DNR proposes higher fees for fishing licenses, boat registration, state parks

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fishing-licenses-boat-registration-state-021900834.html

DNR proposes higher fees for fishing licenses, boat registration, state parks
Tony Kennedy, Star Tribune
Tue, January 24, 2023 at 8:19 PM CST·2 min read

Minnesotans would pay more for fishing licenses, boat registrations and state park admittance under a new Department of Natural Resources (DNR) budget proposal headed to the Legislature.

As announced Tuesday by DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen, annual fishing licenses would increase 20% from $25 to $30 for state residents, while non-resident annual fishing licenses would increase 35% from $46 to $62. The last time Minnesota fishing licenses went up in price was 2017.

The fee schedule for boats varies by the type and size of the watercraft being registered, but a fishing boat in the 17-to-19 foot range would receive a 119% registration fee increase from $27 to $59. Registering a 20-footer would cost $113, up 151% from $45. Strommen noted that watercraft registration fees are charged once every three years and haven’t gone up since 2006.

On top of the proposed watercraft registration fee increases, boaters would pay a $20 aquatic invasive species surcharge, up from the current $10.60, according to the budget proposal.

For state park admittance, the annual sticker that now costs $35 would rise 29% to $45. Daily admission would increase 42% from $7 to $10. The last time park fees went up was in 2017. In all cases, if approved, the increases would begin during the fiscal year that starts July 1. The fishing license increase would start March 1, 2024.

Together, they would increase collections by an estimated $20.4 million a year to add five fisheries positions, increase spending on lake and river infrastructures, upgrade camping facilities, increase accessibility to parks and trails, fund safety education, shore up overspent budgets and boost outreach and enforcement, among other things.

DNR Assistant Commissioner Bob Meier said the proposed fee increases will undoubtedly attract some criticism given DNR’s parallel legislative budget request for more than $200 million in onetime money to makeover fish hatcheries, address other run-down infrastructure, adapt to climate change, plant trees, expand management and control of chronic wasting disease and pay for other investments.

More DNR capital expenditure requests will be announced later this week in connection with the state bonding bill. Meier said the fee increases are needed to care for the proposed new assets once they are repaired and built. New jobs in DNR fisheries, for example, would be needed to optimize the improved fish stocking capabilities.

“We want to make sure we can take care of these things after we build them or repair them,” Meier said. “I get the angst, but you have to look at the whole package.”

Lessard’s was a scam.

Looks like the lifetime sportsman’s license I bought almost 20 years ago just got cheaper.

No surprise here. All of these are nothing more than a form of Tax. TAX’S are always going up. Then again these days, What’s not !!!!

A few of those increases are rather large. 119% on boat registration – WOW !!!!

I’d hate to know the total % amount the average person pays in OVERALL tax’s in a year. Not just the Federal and state tax.

Red Eye wrote:

Looks like the lifetime sportsman’s license I bought almost 20 years ago just got cheaper.

Ya those lifetime license are a smart idea. Nothing better a parent could buy their child when they are young.

I’d fully support a significant increase to non-resident fishing licenses. Other bordering states absolutely bend non-residents over for hunting/fishing licenses. I think MN significantly under charges non-residents relative to the resources we have.

Want to pheasant hunt in SD as a non-resident? $154 and that only gives you 10 days. Jump to ND and its $100 for 14 days. ND waterfowl? $150. Want to shoot a deer in Wisconsin? $160. Iowa? >$600.

Want to fish all year long in any of our 10,000 lakes? $50. Seems like an absolute steal considering the resources we have.

Wow. Didn’t see that coming. Number one topic at this year’s DNR Round table is funding. Go read Verns post on the Roundtable.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

Want to shoot a deer in Wisconsin? $160.

As a WI resident, shooting a MN deer costs me $180 plus the hassle of dealing with non-functional DNR computer stations at whichever holiday or fleet farm I decide to go to. Literally takes an hour every year to get that deer license. every year since I moved. I’d say WI is under charging the MN residents who come here, frankly, especially considering it can be done online in about 3 minutes.

try using the MN online system as a non-resident; it doesn’t work.

