License Fees Increase

[Wolverine-1]

Hello my fellow Alaskans, been a while since I've said anything here on HC.

I thought I would give you something to think about. The Department of Fish and Game has proposed to increase darn near all of the license fees for this coming year, for hunting and for sport fishing. Some of you may already be aware of these proposals.

Lets talk about the hunting license increases first. To say the least it irritates the hell out of me, what I normally paid $53.00 for in the past will cost $120.00. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not totally opposed to license fee increases, but what I am opposed to is hunters continually being ask to support the increasing costs of wildlife management, and at the same time more and more areas are being closed or restricted for hunting. I also am adamantly opposed to the new "resident small game" license.

Okay, now for my thoughts on the $5.00 sport fish license proposed increase. Again, I have no problem with an increase, however, I am opposed to this increase for the reasons that the Department has stated. To build a new sport fish hatchery in Fairbanks. Seems like politicians just never learn from past mistakes.

Let me know what you think.

Below is a link to the License Proposal site.

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/special/...ntproposal.pdf

[AK NIMROD]

A FEW QUESTIONS COME TO MIND.

WOULD HUNTING LIC. ALLOW YOU TO HUNT BOTH BIG GAME AND SMALL GAME? AND IF YOU WANTED TO HUNT JUST SMALL GAME IT WOULD BE ONLY $25. IF SO THE INCREASE IS NO BIG DEAL. YOU GET ALOT FOR YOUR MONEY FOR 50 BUCKS. I JUST HOPE THEY NEVER CHARGE US LIKE SOME STATES DO...SEPARATE FEES FOR EACH SPECIES LIKE THEY DO TO NR HERE NOW.

WOULD ALL THIS MONEY BE SPENT ON FISH AND GAME THINGS OR WOULD IT GO TO THE GENERAL FUND AND BE SPENT ON WELFARE PROGRAMS AND ANYTHING ELSE???? IF JUST FOR FISH & GAME IT CAN ONLY HELP US.

DID NOT NOTICE A FEE INCREASE ON BROWN / GRIZ. RESIDENT TAGS? MAY HAVE OVER LOOKED IT

I ACTUALLY THINK THEY SHOULD DECREASE THE NR TAG FEES FOR A SECOND OR THIRD ANIMAL. ( IE- DEER/CARIBOU)

[Wolverine-1]

AK NIMROD,

Not sure about your question on the new small game license, never thought about it that way, but I would have to agree with you. Providing the general resident hunting license still covers small game.

I've done some checking and learned that there is an organization that will be watching to ensure that the fee increases are infact used for wildlife managment, so we'll see.

Registered permits will now have a $10.0 fee, and drawing permit application fees are going up. I found nothing regarding brown/grizzly fees increasing either.

Kind of makes one wonder what happpened to all of that $50.00 dollar a barrel, oil money.

Here's a better link than the one I posted earlier.

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/special/license/license.php

[AK NIMROD]

drawing permit increase will increase my odds of drawing a tag cuz i will still donate the money but i'm sure less folks will apply at least the first year. kind of a rip off for reg. tag but not outragious......goat is the only one i usually get registration tags for.

[Contender]

I guess I’m not opposed to the increase. As far as the fish hatchery goes in Fairbanks: The hatchery at Clear Air Force Base shut down years ago and the one at Fort Richardson is due to close leaving squat for hatchery fish to stock all the lakes in the state. That is the only thing keeping our resources open in the Interior. If it weren’t for the stocked trout, char and salmon we wouldn’t have any native fish left in our lakes up here.

ADFG has been running a pilot program here in Fairbanks using well water supplied from Golden Heart Utilities Water Plant’s production wells. The trout have done pretty well and they are going to take some of Uncle Ted’s federal money to build a hatchery using the same technology. These same fish will be stocked all up and down the road system of the state. I am very much in favor of that project.

