License, permit hikes anger woodsmen
By: Jeffery Kurz, Record-Journal staff
11/15/2009
WALLINGFORD - Skip Zona has hunted since he was 16 years old. At the time, the cost of a hunting license was about $5, said the 70-year-old Wallingford resident.
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Because he's over 65, Zona doesn't have to pay for his license any longer, but he does have to pay for the permits. The price of a license and most permits for hunting and fishing in the Nutmeg State just increased dramatically, with most doubling. Recreational sportsmen such as Zona are hopping mad about it.
In a recent letter to the editor, Zona called Connecticut "truly the 'tax-me-to-death state.' "
"I can see raising it a dollar," he said on the phone recently, "but doubling everything?"
In a recent "Woods & Water" column, the Record-Journal's Mike Roberts railed against the fee increases. "Where in the heck is the working man supposed to come up with enough dough for the doubled fees?" he wrote.
Roberts says that in the past, he would buy permits even if he didn't plan on using them, about $80 worth of permits such as the $28 fall turkey tags, just because he wanted to support the wildlife division of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"I felt it was money going to a good cause," he said. Now that those fees have doubled, with the money going into the government's general fund, Roberts says he's reconsidering.
Roberts will now have to pay $304 for the license and permits he's accustomed to getting each year. Those used to cost $152.
The increases make Connecticut the most expensive state for hunting and fishing in the Northeast, said William Hyatt, acting bureau chief for the state DEP's bureau of natural resources.
The increased fees are likely to have the most dramatic effect on those just starting out in hunting and fishing, those in the 16- to 25-year-old age range, Hyatt noted.
The money that used to go to a conservation fund now goes to the general fund, Wyatt said, but "it has to come back to us."
The increases, which went into effect Oct. 1, in general double fees for all state recreational activities, including parking fees at state parks, camp site reservation, admission to state park museums and fees for boating certificates.
A combination hunting and freshwater fishing license for state residents now costs $56. The increases also bring the price of a deer hunting permit to $28, an archery permit to $60 and pheasant tags to $28.
For non-residents, the fee for a small-game firearms hunting permit climbs to $134, deer hunting with firearms to $100 and an archery permit to $200.
In 2008, the state sold about 40,000 fishing and hunting licenses, 45,000 permits for deer hunting with firearms and 10,500 permits for small-game firearms hunting.
It would be a surprise if such numbers held following the fee increases.
"We certainly expect that this is going to have a significant effect on sales," Hyatt said. "The numbers are going to go down under the current fee structure."
It will also hurt small businesses, including bait shops, and tourism, said Bob Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen. Crook, a lobbyist supporting sportsmen at the capital for 40 years, said supporters plan to submit legislation early next year calling for a more reasonable increase in fees, at about 25 percent to 30 percent as opposed to the 100 percent increase now in place.
"From our perspective, it's completely outrageous," he said.
"Sporting licenses are recreational and we're way out of balance with the states around us," Crook said. "So it's going to hurt tourism."
Licenses and permits are less expensive in surrounding states. New York increased fees, but not at the level of Connecticut. A super sportsman license now costs $88, up by $20.
"A lot of guys are telling me they're going to go to New York," Crook said.
"We used to have bow hunters come from Massachusetts and New York and I've talked to them and they're not coming anymore," he said.
"Essentially, what we're saying is that this program is certainly not going to make any money."
jkurz@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2213
By: Jeffery Kurz, Record-Journal staff
11/15/2009
WALLINGFORD - Skip Zona has hunted since he was 16 years old. At the time, the cost of a hunting license was about $5, said the 70-year-old Wallingford resident.
Advertisement
Because he's over 65, Zona doesn't have to pay for his license any longer, but he does have to pay for the permits. The price of a license and most permits for hunting and fishing in the Nutmeg State just increased dramatically, with most doubling. Recreational sportsmen such as Zona are hopping mad about it.
In a recent letter to the editor, Zona called Connecticut "truly the 'tax-me-to-death state.' "
"I can see raising it a dollar," he said on the phone recently, "but doubling everything?"
In a recent "Woods & Water" column, the Record-Journal's Mike Roberts railed against the fee increases. "Where in the heck is the working man supposed to come up with enough dough for the doubled fees?" he wrote.
Roberts says that in the past, he would buy permits even if he didn't plan on using them, about $80 worth of permits such as the $28 fall turkey tags, just because he wanted to support the wildlife division of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"I felt it was money going to a good cause," he said. Now that those fees have doubled, with the money going into the government's general fund, Roberts says he's reconsidering.
Roberts will now have to pay $304 for the license and permits he's accustomed to getting each year. Those used to cost $152.
The increases make Connecticut the most expensive state for hunting and fishing in the Northeast, said William Hyatt, acting bureau chief for the state DEP's bureau of natural resources.
The increased fees are likely to have the most dramatic effect on those just starting out in hunting and fishing, those in the 16- to 25-year-old age range, Hyatt noted.
The money that used to go to a conservation fund now goes to the general fund, Wyatt said, but "it has to come back to us."
The increases, which went into effect Oct. 1, in general double fees for all state recreational activities, including parking fees at state parks, camp site reservation, admission to state park museums and fees for boating certificates.
A combination hunting and freshwater fishing license for state residents now costs $56. The increases also bring the price of a deer hunting permit to $28, an archery permit to $60 and pheasant tags to $28.
For non-residents, the fee for a small-game firearms hunting permit climbs to $134, deer hunting with firearms to $100 and an archery permit to $200.
In 2008, the state sold about 40,000 fishing and hunting licenses, 45,000 permits for deer hunting with firearms and 10,500 permits for small-game firearms hunting.
It would be a surprise if such numbers held following the fee increases.
"We certainly expect that this is going to have a significant effect on sales," Hyatt said. "The numbers are going to go down under the current fee structure."
It will also hurt small businesses, including bait shops, and tourism, said Bob Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen. Crook, a lobbyist supporting sportsmen at the capital for 40 years, said supporters plan to submit legislation early next year calling for a more reasonable increase in fees, at about 25 percent to 30 percent as opposed to the 100 percent increase now in place.
"From our perspective, it's completely outrageous," he said.
"Sporting licenses are recreational and we're way out of balance with the states around us," Crook said. "So it's going to hurt tourism."
Licenses and permits are less expensive in surrounding states. New York increased fees, but not at the level of Connecticut. A super sportsman license now costs $88, up by $20.
"A lot of guys are telling me they're going to go to New York," Crook said.
"We used to have bow hunters come from Massachusetts and New York and I've talked to them and they're not coming anymore," he said.
"Essentially, what we're saying is that this program is certainly not going to make any money."
jkurz@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2213