Possible increases to Delaware hunting and trapping license fees (as well as increases to other hunting-related fees) have been discussed at several public Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish meetings since November 2013.
Figures presented at the October 2014 Advisory Council meeting show a hunting license revenue shortfall greater than $310,000 in 2013, and an estimated shortfall of nearly $430,000 for fiscal year 2015. Revenue shortfalls, caused by decreasing sales of hunting licenses, by a recession-driven $430,000 loss in state-appropriated general funds, and by increasing operating costs, are exacerbated by the State’s inability to maximize funding from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (otherwise known as the Pittman–Robertson Act).
Through the Pittman-Robertson Act, funding is provided for wildlife restoration; habitation acquisition, development and management; hunter education; and public shooting range development, operation and maintenance. Funds are derived from an 11 percent federal excise tax on sporting firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and a 10 percent tax on handguns. These funds are apportioned to states using formulas that consider each state’s total area its number of licensed hunters. States pay the full cost of approved wildlife-related projects and are later reimbursed for up to 75% of the costs through Pittman-Robertson funds. According to the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, each dollar of state hunting license revenue could bring in an additional three dollars of federal Pittman-Robertson funds, but the projected annual license revenue shortfall of $429,674 prevents $1.29 million of matching in federal Pittman-Robertson funds, resulting in a total lost funding opportunity of $1.72 million per year.
As a result of insufficient funding, Delaware’s Division of Fish & Wildlife implemented numerous cost cutting measures in 2014, including reducing hours at the Ommelanden Shooting Range, eliminating or reducing wildlife food plot and dove hunting sunflower plantings, reducing seasonal staff, closing access to wildlife areas before and after hunting seasons to reduce road maintenance, reducing the number of days wildlife areas are open to permit hunting, and reducing or eliminating other maintenance and operational activities at wildlife areas.
Now that I’ve presented some background information around Delaware hunting license revenues, I want to fully disclose that I am an appointed member of the Delaware Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish. However, the views expressed in this column are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Council, its members, or any other organization. I am a Delaware hunter first and foremost, and I listen to other hunters and attempt to advocate on their behalf.
I have discussed proposed fee increases with hunters throughout Delaware, and I’ve heard four major concerns. Hunters (especially those who rely on game for sustenance), want to make sure any fee increases are not exorbitant. Hunters question why we, alone, are asked to bear the burden of higher fees paid for use of land that is also used by non-hunters. We question if our license fees will be put to good use. And we question why it is still illegal for us to hunt on Sundays.
With these three concerns in mind, I—and some other hunters I’ve talked with—support reasonable increases in hunting license fees and other fees associated with hunting and trapping (such as deer tags and waterfowl stamps) if and only if certain conditions are met.
- One, non-hunters who use State wildlife areas must also pay fair access and use fees. Many non-hunters who enjoy Delaware’s wildlife areas currently pay nothing, while hunters pay license fees and, in some cases, additional fees to use deer stands and waterfowl blinds. Much of the maintenance and associated costs associated with wildlife areas are results of non-hunting activities (think mountain bikes and horses), so cost-sharing is paramount.
- Two, it must be taken to heart by all levels of DNREC staff that hunters will more closely monitor conditions of hunting areas as well as the overall level of service provided by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. If hunters are paying more, there must be significant and apparent value. Fields must be planted. Blinds must be grassed. Lottery/check-in stations must be staffed. Educational opportunities must be readily available. And shooting ranges and hunting areas must be open. Failure in these areas or in other areas may generate significant backlash from hunters, possibly leading to hunters choosing not to purchase future Delaware hunting licenses.
- Three, enough is enough with Delaware’s ban on Sunday hunting. Hunters fully understand that Sunday hunting requires legislative action, so now is the time for hunters to engage in a grass-roots—but coordinated—effort to contact their senators, representatives, and hunting advocacy groups to enact change. It is unfathomable by many hunters that while Delaware is still one of only five states in the country that doesn’t allow Sunday hunting, we are being asked to pay more for the ability to hunt only six days a week. When our legislators finally admit that the discriminatory nature of the archaic blue law that bans Sunday hunting prevents certain classes of people from participating in cherished American traditions (and from purchasing Delaware hunting licenses), hunters expect the full support of the Division of Fish & Wildlife in establishing Sunday hunting opportunities.
If fee increases would not take effect until the opening of the 2015-2016 hunting season (unofficially July 1), there just may be enough time for lawmakers to make a difference.