If you want to save yourself a little money, get your hunting and fishing licenses now. Starting Thursday, the base cost of most Washington hunting and fishing licenses will rise.
This is the first general recreational license fee increase in more than a decade, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The 2011 Legislature approved the new fees to help the department meet rising costs and a shortfall in revenue for managing hunting, fishing, and the fish and wildlife populations that are the focus of those activities.
The new fees are expected to generate about $8 million each year. The revenue is used to manage fisheries and hunting seasons, produce trout and steelhead for recreational fisheries, enforce regulations, monitor fish and game populations, and maintain wildlife lands.
Not all license fees will increase, and some will decline, including those for youth, seniors and persons with disabilities.
“The new fees are critically important in maintaining fishing and hunting opportunity and make it possible for the department to fulfill its dual mission of conserving species while providing sustainable fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation across the state,” Director Phil Anderson said in a prepared statement. “The fees reflect the cost of managing specific fisheries and hunts, and are competitive with fees charged in neighboring states. At the same time, we made an effort to encourage broad participation through youth and senior discounts.”
Revenues from the license fee increase will replace the temporary 10 percent license sale surcharge that expired in June, and will fill a projected deficit in the account that funds fishing and hunting activities. Without the license fee increase, the department would have been forced to make major cuts in hunting and fishing seasons and opportunities, said the news release. The department was facing cuts totaling $24 million before the Legislature approved this increase and other changes.
“Fishing and hunting contribute more than $1.4 billion a year to the state’s economy, benefitting local communities, small business owners and the people they employ,” Anderson said in the statement. “Maintaining fishing and hunting opportunity is vital to Washington’s economy and quality of life.”
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