KPE wrote:

try using the MN online system as a non-resident; it doesn’t work.

huh. the MN DNR online system for non-resident fishing and hunting permits has worked perfectly fine for me every year. same with registering harvests.

i’m generally in favor of paying more for schools and natural resources as they a lot more worthwhile than much of the other stuff government does. even at the increased prices being suggested (for example, $62 instead of $46 for my out of state fishing license) the value being provided is very, very good.

With the increased pressure these resources are facing, fees/tax hikes are obviously going to follow whether people agree or not. I’d love to see a little more transparency/say on where the license fees go. I think the MNDNR could get out there and show exactly what the licenses pay for and use a little PR to really control the narrative. Hell, I’d pay substantially more than $30 willingly if there was a way to guarantee a majority of those funds are going back into our resources and not to someone’s MNDNR 401k sitting in a St. Paul office. $30 for the amount of fishing I do (or used to do) is a steal, and I understand that.

As for the out of state licenses, those need to go up MORE. The people coming here are doing so with the expectation of expenses. Another $15-$20 is NOT going to deter people from coming to MN to fish. What is offered here for fishing opportunities is matched very few other places, and those coming here to recreate need to pay accordingly to help keep things afloat.

The boater registration increases seem a bit much. Obviously they too are coming, but those percentage hikes are huge. I own a 17′ fishing boat and a 23.5′ tritoon. The infrastructure that they use is not funded by the MNDNR. It’s difficult to see where what I am using costs the MNDNR much, if anything (and for sure not at the rate of those increases). I often launch my fishing boat out of a private launch, and the tritoon sits in a slip or if trailered for vacation is out of state to Northern WI. Where does the revenue generated from boater registration go?

It is a big jump in a couple spots, but overall I support it as long as the money goes for what it is supposed to go for.

Interesting, I’ve never had an issue with the MN online system and all my experiences have been super slick. I actually found it easier than using the WI online system when I was buying a WI turkey tag a couple years back.

If you wait until the last minute to buy your license, I wouldn’t be surprised at all that you are going to stand in line for that.

I’d hunt in WI and not MN if I was you. I wouldn’t pay $180 to deer hunt in MN, at least not in my neck of the woods.

big_g wrote:

Lessard’s was a scam.

This was never meant to fund what the dnr was already doing. Like paying for day today operations. It’s working like it was intended although there are plenty of people trying to get their hands in that cookie jar.

Red Eye wrote:

Looks like the lifetime sportsman’s license I bought almost 20 years ago just got cheaper.

I was about to post the same thing. When I bought one for myself in my mid-20’s (if I remember correctly) I calculated that, at the current prices at the time, it would’ve paid for itself starting in my mid-50’s. Licenses have gone up twice since then so that number just keeps getting closer.

And as fishthumper said, buying lifetime licenses for young ones is a great investment. I believe it’s in the $300-$400 range if they’re 0-3 years old. Both of my boys have one.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>big_g wrote:</div>
Lessard’s was a scam.

This was never meant to fund what the dnr was already doing. Like paying for day today operations. It’s working like it was intended although there are plenty of people trying to get their hands in that cookie jar.

After it passed, the monies in the general fund for the outdoors took a dive. Now it is coming home to roost.

John Rasmussen wrote:

It is a big jump in a couple spots, but overall I support it as long as the money goes for what it is supposed to go for.

x2

Lifetime fishing license is the best gift one could someone. I am so happy I bought one for my son and nephews for their first birthday. The cost goes up after they turn 3.

35% jump for non-res license, and 100% increase for AIS. What a joke. Complete lack of science behind ANYTHING they do per usual. I’d be all for more enforcement, but I’m skeptical of turning outdoorsmen into revenue streams just because they forgot to give their boat a shower.

It’s not the money that bites. Factor in electronics, bait, gas, etc, the cost is negligible in comparison. The principle is the issue.

Constant lack of transparency with funds (statewide) and the constant attack on already tax burdened citizens. Moving to ND looks better everyday.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

I’d fully support a significant increase to non-resident fishing licenses. Other bordering states absolutely bend non-residents over for hunting/fishing licenses. I think MN significantly under charges non-residents relative to the resources we have.

Want to pheasant hunt in SD as a non-resident? $154 and that only gives you 10 days. Jump to ND and its $100 for 14 days. ND waterfowl? $150. Want to shoot a deer in Wisconsin? $160. Iowa? >$600.

