Sportsmen’s group opposes increase in license fees

AUGUSTA – The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s bill to raise hunting, fishing and other license fees by 50 percent or more got little support from the public Monday and, surprisingly, no support from the lobbyist who said he is a friend to those from DIF&W.

George Smith of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine stunned those on the Legislature’s Joint Committee of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife when he criticized the entirety of LD 1929, which proposes to raise license fees and help secure revenue from the General Fund for DIF&W.

Smith’s opposition to some parts of the bill was expected, but his utter lack of support for LD 1929 was not.

“I was astounded,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Matt Dunlap, D-Old Town, who is also the committee’s co-chairman. “I thought SAM was onboard and would work with us.”

The bill would guarantee that money from the state’s General Fund would go to DIF&W, which is not included now as part of the governor’s budget as are other state agencies. The bill would raise and restructure license fees, adjust license fees over time to meet the cost of inflation, and create a program to allow the public to contribute to a conservation fund dedicated to DIF&W.

Commissioner Lee Perry said the new revenue sources would help cover an $8 million budget shortfall that is expected by 2005, and also would provide more stable sources of long-term funding to help with unmet needs, such as hatchery production, enhanced moose surveys and habitat protection.

Dunlap and Sen. Chandler Woodcock, R-Franklin, pointed out to Smith that he had said last session that SAM would support some license increases.

But Smith said that because of new evidence that shows Maine lags behind the national average in receiving state funding for conservation, SAM could not support any license increase. The study by the Wildlife Conservation Fund showed 66 percent of DIF&W’s budget comes from license dollars while, on average, 43 percent of fish and game agencies in other states are funded by sportsmen.

Smith was one of about a dozen people who testified in opposition to the proposed license increases, which would raise hunting and fishing fees from $19 to $28 as well as raise fees for specific permits, which are needed for certain seasons.

Smith and others pointed out that with the multiple fee increases, the cost to a sportsman who participates in many different activities could double what he now pays.

Smith suggested the department reduce costs and efficiencies while raising revenue through innovative methods, such as issuing a surcharge on turnpike tolls, or charging the public for DIF&W’s work reviewing commercial developments, or by establishing a sportsman’s license plate.

“How is it lobstermen can get a plate, but not sportsmen?” Smith asked.

Smith also suggested obtaining a percentage of the state sales tax for conservation. He said SAM would pursue such a tax through a referendum measure if necessary.

The chairman of DIF&W’s Advisory Council, Harold “Brownie” Brown of Bangor, who was testifying as a citizen, said he believed Mainers would support allocating a percentage of the sales tax to conservation, as is done in Missouri and Arkansas.

Dunlap said the suggestions for new sources of revenue offered were all good, but would not solve the long-term problem of DIF&W’s growing costs and stagnant revenue. He said allocating a percentage of the sales tax was an answer that could be foiled by a recession.

“[Smith’s ideas] do not solve the escalating problem,” Dunlap said. “Somewhere down the road, it is going to have to come out of the users.”

What has to change, Dunlap said, is the way DIF&W does business, and restructuring license fees to generate additional revenue was a viable solution. He also said the Legislature would be more inclined to support a guarantee of General Fund money if DIF&W were bringing in new revenue.

DIF&W’s bill was supported by environmental groups, such as Maine Audubon, but its proposed fee hikes were opposed by a slew of sportsmen’s organizations, such as the Maine Trappers Association, the Maine Professional Guides Association, and the Maine Snowmobile Association.

Half a dozen private citizens, such as Mike Laflin of Hallowell, told the committee that DIF&W should look to other sources of income, rather than resident licenses.

“I’ve been big game hunting in Washington state for 20 years,” Laflin said. “Three years ago nonresident licenses went up. Now to get an elk tag there it costs me almost $400. I think out-of-staters get a heck of a deal here.”

However, Commissioner Perry was encouraged by the testimony he heard. He said it revealed the public’s insistence that those who do not buy sporting licenses should be held accountable for the cost of fish and wildlife conservation.

“What I heard is … we need to get our fair share [of the General Fund],” Perry said.

Deirdre Fleming covers outdoor sports and recreation for the NEWS. She can be reached at 990-8250 or at dfleming@bangordailynews.net.