Posted 10:01 pm Sunday, May 31, 2009
Price Of Hunting, Fishing Just Went Up
That sucking sound you hear is money reluctantly departing your wallet after Texas Parks and Wildlife Department got its "modest" rate increase for hunting and fishing licenses and boat registration fees.
Following an absolute lack of public interest -- 16 people commented at 19 public hearings statewide, and less than 200 commented directly to the department -- the Parks and Wildlife Commission Thursday approved a rate increase for licenses and boat registrations.
Get used to it, it won't be the last. The amount expected to be generated by this round of higher prices will bring so little revenue the department is almost going to have to come back next year or the year after and do it again.
The commission approved a 5 percent increase to fees. It will bump a Super Combo license up from $64 to $68, a resident freshwater fishing package from $28 to $30 and a resident hunting license from $23 to $25.
Admittedly, none of these increases are going to break the bank. Most hunters and fishermen can find the two bucks or so in loose change in their couch. It is the timing that is questionable. The national economy is in the tank. Even the department has felt the impact with fishing and Super Combo license sales down this year.
No one doubts that TPWD is facing rising costs that have caused challenges for even the department's hefty $410 million annual budget. The department has been looking at operational costs climbing an average 6.1 percent annually since 2004.
More important than the higher prices for paper and gasoline, the department says it is losing staff to other states that pay more and it isn't able to spend enough on projects to recoup all the federal reimbursement for which it is eligible.
However, at best the department estimates the license fee increases will only generate about $3 to $4 million in additional income while the boat fees will add another $1.7 million. In the big scheme of things, that is chicken feed. Worse, it won't cover current shortfalls much less create breathing room.
For one thing, it isn't enough to give serious pay raises across the board if the department could. State rules are funny in that to redo the pay schedule the department would have to get legislative appropriations approval to spend the money. The alternative is a smoke-and-mirror method where the department gives raises by changing an employee's job title.
And even then would it matter? As a friend recently noted, younger workers aren't as likely to spend 30 years on one job as those a generation before did. Two years and move is common in today's business world.
During Thursday's Commission meeting, the discussion once again came up about seeking new revenue sources other than hunters, fishermen and boaters.
One speaker, Sam Rayburn fishing guide Will Kirkpatrick, suggested the department look at large, commercial bass tournaments. He specifically pointed to the recent Sealy's McDonald's Big Bass Splash that drew 7,000 fishermen and paid $1 million in prizes.
It is an old argument that tournaments such as these use state resources for private gain.
Charging for Managed Lands Deer Permits has also surfaced, as has finding a way to generate revenue from so-called non-consumptive users to help pay for the department's many non-game programs.
Hunters and fishermen have always been willing to pay their way. Maybe that is part of the complacency this go-round. Rest assured, however, this won't be the last time the department will come asking for more money. It had wanted a 10 to 15 percent increase, but rolled it back because of the economy.
I do wonder if public disinterest was because of apathetic thinking that their say means nothing, or if hunters and fishermen are willing to pay whatever it takes and this increase isn't enough to complain about.
The department has learned that raising fees results in a temporary drop in license sales. Doing it dollars at a time over several years may change that.
Unfortunately there is probably no one on the Parks and Wildlife Commission who can financially relate to the furloughed worker from Trane or the laid-off employee from Kelly-Springfield who likes to hunt or fish, but every penny they have now is going to necessities while they look for a job. Or the retired couple which is living on a 401k account that is now 40 or 50 percent of what it once was.
I still say again this was the wrong time to be thinking about an increase.
