Anyone else following this? New budget proposal for WI would make hunting license $32 dollars and a fishing license $20.
I don’t mind the fishing license too bad, but that’s kind of steep for a hunting license, not to mention all the other red tape that goes along w/hunting.
thoughts?
I take it the $32.00 is for the deer license. For what the DNR has done to the deer herd up north I would’nt give them a dime. My money is going out west to hunt where there are animals from now on. I am going to Colorado this year and booking a trip to Wyoming for 2006. The cost for some of these hunts are not that much more than what I spend here during the deer season.
The name of the game is “get the little guy” he has no power so we can put more and more on them anytime we want. Excel increased their rates, QWest added another charge, what they need to do is to figure out a way to get some of that money from the rich people the CEOs making millions, the executives making millions, the lawyers, the companies. They pay small wages and take home huge profits. An example is that pill company that donated 35 million for tsunami relief. They have the money. Write your representatives in Madison and Washington. 
I paid 34.00 last year for a none resident license in Wisconsin. Wonder what the tab will be this year. 
The price we pay just for a little enjoyment.
I don’t mind the fishing license cost since I usually spend April – October fishing. Quite a lot of available time for a little money.
Hunting is quite the opposite for availability of time and you have to buy a seperate license for archery, gun deer, and small game. Though I can see that hunters usually do spend more money on items than people who fish. At least until you find out about the really good rods and reels! 
As to out of state licenses, I don’t think they were raising them all that much. That has gotten the biggest complaint about the fee increases with the people I have talked to.
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I paid 34.00 last year for a none resident license in Wisconsin.
I think I paid $40 this season for the non-resident angling…..
I think the increases are getting out of hand, seems like not that long ago there was hike in the cost fishing/hunting. But as much as we love our sport(s), we all know we’ll pay it. And they tell us that the money goes to the resources that we use – seems like I had a chance to go on a self guided tour (there was only one DNR offficer there and he siad he had to say to answer the hpones that seemed to be NOT ringing off the hook) of the Fish Hatchery in Genoa. It was real fun looking into either empty tanks or dark tanks (no over head lighting was turned on) – more empty then dark. Yes, so we’ll all complain about the increases but we all know that we’ll pay it just to have the right to fish, hunt, and or trap.
The way I read it is the WI. residents hunting license will go up 60% and the non-residents will go up 0. What are they thinking?
Here in Iowa I’ve been told they spend some of our license fees making bike trails that most of us who buy the licenses don’t use. And the people who use them don’t have to pay a dime. Also boaters who don’t fish get to use all the facilitys on lakes and rivers for about $6.50 a year. And the fishermen and hunters pay for most of it with special taxes and habitat fees. Makes you feel good when those jet skis going flying by you when your anchored in a good fishing spot huh.
Yes I’ve heard the same thing. I have a son-law that works for the sheriffs office in Fl. He’s had to ride on a jet ski to patrol the lakes there. He said they are the worse things made for the water. Not only dangerous but hard on the body.
Tell me!! I have to buy 3 non residents deer hunting tags for W.I., I sure hope they dont go up much more!! Plus family fishing lic. course the fishing i can handle paying
Just to comment, I see other states offer a lifetime hunting and fishing lic. Wonder if DNR has ever considered this. Probably not when they can make more money charging us every year. But I think that would be great to just buy a lic. once and be done with it.
Here in Iowa they use to issue you a free life time license when you turned 65. Then it changed to where they charged 50.00. Beleive it is now up to 70.00. But it is nice to have.
On the surface they make a good case for this because they claim they’ll hire more wardens to protect our outdoor resources, but when you think about isn’t everyone with a cell phone an unoffical “deputy warden?”
As to the deer license increase, the increase would help to offset the cost associated with chronic wasting disease which has been a huge drain on resources. But, when they raise the fee to the point where they will be pushing people out of deer hunting, chronic wasting disease will likely be an even bigger problem due to lack of population control – like the DNR has a handle on the deer population anyway 
Intelligent use of phone centers for tip lines instead of hiring more wardens, and having stronger regulation of game farms and controlling the deer population to combat chronic wasting would make more sense to me.
Dan
Lets not forget the new grouse stamp they are proposing (like that wont go through-they get what they want) pretty soon you’ll buy a liscense then you’ll have to buy whatever stamp you want to fish or hunt your quarry. Gill stamps, crappie stamps, squirrel stamps etc. Along with the $2700 tax bill for my house that I paid $96,000 for 6 years ago, highest state tax in the midwest (.065%) and the highest gas tax anywhere that our lawmakers have added automatic escalators every year. I live in taxpayers hell WISCONSIN 
Hey don’t give them guys anymore ideas. They come up with enough on their own. 
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