allow inflationary increases in fees in 2012 and 2013, raising fees even more. The DNR says the increases are overdue, and are one way to generate enough money to balance the budget. The deficit could grow to more than $40 million by 2010, the agency says.

Public opinion on the increases is mixed, with some residents admitting it's time to increase rates, while others say the rates are too high, especially for senior citizens.

If adopted, by 2010 the cost of a deer hunting license would double from $15 to $30. A senior citizen license for deer hunting would increase from $6 to $19.75 by 2013. The archery and firearms deer hunting combination license would change from $30 to $75 by 2010, and could increase to $82.69 by 2013. Non-resident deer licenses would increase from $138 to $165 immediately. Junior license fees will be half the adult price, and the hunting age will drop from 17 to 16 years, like it is in other Great Lakes states. Seniors will pay 40% off the price of a regular license by 2013 under the proposal.

Resident fee increases will be phased in, but non-residents fee hikes will be immediate.

Following public outcry and a lack of Michigan Senate and House support last year, the new proposal calls for raising regular rates in increments over the next four years, rather than all at once.

"There was some sticker shock, initially, when we came out with these fee increase proposals in November," said Mary Dettloff, DNR press secretary. "But Michigan really is in the bargain basement when it comes to fishing and hunting license fees."

Compared to the other Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, Michigan has the cheapest fishing and hunting license fees.

Michigan also enjoys some of the largest participation in outdoor recreation, ranking third in the nation in hunting license sales. Wisconsin ranked first, followed by Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2006. Michigan receives about $20.5 million in federal excise funds collected from firearms sales and redistributed to states based on the number of hunting licenses they sell. Total federal funds comprised 14 percent ($42.9 million) of the DNR's 2006-2007 budget.

Michigan is ninth in the nation in fishing license sales.

Despite Michigan's rank in the nation, license sales are fading at a rate of one to two percent a year, however, as the American public's interest in hunting and fishing declines, Ms. Dettloff said. Fewer people held hunting licenses in 2005 than they did in 1963. Ms. Dettloff cited a significant drop in small game hunting as an example.

"We've seen a major drop-off in small game hunting, and one of the reasons is because it's a primarily rural activity. People used to go out to Grandpa's farm and shoot rabbits, but people aren't doing that anymore, especially when Grandpa's selling his farm to develop it into a housing development," Ms. Dettloff said. "Michigan's not alone. It's happening all over the country."

There is a nationwide effort to get more women and children interested in what has traditionally been a male-dominated field, as women and children are viewed as the future of outdoor sports. Efforts like the national Becoming an Outdoors Woman program are expanding in Michigan to introduce women to hunting and fishing as lifelong hobbies. Ohio offers reduced price "apprentice" licenses for people to accompany experienced hunters to learn the sport.

Efforts like these may be thwarted by economic factors like higher gasoline prices, some residents speculate.

"Things are crazy, with gas at over $3 a gallon and predicted to go as high as $4 this summer, this might be the straw that breaks the camel's back," said Harry Reinfelder, a former fishing resort owner who lives on Munuscong Bay near Pickford. "That may be a contributing factor in limiting people."

He acknowledges the need to increase hunting and fishing fees, but feels the proposal is too much, too late. Senior citizens will especially feel the impact, since many are on fixed incomes. Michigan seniors 65 and older now pay $6 to hunt bear, deer, small game, turkey, and trap fur animals. The proposed increase will triple the senior fees for deer and turkey to $19.75 by 2013. Abear license will shoot up to $33, while small game and fur harvester licenses will increase to $13.25. Senior anglers now pay $6 for a fishing license (no salmon or trout) or $11.20 for an all-species license. Those fees are proposed to increase to $13.25 for a restricted license and $26.50 for an all-species license by 2013.

A member of the 140-member Les Cheneaux Sportsman's Club, Mr. Reinfelder said many of its members are senior citizens, and feel the same way. He is in favor of some fee increases, but he thinks the DNR should not raise senior citizen fees. He supports the idea of raising fees gradually, "a couple dollars at a time," or a temporary fee increase to get the DNR through its current funding problems.

"My input would be, leave the seniors alone. Give them a break. We're the ones on a fixed income, and we don't get raises. When you're scrambling and struggling to make ends meet, things like that make it harder," Mr. Reinfelder said.

The DNR now gives seniors a 60 percent discount on license fees, Ms. Dettloff said, and the department cannot continue to give such a large discount, especially with the Baby Boomer generation on the verge of becoming senior citizens.

