Bill shot forward with hunter-angler support for price increases

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday raising the cost of most hunting and fishing licenses for the first time since 2003. Hunters and anglers lobbied for the bill despite the price increases.

Senate Bill 941, by Sen. David Bullard, RDurant, and Rep. Ty Burns, R-Watchorn, shot through the legislative process and bucked a five-year trend of defeats on the idea. It passed both houses in a bi-partisan vote: 38-7 in the Senate and 88-3 in the House.

It simplifies the system by consolidating more than 50 license categories into 15, including creating a youth “super license” and a single license for deer hunters instead of purchasing a tag for each deer, according to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation spokesman Micah Holmes.

He said it increases license costs in many categories but not all. It also mandates that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation report to the legislature every five years to review license prices and revenue against the Consumer Price Index.

Some price change examples The bill includes changes such as increasing the lifetime combination hunting-fishing license from $775 to $1,024. Non-resident archers now buy a $300 deer hunting license. Next season, they will be required to purchase a $500 deer license plus a non-resident hunting license, increasing from $175 to $208.

A standard annual fishing license for an adult resident will increase from $24 to $30. An annual resident hunting license will increase from $24 to $35. A combination 365-day license decreases slightly, from $53 to $52.

Hunters also will pay a single fee for all allowable deer under a license rather than an individual fee for each deer tag.

One significant change dramatically simplifies the system and lessens expenses for young hunters.

“There are actually ten different definitions of “youth” in our current license code. Everything from under-16 to under-18, to under-21 to under-13, depends on what license you’re looking at, whether you’re a youth or not. With this new license modernization, everyone under 18, residents and non-residents, no matter what kind of license, is youth.”

Instead of a host of youth license options, a single, annual, nonresident youth license, “which shall include all species and all seasons for which a hunting license is required,” will cost $150.” A five-day license option for nonresident youth costs $75. A resident youth hunter license covering all species will cost $25.

If the bill is signed, the changes will go into effect July 1.

Wildlife Department funding

Funding for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is unlike any other state agency in that it receives no general state budget tax-related funds. It is funded almost entirely by license fees, the prices of which are set by the legislature. Licenses change only through legislative approval.

Past license modernization and simplification bills sought relief from that burden by reassigning responsibility for licensing to the Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department, with legislative oversight similar to that of other agencies. All failed in committee.

Advocates for the bill, among a coalition of 15 hunting and fishing non-profit groups who signed on to support it, said the difference this year was the user groups’ drive to simplify the licensing process and that this option leaves price-setting in legislators’ hands.

“We formed a coalition of 15 hunting and fishing groups, and when we were on the hill, we came in groups,” said Randall Cole, state chairman of Ducks Unlimited. “That kind of support from hunters and anglers made it clear to legislators that it was a win-win. We couldn’t let this go again without passing.”

Cole said that Ducks Unlimited led the lobbying effort and supported increasing the cost of a state waterfowl stamp from $10 to $20 for residents and $30 for nonresidents.

“We often had biologists out to our events, and our people always asked about water pumps that used to work and levees that were broken, and the answer always was, ‘We just don’t have the money,’” he said.

Laura McIver, regional representative for Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever, shared responses to the idea from a statewide poll of members. Common refrains from upland hunters followed the theme of noticing cutbacks in habitat management, public hunting area upkeep, and thoughts on license rate increases, including versions of “It’s about time.”

“No one in 2024 can operate on a budget level set in 2003,” McIver said.

Holmes said that, over time, the license changes could increase Wildlife Department annual funding by $6 million to $8 million, or roughly 12 percent over the current $55 million yearly budget. The added revenue multiplies in importance by saving access to matching Federal Sportfish Restoration and Federal Wildlife Restoration funds, many of which come with a three-toone match.

“We are at risk now of losing some federal grants that require a state money match,” Holmes said.

“Right-pricing” has been a mantra of the Wildlife Department for years. He said this bill accomplishes some of those goals.

Holmes said that “right-pricing” means the licensing system that makes it as easy and inexpensive as possible for people–especially those new to the outdoors— to get what they need while ensuring the Wildlife Department can maintain its services. It involves considering inflation and costs, comparing prices with other states, and continually evaluating what users say is acceptable.

The Oklahoma Ecology Project is a nonprofit dedicated to in-depth reporting on Oklahoma’s conservation and environmental issues. Learn more at okecology.org.