Want to fish all year long in any of our 10,000 lakes? $50. Seems like an absolute steal considering the resources we have.

How many non residents come to MN. Honest question. Seems like all the bordering states are here in SD. They should lower the cost of non residents in MN so more go there instead of all coming to SD

Jake D wrote:

How many non residents come to MN. Honest question.

No res fishing > 94k from 2021 data.

Breakdown here:

https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.dnr.state.mn.us%2Frlp%2Flicenses%2Fsales%2Ffishing_licenses.xlsx%3F20230126-22&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

-J.

The increases do not bother me, I half expect it every year, cost of doing business.

What I do want to see and make sure of is that non hunting and fishing/ other users of the resources pay a fair share.

Jake D wrote:

How many non residents come to MN. Honest question. Seems like all the bordering states are here in SD. They should lower the cost of non residents in MN so more go there instead of all coming to SD

Haven’t seen numbers for 2022 yet but 2021 had 298,003 non resident fishing license sales, up from 277,110 in 2020, or a 7.5% increase. Following that same trend, I’d estimate 2022 non resident licenses were around 300,000-320,000.

The most recent data I could find for South Dakota non resident license sales was just north of 10,000 but that was 2019. Not even close to MN.

Jon Jordan wrote:

No res fishing > 94k from 2021 data.
-J.

That is only the NR individual angling. To get a full view of non-resident licenses, you have to include NR Married Couple Angling, NR 14 Day Married Couple Angling, NR 7 Day Angling, NR 72 Hour Angling, and NR 24 Hour Angling

This reminds me that I need to re-up the registration for my boat…and my canoe…and my 2 standup paddleboards.

Wow I didn’t think it would be that high. Be interesting to see know many of these are snowbirds that have a 2nd home at the lake during summer

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

This reminds me that I need to re-up the registration for my boat…and my canoe…and my 2 standup paddleboards.

I am generally a rule follower.

However, the day I register a SUP or kayak that we throw in on a rare occasion will be the same day I am stopped and asked about it. Does that make me a criminal?

What am I missing here? MN has a $17 BILLION budget surplus, and the DNR wants to raise rates? By definition, a 17 billion dollar surplus means you’re taxing too much!

big_g wrote:

After it passed, the monies in the general fund for the outdoors took a dive. Now it is coming home to roost.

What monies for the outdoors were cut after Lessard passed? Like the DNR budget in general, or something specific?

19.5% of Lessard Sam’s money goes to the Arts, which was not the intention of the vote approving the tax, but was snuck in and exploited thru some creative politics. But overall it has funded a ton of worthwhile projects that would have been lacking funding otherwise.

As far as the OP I’m fine with the cost increases, and think the State Park passes are still too cheap for the awesome experiences they provide along with overhead required to run them. Boating, Hunting and fishing increases are fine too, but that is a fine line to walk as they fund the DNR at the current moment. And #’s are decreasing pretty much across the board (see Jon’s link above), and we can’t be pricing people out from continuing or, more importantly, starting to hunt and fish.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

This reminds me that I need to re-up the registration for my boat…and my canoe…and my 2 standup paddleboards.

Is this true? You are really required to license a paddle board? Ridiculous. What about a tube or a floatie? I love living in MN but they sure do make it hard sometimes.

Anything 10′ or longer needs registration, with some exceptions.

blank wrote:

Anything 10′ or longer needs registration, with some exceptions.

That’s why there are quite a few kayaks out there right under 10 feet in length.

I’m fine with these increases. 27 bucks for a 3 year watercraft registration on my boat comes out to 9 bucks a year right now. I also buy a conservation angling license which is 13.50/year. These are absolute bargains to be able to fish and use my boat on public water. As long as the revenue goes to the right place, so be it.

I am also in favor of increasing non resident licenses. South Dakota is a rape job for pheasants, and they only allow you to hunt 10 days/season. Wanna hunt deer in Iowa? Sign up for a $50 non refundable fee and then get ready to fork over about 500 bucks for the license if drawn. Absolute crimes compared to what we charge non residents here in MN.

Im not sure its super fair to compare non resident deer tags from MN to Iowa. Everyone and their mother puts in for non resident iowa tags.