Potentially cheaper fishing and hunting licenses are getting a mixed reaction among Central New York sportsmen.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” said Brain Eisch, president of the Salt City Bassmasters, a bass anglers’ organization based in Syracuse. He is among those who worry that the lower license cost proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will eventually cut services that protect hunting and fishing in the state.
In his recent amendments to his proposed budget, Cuomo called for combining some types of licenses and trimming the cost. These changes would:
- Reduce the cost of annual licenses for New York residents from $29 to $25 for fishing and from $29 to $22 for hunting.
- Lower the cost of hunting licenses for out-of-state residents from $140 to $100 and fishing licenses from $70 to $50.
- Adjust the expiration date of a fishing license so that it will be valid for one year from the date of purchase instead of the existing October 1 to September 30 period.
- Decrease the number of license options available by 11. The new license structure would combine many of the now-individual privileges into a total of ten options.
- Combine trapping privileges with the hunting license for no additional fee. Now trappers pay an extra $21 for the trapping license.
Eisch, president of the Bassmasters, said he supports the price cuts for state residents. But he is cautious about the fee reductions for out-of-state sportsmen. “It’s good one way, it’s bad the other way,” said Eisch. The lower cost is good, he said. But the bad could include more out-of-state residents competing for fishing on local waterways.
In the past, the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs has even recommended hikes in license fees, said federation president Stephen Wowelko. The region needs more conservation officers and wildlife biologists, he said, and higher fees could pay for those. He is discouraged, he said, by the proposed cuts for fear that means no additional conservation officers and biologists.
“Are they going to cut fees and cut services that they’re going to offer?” said Wowelko.
Jeff Bordwell, owner of the Legends of Fall Outfitters Archery Pro Shop in Tully, shares Wowelko’s concern. “Personally, I don’t mind paying the price we are paying,” said Bordwell, “if we were getting something back for it.”
The changes in license fees could bring more traffic to his business, Bordwell said. Central New York needs more officers from the Department of Environmental Conservation, he added.
Kevin Shupe is the license-issuing officer at the “Herb” Philipson’s outdoor outfitters in the Western Lights Shopping Center in Geddes. He sees some potential in the proposed new rules. “It’s not a bad idea,” said Shupe. “The problem with the license issue now is that it can be kind of confusing – people don’t know what license to get.” The streamlining of the license structure, he predicted, could help avoid some of the confusion he sees so often at his job.
The legislature has until March 31 to enact a budget. That is when the fiscal year ends. If Cuomo’s proposals are approved, the changes would take effect Feb. 1, 2014, said Lori Severino, press officer at the New York conservation department, in an email. If passed, said Severino: “Nothing is proposed to have a sunset or expire. Therefore, all the changes if adopted would be permanent.”
(Heather Norris is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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