"We're looking at a huge segment of our population becoming eligible for the senior discount, and we can't afford to give that many of our users that much of a discount," Ms. Dettloff said. "We can't afford to lose that much revenue."

Revenue raised from license fee sales goes to the Game and Fish Protection Fund, a restricted fund for the DNR's wildlife and fish conservation work in the state. The fund pays for conservation officers, wildlife and fish habitat projects, field biologists, and stocking programs. If adopted, the new, higher fees will allow the Department of Natural Resources to maintain current services and jobs. The department has already trimmed $5.2 million from its budget over the last year, Ms. Dettloff said, and cut many seasonal jobs. The DNR now employs about 1,300 people (compared to 1,620 in 1996), and most are in the field working as fisheries and field biologists, conservation officers, and surveillance workers. Approximately 55 percent of the DNR budget is spent on staff. Without more revenue, the department will have to cut more jobs and programs, Ms. Dettloff said.

"Even the most casual users of our natural resources will feel the impact of the cuts," Ms. Dettloff said.

The last time the DNR increased fees was in 1996, when only two fees were increased by $1 each. The schedule of fee increases suggested last year was rejected by lawmakers, as well as the public. Legislators like 107th State Representative Gary McDowell thought the initial proposal was too severe. He recognizes the need to generate more revenue for the DNR, but he wants to hear more from his constituents in northern Michigan.

The 110-member Straits Area Sportsman's Club is among those in Michigan with an alternative proposal to straight fee increases. The group has proposed a small sales tax increase (one tenth of one percent) that would raise approximately $1 million a year and could be dedicated to conservation, said club president Louis Colegrove of St. Ignace. He estimates the increase would cost about $20 to $30 a year to the average Michigan family, and would spread the cost of conservation around to other resources users who don't pay fees, such as bird watchers, and berry and mushroom pickers.

"We were not in favor of the first proposal (introduced in 2006), but we know they need more money, and they're going to raise the fees," he added.

He suspects some public opposition to fee increases comes from dissatisfaction with natural resource management, including the fact that anglers and hunters bear most of the cost by purchasing permits.

"Deer herds are down. Fish populations are down, and they cut back fish limits. They haven't done a lot for us, so a lot of guys don't want to give them anything," he said.

Les Cheneaux Sportsman's Club President Dick Goodell said he would like to see the DNR get a bigger cut of poaching fines. He was dismayed to learn recently that the department only receives $10 from tickets written by conservation officers. Penal fines paid by game and fish violators are deposited in the state's public library fund and redistributed to help pay for public library operations.

"Why does that money have to go to the libraries?" Mr. Goodell asked. "Why can't it go to the DNR?"

Ms. Dettloff said the department has heard a proposal to charge a 10¢ deposit on water bottles that would be collected specifically for resource management.

"Incremental increases will work for us until there is a different solution. We certainly don't want to price people out of the experience," Ms. Dettloff said. "We need to make sure that Michigan's hunting and fishing traditions are protected and continue to be part of the state's heritage."

A hearing on DNR funding is being planned for St. Ignace, tentatively in May or June, Mr. McDowell said.

"I do believe we need some fee increase, since we haven't had one since 1996, and we have to have a viable department to properly manage our resources," Mr. McDowell said. "The (state's) general fund contribution has been dropping over the years, and there needs to be a viable source of income for the DNR."

The DNR cites diminishing aid from Michigan's general fund as one of the reasons it needs to create more revenue. Michigan taxpayers provided 23.3% of the DNR's budget 10 years ago. The general fund contribution to the DNR is now 9%, so the department relies heavily on recreation and resource user fees to make up the rest. The revenue provided by license fees is also decreasing. In 1985, 1,414,914 fishing licenses were sold. By 2005 the number of licenses dropped by 18% (253,482) to 1,161,432. Hunting license sales dropped by 12 percent over the same period of time, from 900,266 to 789,244.

Despite dwindling revenue in the Game and Fish Protection Fund, the DNR's overall budget has grown $21.8 million over the past five years, from $266.5 in 2003 to a projected $288.3 in 2006, according to department information. The DNR estimates recreational fishing and hunting contributes $3.3 billion to Michigan's economy. Non-consumptive users like campers, hikers, wildlife and bird watchers, photographers, boaters, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, and bicyclists contribute another $1.3 billion.