NY goes bezerk with licenses

[Stumpkiller]

In these depressed times it's good to know that NY consider's sportsman's wallets fat and happy.

Big/Small Game license - up 53%

Muzzleloading stamp - up 31%

Fishing - up 31%

All told my Super Sportsman's license & managament permit (antlerless) went from $68 last year to $98 this year - up 44% with no increase in season or privledges. Ouch.

Fees went up for nonresident licenses, too. But at a relatively "softer" hit - up only 27%.

Guess I'm still glad I live in a free country and have the privledge of hunting the state's deer. Pity the poor who need to supplement their protein with game. 'Course, you can't eat the local fish but once a month anyway (according to the sylabus) or the PCB's and mercury will get you. I have the option of groceries but prefer to raise or chase my meat.

 

[yeoldcraftsman]

Yes Stumpkiller I hear your pain. This state is getting totally stupid with all these fees and increases. It's no wonder people, and more importantly, businesses are leaving this state in droves.
I was talking to my nephew just the other day (he's twenty) and trying to get a foot hold to catch his piece of the American dream and was shocked when he went to get his sportsman license. What's the young of this state going to do? Like most, they leave I guess. Sigh.
Gary

 

[fyrfyter43]

In NJ they not only get you on the fees, but also on the sheer number of different permits you need to buy. This year will cost me a total of $166.75 just to hunt deer with my muzzleloader. That includes my All-Around Sportsman license (firearm and bow hunting, as well as fishing licenses), muzzleloader season permits for the 2 zones I hunt, a buck tag for the muzzleloader season, and the rifle permit required to hunt with a muzzleloader.

That doesn't include the permits for the extended bow season (another $56, plus $28 for a buck tag), nor does it include the trout stamp ($10.50), pheasant stamp ($40), turkey permits ($21 each for spring and fall seasons), or shotgun permits ($28 per zone, plus $28 for a buck tag). That would bring my grand total for the year (as a resident!) up to $427.25. But at least they spread it out over the year, as different permits go for sale at different times of the year. Hunting licenses expire Dec. 31. Rifle permits expire June 30. Bow/muzzleloader/shotgun deer permits and fall turkey permits go on sale Oct. 13 this year, and spring turkey permits are available through a lottery in the early spring. I really think they do things like this just to make it as confusing/difficult as they can.

 

[RC]

well hang on SK! it's gonna get way worser! seems ALOT of guys are buying lifetime licenses (even my vous partner,,who's 71!!) I'm sure the state has spent that money soons it came in..bet the number of licenses sold will be down,as well as types..used to get a "free" application for a doe permit IF you bought a sportsmans license, now the application is $10 (not refundable if you do not get the permit) so small/big game license is $29..(cannot buy just a big game) plus $10 fer the permit application, means the state will loose money compared to the $68 they got last year...saddest part, least where I am,,the Governor (who's idea it was to raise$$) will probably see more deer than ME!...sorta wish I coulda afforded a lifetime license but,,at my age,an health,,, :shake:

 

[rabjr]

In these depressed times it's good to know that NY consider's sportsman's wallets fat and happy.

Big/Small Game license - up 53%

Muzzleloading stamp - up 31%

Fishing - up 31%

All told my Super Sportsman's license & managament permit (antlerless) went from $68 last year to $98 this year - up 44% with no increase in season or privledges. Ouch.

Fees went up for nonresident licenses, too. But at a relatively "softer" hit - up only 27%.

Guess I'm still glad I live in a free country and have the privledge of hunting the state's deer. Pity the poor who need to supplement their protein with game. 'Course, you can't eat the local fish but once a month anyway (according to the sylabus) or the PCB's and mercury will get you. I have the option of groceries but prefer to raise or chase my meat.

Yeah it's crazy, my Dad gets the Sportsmans pack but the est of the guys (non-resident) are getting hit hard just for a chance at one deer. :shake: For the same money they can put a few in the freezer here at non-resident prices.

 

[peterbh]

Many states are doing the same thing then complaining that license sales are down! DUH! Can you spell Tax and Spend politicians?

