Whether or not Bambi will sleep any sounder tonight remains to be seen, however area hunters say they not too happy with state increases for hunting and fishing licenses; especially the latest round that doubles some fees.
The state’s Department of Conservation is scheduled to start issuing its new sporting licenses for the 2009 and 2010 hunting and fishing season but there’s a catch. Beginning Aug. 17, a fishing and sportsman license will cost $10 more and a super sportsman license will cost $20 more.
For those 65 and older, the Senior Lifetime Sportsman License will only remain $50 until Sept. 30, after which the age requirement for the same license becomes 70 and the cost will go up to $65.
The last time the state legislature raised the DEC sporting licensing fees was in 2002.
Area hunter John Glassbrenner of Selkirk, who turns 65 on Sept. 29 one day before the cutoff, said he’s fed up with the state fees associated with sporting licenses. He said he has hunted `ever since I’ve been about 12 when I hunted the little rabbits.`
He questioned why the fees are being raised in the first place.
`The sportsmen themselves, they get nothing out of it,` Glassbrenner said. `They don’t do anything more with the money. What are they doing with it?`
DEC spokeswoman Laurie Severino said New York is simply trying to maintain the funding it has for current programs.
`All of the fees go to the state conservation used for fish and wildlife across the state,` she said. ` A small percentage goes to processing fees or retail fees that are like a commission for license issuing vendors.`
The bottom line for increasing the sporting license fees was the state fund’s bottom line.
`Primarily they’re being raised to generate more money for the conservation fund and to cover the same level of management and law enforcement,` said Severino.
Another area hunter, Robert Jasinski of Glenmont, had the opposite opinion of how the new license increases will affect the DEC.
`You’re going to have people look at the price to hunt or fish and they won’t do it anymore; that, or they’re just not going to get a license to do it,` he said. `It’s going to put extra pressure on the ENCON officers.`
Jasinski called the increase `just another tax.`
`What it comes down to is doubling the fees is just another form for the state to grab as much money as they can,` he said. `This is only going to curtail hunting and cause an oversupply of the species, and the state will have to spend money to control them.`
Severino described the number of licenses issued by the DEC each year as `stable` and said now was a good opportunity for seniors to take advantage of a lifetime sportsman license before the Sept. 30 cutoff date.
According to DEC reports, New York collected over $41.2 million in gross sales from 1.9 million various licenses in the 2007-2008 season. The state sells around the 2 million licenses each year going back to 2002, according to state records, about half of which are hunting with the other half fishing.
Severino said the money gets doled out as equally as possible across New York.
It’s pretty balanced around the state,` she said of the conservation fund. `Of course there’s more activity in areas like the Adirondacks.`
Glassbrenner said he personally sees fewer hunters out in the woods when he goes down to his hunting trailer in the Catskills, but admitted with chuckle that getting a bit older keeps him more grounded.
`I’m not gonna go traipsing up and down these mountains anymore,` he said. `Now I’ve got to just follow the deer around on flat ground.`
With $88 for a super sportsman license and $47 for a sportsman license, Glassbrenner said some people may simply opt not to hunt any longer ` especially those who hunt for food.
`A deer is just a little bit bigger than a full-grown goat. You can go down to a butcher a get a goat undressed for about $50,` he said. `It’s crazy what the government’s doing to these people.`
A full list of the new DEC sporting license prices can be found at www.dec.ny.gov/permits/365.html.
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