[Kusko]

I really don't have an opinion for the funds going toward hatcheries, but I do hope the money goes toward improving habitat, predator control and enforcement. I won't mind paying the extra money, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

As for the drawing permit increase, I love it. It will keep some of these wannabes from applying and not going. I know way too many people who have drawn a tag to later find out the hunt is too expensive and then don't participate. I think this might eliminate some of them.

[Wolverine-1]

Hatcheries... my favorite topic. The State of Alaska at one time owned and built twenty some hatcheries throught the State. All of them have been closed or given away, except for two, which are both in Anchorage. Few of these hatcheries were actually successful because they were built in poor locations due to political pressure, and that is exactly what is happening in Fairbank. Doesn't matter where the money comes from for construction, the State still has to pay for the annual cost of operations. The cost of rearing fish with the poor water quality is estimated to be ten fold that of Ft Rich. Ft Rich will more than likely not closed, but be reconstructed to become more productive. Currently the Fairbanks area, Kenai Peninsula, Palmer area, and any other stocking that the State does, is done from Ft Rich and Elmindorf Hatcheries. Build a hatchery on the Chena River at Alaska Land...sounds to me like someone wants a tourist attraction. JMHO

[AlaskaBoy]

I am all for the increase, I even wrote a letter to the editor in support of the idea.

Now if only the money would go for enhancment and enforcement rather then towards the state coffer's is another story.

As Alaskan resident's we get alot bang for the buck and I know very few people who can not realy afford the cost and for the few who can not, then that is truely subsistence hunting and I have no problem with them doing so.

I hunt on the road system north of Anchorage and I hear all the whiner's complaining about the cost of a license but they sit there drinking a truckload of beer, eating rib-eye steaks, looking at their 7 thousand dollar four wheeler parked next to a 40 thousand dollar RV. Give me a break. Not one of these people truely need the meat, including me, but I choose to do this same thing. Minus the RV, and rib-eye,(burger, hotdogs are in my payscale) but I like to get out and enjoy the outdoors, so if it means one less case of beer, so be it.

I have witnessed this same thing while hunting out of Dillingham, the amount of gas(in dollars) could buy alot of meat and at least that is a guarantee hunting at the store. There are quite a few villages that this is not available to them and they will harvest their own meat, subsistence hunting is what it is called and most of these people do not even buy a license.

I believe that the non-hunters who enjoy the wildlife should also pony up some money, rather crying that we are going to kill off all the animals. That is so far from the truth. This is not the era of market hunting, where everything in sight was shot but it is a re-newable resource that we manage thru hunting and our dollars. If they want a say, then pay the admission, just like when I buy my license, whatever the price it may be.

25, 50 or 100 dollars is a small price to pay to get out and enjoy what God has provided and even the chance to put alittle meat in the freezer, yes, I do get a moose once in awhile(bear, caribou too).

This is my first post, sorry if it is long and not to some people's likeing.

AlaskaBoy.

[Kusko]

Welcome to huntchat AlaskaBoy! I agree with you that we do get a lot of bang for our buck, especially considering what I used to pay in Wisconsin. An increase isn't going to bother me too much as long as it is going to a worthy cause.

To be quite honest, a fair number of people who live in villages rarely turn in harvest reports and a few never purchase a hunting license. In fact, our local ADFG office had a raffle of gifts for those folks in our area who turned in their harvest reports. The gifts were donations from local businesses.

For instance, you can look up harvest reports on the ADFG website and find out the caribou harvest based on city or village. In the village of Napaskiak, which is in prime caribou country for 4 months of the year, we only had 4 people turn in their harvest reports. I'd be willing to bet that village kills between 500-700 caribou a season.

So, what I was trying to say before I jumped on my soapbox is that the money needs to go toward worthy causes such as in increased return for harvest reports and more accurate data. I would also like to see the permit system revamped or at least modified. I believe firmly that some folks deserve permits if they've been applying for 20 years.