AUGUSTA – The state’s long-held practice of issuing year-round fishing licenses could be over if the recommendations of a legislative panel are adopted.

The Legislature’s Inland Fish and Wildlife Committee is considering a completely new fee schedule that would require multiple licenses for many activities that were once covered by one or two permits. Rep. Matthew Dunlap, D-Old Town, said the revamped fee system was devised partially to offset negative public reaction to a proposed $6 registration fee for nonmotorized watercraft – specifically canoes and kayaks.

Dunlap, who serves as co-chairman of the IF&W panel, said Wednesday that the canoe and kayak fee plan was abandoned Tuesday in favor of the licensing system. The additional $2 million in revenue the plan is supposed to generate would be used to pay for some state employee positions that had been eliminated as a cost-saving measure by the Baldacci administration.

Meeting with members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Dunlap said the fee restructuring proposal received the unanimous support of his 13-member committee and was perceived as a more desirable alternative to some of the fee increases that have been proposed for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The fees on canoes and kayaks carried what Dunlap described as some inherent “political liabilities.” Many nonmotorized watercraft owners feel that, as boaters, they have the least degree of impact on lakes and wildlife habitat. Still, he reasoned the new fees would be one way to address those who argue that many users of Maine’s natural resources do not pay their fair share.

“The reaction to the fees has been generally negative,” Dunlap said. “But we felt that everything had to be on the table during this budget cycle since, eventually, it’s not going to come down to maintaining positions and programs. It’s going to come down to which programs and positions will we maintain.”

The proposed multiple license system would provide the consumer with savings if the permits were purchased in lots of four or more, according to Dunlap. For example, he said Mainers currently can purchase a resident, year-round fishing license for $19. Under the new proposal, the year-round license would be replaced with an open-water fishing license, a second for fishing in the fall and a third for ice fishing at a cost of $20 each. Those who wanted to add a fourth activity, such as hunting deer with a bow, could then purchase all four licenses for $50 and save $30.

“For the guy like myself who does a number of things you probably wind up actually saving a fair amount of money down the road,” Dunlap said. “So there’s an opportunity to save some money, there’s an opportunity to spend some money. In the end, if we do it this way, we might actually generate $4.7 million more than what the original licensing structure was providing.”

George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, said Dunlap’s proposal was a little too far-reaching for his members, many of whom purchase only one license annually. He was particularly concerned about what kind of impact the plan would have on a new Internet-based license system that allows sportsmen and sportswomen to purchase their permits online.

“It would pretty much take us back to square one on that system which is only now getting online,” he said. “I admire the effort that Matt [Dunlap] has put into this, but I don’t think it’s going to succeed. I am still looking for that infusion of public money to pay for public services. So we are not supporting a fee increase until we see it. In other words: Show us the money.”