MONEY FROM THE WOODS

A plan to require $10 permits for canoes and kayaks was in the state budget just long enough to generate enough angry phone calls to lawmakers to persuade them to take it out. While lawmakers are right that such a change shouldn’t be hidden in a massive budget with no public discussion, the need for new sources of revenue for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife remain. Also hidden in the budget is a provision directing the commissioners of wildlife and conservation to develop a voluntary permit system for “non-consumptive users,” those people who hike, bike, canoe and otherwise use the woods without taking anything with them. Coupled with an amendment that would remove the $10 permit fee and direct the commissioners to study a permit system for non-motorized boats, this is a good compromise.

Three groups that don’t always see eye-to-eye – the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, Maine Audubon and the Natural Resources Council of Maine – were prepared to support the canoe and kayak registration fee, but cancelled a Thursday press conference when it became clear it was going to be stripped out of the budget. Still, their sentiments are on target. In a press release prepared before the cancellation, Jenn Burns of Maine Audubon said: “… unless revenue is available for IF&W’s conservation work, Maine’s wildlife and natural areas will clearly suffer. We believe that those who enjoy the outdoors will want to help care for it.”

“It’s unfair to continue to ask sportsmen, through fees they pay for hunting and fishing licenses, to be the only group of people in Maine who fund IF&W services that benefit the general public,” SAM Executive Director George Smith said in the same release.

Recognizing this problem, the Legislature in 2003 passed a bill requiring the state to fund 18 percent of the department’s budget with money from the General Fund. Immediately the state faced shortfalls and when cuts are being made to health and human services programs, dedicating more money to wildlife is a hard sell.

The best way to ensure that IF&W is not viewed as an agency that caters to hunters and fishermen is to fund more of its operations from the General Fund. If that is not possible, however, the department should look for more diverse sources of money.

Studying non-consumptive user fees, as envisioned in the budget and Rep. Joe Brannigan’s amendment, is a good start.