July 17–SALMON — In hopes of filling revenue shortfalls and moving thousands of unsold tags, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission last week voted to discount second tags for resident and non-resident deer and elk hunters.
The commission struggled with the issue, agreeing that the socioeconomic considerations of the decision overshadowed any small biological ramifications.
Commissioner Mark Doerr of Kimberly said he was concerned that the vote may be viewed as the Idaho Department of Fish and Game being “desperate” for money.
“The key is to find that (price) that socially it does not appear we are devaluing the tag and the animal in the interest of generating revenue,” he said. “Even though that’s not what we are doing, that could easily be the perception.”
For one year only, the commission unanimously approved setting second tags from the non-resident pool at $199 for deer and $299 for elk, which does not include a vendor fee. Normal price plus vender fees total $301.75 for a deer tag and $416.75 for an elk tag.
Both residents and non-residents may purchase a second tag, at the discounted price, starting Aug. 1.
Each year, Fish and Game sets aside 12,815 elk and 15,500 deer tags in a pool reserved for non-residents through July 31. Starting each August, any unsold nonresident tags are offered to resident and nonresident hunters as second tags.
Fish and Game sold all of its non-resident elk tags from 2004 to 2008 and all of its deer tags from 2005 to 2008. When Fish and Game raised tag prices for elk by 12 percent and deer by 17 percent in 2009, tag sales dipped by 18 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Sales have continued to decline since, spurred by the poor economy.
In 2013, nonresidents purchased about 40 percent fewer deer and elk tags than in 2008. Since 2009, hunters have left 21,230 elk and 29,047 deer tags on the table for a combined loss of $17.6 million, or $3.5 million a year.
Commissioner Will Naillon urged the commission to tread lightly on the matter.
“We saw at the public meeting that the public is split on this issue,” he said. “… This is heading down a slippery slope where we basically encourage greed for money. I’m not a fan of the guy who wants to go out and kill a bunch of things because we need a few dollars.”
Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore urged the commission to make a “big jump” — too small of a step may hurt the department.
Moore said Fish and Game needs to generate an additional $800,000 in revenue to match its expenditures or face future cuts to programs.
“Commissioner Naillon, I agree — this is perhaps about greed,” Moore said. “But it really is about our business model and our ability to predict revenue.”
The vote is a show of good faith to the Idaho Legislature as Fish and Game brass will attempt to pitch lawmakers again on a fee increase and restructuring for residents. That fee proposal was approved by the commission last year but did not gain traction in Boise this session.
Fish and Game Deputy Director Sharon Kiefer said it is not unusual to wait two or three legislative sessions before lawmakers will consider such actions.
The proposal would increase resident fees for all licenses, tags and permits by about 20 percent, and would allow hunters and anglers with an annual permit to lock in a price as long as they purchase a license every year. It would also increase daily fishing and consecutive-day fishing license fees for residents and non-residents by 20 percent.
The proposal is designed to encourage residents to buy a license every year. If just 20 percent of the people who bought fishing licenses once over the past 13 years bought them annually, it would generate about $350,000, Kiefer said.
“If everyone bought a license every year, we’d be in pretty good shape revenue-wise,” she told the Times-News last year.