As a working guide, someone who has appreciated wildlife all of his life and bought hunting and fishing licenses since he was old enough. I am troubled by two debates that are about to happen. Both of them surround licenses for hunting and fishing. One is a fee increase for hunting and fishing licenses (article in the Portland Press Herald) and the second is requiring a license to fish in salt water.
First let me give you my slant on conservation funding. One thing that separates those of us who hunt and fish from the rest of the public is the fact that we care deeply about our fish and wildlife resources. I dare to say that more than any other’s we feel responsible for those resources. For over a hundred years hunters and anglers alone have funded the management and protection of our fish and wildlife. The management we made possible has been successful beyond what anyone could have reasonably hoped for one hundred years ago. Species that were once rare in our state are now common. The wild turkey being an example of one of those amazing success stories.
Let me be very clear that success was not funded by what we now call non-consumptive users, the wildlife watchers and others. As costs have risen the conservation community has developed an interest in tapping the broader public for financial support. But let’s talk about reality. The general public including the bird watchers while full of opinions about wildlife management does not care enough to fund even a small part of that effort. The chickadee check off, a voluntary program here in Maine available to anyone who files state income tax generates less than the cost of one biologist and considerably less than the cost of one game warden each year. When I was at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife the legislature instituted a program known as “We Care” I forget exactly what the acronym stood for but it was an opportunity for the broader public to contribute to the management of fish and wildlife in our state. Because we wanted the program to be a success, we thought that a gift of some sort would be a good incentive for taking part. We printed a wildlife calendar with some excellent photography on every page. I am sure that the total sales for that program came to less than 20. In fact I think that most of the calendars were actually purchased by Department personnel, and my mom.
The recent state budgets unfortunately only reinforce that reality. The political interest that we see in wildlife issues does not translate into funding to run the Department responsible for that wildlife is our unfortunate reality. So far I have not seen the proposal for a salt water fishing license but I hope to see one that explains what we might gain with better research and management of salt water recreational fishing. Clearly there are areas that need an improved effort. For instance flounder were once common on the Maine coast, today catching one is an oddity. The stripers disappeared last summer and when I talked with the Commissioner of Marine Resources about the issue, he asked what do you think I should do? My first thought was don’t you have a staff of trained folks who are smarter than me who could offer some good advice? Apparently not but he should have!! So maybe we do need to make that happen.
Wildlife conservation is about value, not cost. On the saddest day in my brief career in state government, I attended a hearing in front of the Fish and Wildlife Committee and heard that an additional $2 for an annual license was not worth it. The value was not there without an additional opportunity to hunt or fish. Keep in mind that my tip for the waitress at lunch is usually $2 and that same amount will buy roughly one gallon of gasoline today. It seems to me that $2 more for an opportunity to hunt or fish all year round is not unreasonable. Not to mention that I feel strongly that the fish and wildlife resources of our state are worth additional cost For me and many like me; the value of hearing a woodcock twitter up and out of sight on these spring mornings, or listening to a tom turkey gobble as he comes to my decoy, or watching a pair of mallards in a puddle at the end of my field, far exceeds the amount that I have to pay to ensure that those critters are here, their populations managed and protected. That is something I care deeply about. It takes people and money to accomplish that goal. In fact I am planning to include the price of licenses in what I charge for fishing trips this coming season as a way to improve the value of my trips in this economy. So whatever increase is approved will come directly from my pocket. There is no one else who feels that it is as important as hunters and anglers do, so once again the hunters and anglers must do the right thing and insure that the management and protection of our fish and wildlife resources is properly funded.
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