Hard News

An increase in hunting and fishing fees

Levi Koepp, Writer | 11/29/2021

Any hunter out there in Wisconsin knows that they can’t take part in the sport of duck hunting without making such purchases of a license and additional fees in tags. The prices on obtaining your tags have remained the same for a long time. There hasn’t been a legal alertaction to the Wisconsin duck hunting fees since 2007. Up until a recent change in 2021, just before the start of the 2022 hunting season.

Just before the newest season of hunting, around June. There had been a sudden change to waterfowl hunting fees. The recent change to hunting fees has increased the prices of duck stamps, small game licenses, and federal reserve certifications. All of which are requirements of acquiring to take part in the sport of waterfowl duck hunting. This sudden change hasn’t been made in years, though the DNR (Department of Natural resources) has had this kind of thought for a while now, knowing that a change needs to be made sooner or later to fix what would become inevitable.

A lot of hunters that take part in the sport of duck hunting, hunters that purchase the required tags and licenses, aren’t too happy about the sudden change in price fees. A lot of people don’t like it when prices increase. But when the prices have been the same for over 13 years, then a lot of people would speculate as to why all of sudden there was a change.

This increase in hunting fees is now costing duck huntings 5 dollars extra for duck stamps, 10 dollars more for small game licenses, and another 7 dollars for federal reserve certifications. This may not seem like a lot of money, but adding it all up costs 22 dollars more per duck hunter just doing what they love to do. And if you add it all up from every duck hunter in the state, it makes us pay an extra 1.14 million dollars every year just to have fun.

Now a lot of hunters out there may not appreciate the increase in fees, but a lot of people who purchase hunting licenses and tags, don’t realize where that money is being used for.

The DNR website is where all hunters and fisherman go to purchase their tags, the ones that supply all outdoorsmen their necessities for hunting and fishing. They are the ones receiving all the income for the tags and licenses that are sold here in wisconsin. The DNR takes all income that is received from sales on hunting and fishing tags and licenses, and uses it to run programs and to help establish a better environment for nature in the state of Wisconsin.

For example, the DNR uses the income from selling tags, to cover the costs in cleaning lakes, managing campsites, running programs to teach adults and children about survival skills, or helping fish or animal populations stay stable. It’s a long list of options that DNR can use the money for, but mainly important is that the DNR acquires enough income to support the programs and projects they establish to make sure the state of Wisconsin stays in good hands

So if we think about the price increase of duck tags and licenses, it can be frustrating of having to pay more for what you want to do. But if the DNR has a shortage in funding to pay for their programs, staff, and projects, than there isn’t going to be much of a light at the end of the tunnel in a few years if Wisconsin can’t sustain what's important in the environment.