 

[Bob Riegl]

:cursing: Welcome to the Vampire State---with the incompetent Guv and the State legislators--the first thing you do is tax the people you hate---remember----WE ARE GUNOWNERS!!!! Frankly I bought a Lifetime Fishing license in 1978 which became a Lifetime Sportsman some years ago. Of course the state is generous that at age 78 I have all the licenses I could want in one package free. Now I should have the necessary stamina to use them all. Since I turned 70 I can say to the state S---W You and laugh it off. Of course Mannis :youcrazy: is a "friend of the hunter" :bull: , six years ago he couldn't even spell conservation and he's the commish. :shake:

 

[cottonmouth]

Does all of the revenue from hunting and fishing
license in New York state go directly to fund wildlife and fisheries in the state? Or does it go into a general state fund?

It looks like with increases like noted in this topic that there is a "hint" of corruption hiding somewhere in the woodpile!

 

[Stumpkiller]

Major Funding Sources for Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Programs
The Division is funded from a number of sources, the majority of which are dedicated specifically to the Division's mission. The original (and still the primary) source is the Conservation Fund. The Conservation Fund, established in 1925, consists of hunting, fishing and trapping license fees and miscellaneous other fees and fines collected by the Division.

There are several subaccounts within the Conservation Fund. In 1982, the Return A Gift to Wildlife subaccount was established as a voluntary donation through an income tax check off. This subaccount has been used primarily, but not exclusively, for non-game programs. The Marine Resources Account receives revenue from the sale of commercial permits to fish for marine fish, shellfish and crustacea and from penalties for violations to the Marine and Coastal Resources and Tidal Wetlands sections of the ECL.

The second major source of funding is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Federal Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration funded by a federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, archery, fishing equipment and motor boat fuels. The wildlife portion, known as the Pittman-Robertson Act (named after the congressional sponsors of this federal legislation), provides funding for Wildlife Conservation and Sportsman Education. The fisheries portion, known as the Dingle-Johnson or Wallop-Breaux Acts, provides funding for fisheries management and boating access. In recent years another significant source of funds from the USFWS has been from the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program. SWG grants are for the identification of species in greatest conservation need and provide for protection and restoration of their populations and habitats.

Our programs also receive support from the State's General Fund. General Fund support originates from New York State taxes, and contributed approximately 8% of the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources' operating budget in FY 2007-08. General Fund dollars are used to protect habitats and benefit a variety of species.

 

[Zoar]

Stumpkiller---Good post. I was born in Upstate NY, went away for over 20 years and came back about 8 years ago. I hunt and hike and climb the High Peaks and the Catskill Mountains for the adventure of being in the great NY State wilderness. While I do not enjoy paying 88 bucks for a sportsman's license funding the Conservation Dept's mission is a good thing. When I left NY state in the late 70's I can tell you the ACID RAIN problem was killing the lakes and the forests, even though there were many well-intentioned folks who said it was all a tree-hugger-make-believe-issue. It was not. And yes due to industrial and commerical pollution along with head-in-the-sand attitudes the water is polluted with mercury, pcb's etc. However the water and the forests in NY state are BETTER now than they were and a big thank you should go to the so-called Tree Huggers who are the ones who lead the charge to dramatically curtail the acid rain that was indeed falling on NY State from Midwest power plants. Although I know the term is usually intended to be derogatory, tree huggers do far more good for the hunter and fisherman that they get credit for. If someone were to ask me---"Would you pay 50 bucks for your sportsman's licence and DONATE 38 bucks to the mission of the Conservation Dept I would say--Absolutely. And, that is what I do.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Yes. That post puts some perspective on it, I guess. I own 20 acres, take one garbage bag to the dump along with our recyclables myself every 90 days, don't even have electricity to the barn/chicken coop and consider my wife and myself relatively "low impact" on the environment and "tree huggers" from back when Carter was getting laughed at for suggesting Obama's fresh ideas.

