Why It Matters: Each year, legislators look at ways to recognize and thank certain qualified individuals/groups by providing free and/or discounted licenses for hunting, fishing, and trapping. While this is well-intended, such legislation has the potential to reap deteriorative effects on the fish and wildlife agencies’ budgets. To prevent the loss of sportsmen-generate dollars for conservation funding, The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has prioritized encouraging states to introduce legislation that would require reimbursement to the state fish and wildlife agencies from the general funds for any free and discounted licenses.
Highlights:
- State fish and wildlife agencies are primarily funded through the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF).
- 49 states currently offer reduced fees for senior hunters and anglers, while only 4 have implemented legislation to reimburse their fish and wildlife agencies for the loss in revenue.
- States continue to introduce legislation that provides free and discounted hunting and fishing licenses for groups and individuals such as first responders, active military personnel, and the disabled.
- States must receive a net revenue of $2.00 from each license sale to report a certified license holder which qualifies for additional federal funds. Virginia reported that each certified hunting license brings the state an additional $26, and each fishing license brings in $10 of federal aid. When license fees are eliminated completely, states lose out on this additional revenue in addition to the loss of the original cost of the license.
On average, 60% of the funds that make up a states fish and wildlife agency derive from sportsmen and women generated dollars through the ASCF. This system is a “user pays – public benefits” funding mechanism that goes towards conserving habitat, managing wildlife and fish, and providing access to state owned public lands that are used for hunting, fishing, biking, hiking, horseback riding, birding, kayaking, etc. Most recently, after strong support spearheaded by CSF alongside the Louisiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana adopted HB 795, which was championed by NASC Executive Council Member and Caucus Co-Chair Representative Jerome Zeringue. HB 795 mirrored Tennessee’s successful reimbursement model. CSF applauds the 4 states (LA, MI, NJ, TN) that have mechanisms in place that reimburses their state fish and wildlife agencies for the cost of list license sale revenue. CSF looks forward to working with the MA Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus to advancing MA S. 499 – An Act to reimburse the George L. Darey Inland Fisheries and Game Fund, across the finish line. MA has been involved in a multi-year effort to bring this CSF top priority to life in the Bay State.
Moving forward, CSF encourages legislators to introduce legislation like the abovementioned states to protect the state agency’s ability to carry out their mission. Revenue from hunting and fishing license sales is one of the major funding sources for the agencies that work to ensure the health of our fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. When giving out free and discounted licenses states limit the ability of the fish and wildlife agencies to fund their conservation work, which benefits all citizens.
