Confronted with skyrocketing maintenance and operational costs, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is asking the state legislature to enact legislation that would serve to generate much needed revenue by increasing the cost of annual resident hunting and fishing licenses by 50%. It is important to point out that revenues generated from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses represent the single greatest source of funding for MDNR fishery and wildlife management programs.
Revenue generated by the increase in the cost of hunting and fishing licenses would help prevent agency managers from having to make difficult decisions in the very near future in regards to the possibility of having to scale back mission critical program related operations at state fish hatcheries, waterfowl areas, and state game areas due to dramatic increases in overall costs. MDNR Wildlife Division’s maintenance costs, for example, have more than doubled from $1.4 million to $3.1 million since the last license fee increase that occurred in 2014. MDNR Fisheries Division’s annual cost of fish food for state hatcheries, as another example, is now a million dollars, representing an overall increase of 71% over of the last several years.
If enacted, the legislation would increase the cost of a single resident deer hunting license from $20.00 to $30.00, and increase the cost of an annual resident fishing license from $26.00 to $39.00, representing a 50% increase in each case. MDNR estimates that increases in the cost of annual hunting and fishing licenses would generate approximately $22 million.
If passed by both houses of the legislature and signed into law by Governor Whitmer, the legislation would also link future increases in the cost of fishing and hunting licenses to the rate of inflation.