Just sour grapes. I haven't seen the DEC bring forage crops to the deer and rabbit munching in my gardens that I now have to reimburse the State for the privledge of harvesting.

PS - Ithaca, you say? We keep a sailboat at Lansing & my Dad was born in Ithaca (and Grandpa was a coppersmith at Morse Chain Works). Cayuga is now so clear you can see the bottom in 15 feet of water . . . but I thought that was the zebra muscles and not any state intervention. Thye $13 billion NYS got from the EPA is seperate from the $ tied to hunting licenses and doesn't cut much acid rainfall. Besides, that is Michigan and Illinois lofting it to fall in New York's rain.

 

[RC]

jus my opinion but the state's "forever wild" policy (law) is not doin the Adirondacks alotta good,here's a policy that should be seriously looked at...and I'm not convinced where all that license money goes...we have Encon officers now, not game wardens...jus my opinion......

 

[Zoar]

Sailboat on Cayuga: Very nice!

And yes I hear you both. The return of the true Game Warden would be a warm welcome compared to the "Encon" officers we seem to have more of now, etc.. However, it was intense pressure from NY and New England States (and tree huggers nationally) who "forced them" to put FGD systems into the power plants in Midwest to mitigate the acid raid that was falling here (not in Midwest). And yet decreasing the funding to the Conservation Dept is certainly no solution. I prefer communicating with/pressuring and working with the conservation dept to change the policies that are not working well and spread the policiues that are working well. The DEC etc has done a good job of monitoring and containing the spread of that dreaded deer disease that started around Oneida County. It could be much worse.

Again I am not happy with 88 bucks either, yet I prefer to put pressure on the Conservation Depts on issues that matter to me and that BENEFIT the wildlands AND help them out with funding. Sometimes I use the rationale that if I am giving you my money, I have more say and more influence. The Conservation guys I know seem to be good guys with a mission I agree with. It is those who direct policy that need to embrace more of a "pro-conservation" mission and not a "money and jobs" at all costs approach. I have seen far more of that destroy the nature in NY than anything: Endless growth and expansion of suburbs and money driven construction, etc.

 

[rabjr]

They haven't gotten a penny from me since 99'. Not when I can get tags for around 11 deer here for what they want for the chance at one buck. I can jump through some hoops and get a special Doe permit thats good for 5 years but still, as much as I love the Adirondacks it ain't worth what they want for that one deer tag. :youcrazy:

 

[Zoar]

Yet with all that has been discussed here I have sent in my emails to complain that the Sportsman's/Hunting license fee INCREASE in NY this year is objectionable and I let government and DEC know that I am not happy

 

[RC]

part that bothers me is it was patterson's idea to help out the state's economy nothin was mentioned about conservation....much like the soda tax cigar tax bowlin tax golf tax...every idea he had...to raise money to bail out the state meanwhile our encon officers ain't got gas or a budget to enforce wildlife laws.... :cursing: now, if I could sell some adirondack wood..... :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

 

[Zoar]

I guess overall one solution to some of the gripes here is to hunt locally. Which is what I do. I have 21 acres right outside my door. Not huge, but I certainly have more than enough deer to feed me and my and the girlfriend, and my son when he visits and friends. I don't need more than a deer or two a year for all that.

 

[RC]

so we thought...we got 50 acres..and access to alot more,,,,but so does the mennonites... an they ain't bashful... :cursing:

 

[Zoar]

Jordanville NY? --- So, do you have that chronic wasting disease there? Sad stuff.

The Mennonites; do they go on YOUR land, your 50 acres?

I am looking forward to opening bow season, which is Oct 17 this year. And, I wish they had a muzzleloader week BEFORE REGULAR gun opened and didn't put muzzleloader way at that end just before Christmas.

 

[RC]

No CWD here,,that's a ways away from here,,,,,I can keep them off, can't keep the deer on,,and fer some reason they have permission to hunt about everything round here and get crop damage permits to boot! :cursing: (they got 5 permits last year..plus all their tags..reg,bow,ml,landowner..it's sad!)

early ml up north........................oct 17..I'll be there :thumbsup: