Some proposed DNR Budget changes

In this week’s Outdoor News, they did an article with Sarah Strommen DNR Commissioner on the proposed DNR budget. (it needs to be noted that this budget will need to go through the Legislature, and it is a long road. State park annual stickers would increase $10 to $45. Daily vehicle permit fee from $3 to $10. License plate increase $10 to $70
Watercraft registration fee (these fees have not increased since 2006). Proposed $11 Aquatic Invasive Species Surcharge with a minimum $4.50 issuing fee. Pleasure watercraft under 17 ft, increase from current $18 to $26.00 ($41.50 with AIS surcharge and issuing fee). Usually, the watercraft fee goes up with the size of the craft. This would be worked out.
Bow-fishing and Youth Tournament permit fees would be created. $70 for bow fishing contests under $50 boats and $225 for with more then 50. Youth tournaments under 50 boats would pay $50 for a permit and over 50 $255.
There are other aspects to the budget and I encourage you to find it and review.

Ahhhhh it never ends.

Don’t have to much issue with any of it, annoyed with AIS BS but is what it is.

Great natural resources in our state has operating costs. Pretty cheap in the big picture IMO.

Wish they would possibly tag out of staters with more but I get the tourist angle as well

State park access increases seem excessive.

All it look’s like I did my best to confuse myself and others: Daily State Park fee increase from $7 to $10 . License plate increase from $60 to $70. These increases will change as the budget works it’s way through the meat grinder

suzuki wrote:

State park access increases seem excessive.

really big increase percentage wise

Deuces wrote:

et works it’s way through the meat grinder

Agreed. When you look at license fees, park fees, etc., and consider them as a percentage of what you spend on the outdoors it is ridiculously low. When considering the parks, fishing, hunting and other outdoors opportunities in Minnesota it’s a nit.

Deuces wrote:

Wish they would possibly tag out of staters with more but I get the tourist angle as well

They need to charge more for non residents, both hunting and fishing. Both dakotas limit us to duck and pheasant hunting to only 10 days/season but we permit them to come here and fish the entire season with one purchase. North Dakota also added a non resident watercraft fee this year. It’s time to to return the favor.

I wish they would finally just tie DNR licenses/permits/fees to an automatic increase that kept pace with either inflation or the CPI. Many states do this, it’s freaking common sense.

As Mike points out–and this comes up every time fees increase–the proposed increase is big in percentage terms. Until we look at when was the LAST time that a particular fee increased? So how much of the “increase” is simply catching up with inflation (so NOT an “increase” at all) vs how much is really an increase in real dollar terms?

Because this is MN, we have to do everything the hard and stupid way. Let the fees fall way behind the pace of inflation with no increases for years and then make the DNR beg for a big increase, waste a whole bunch of legislative time, etc, etc, etc.

I recall some time back some deer hunters were getting all whipped up because the DNR increased the price of a deer license. Then it was pointed out that deer licenses hadn’t increased in price for over a decade and the proposed increase did not even match the pace of inflation.

gimruis wrote:

They need to charge more for nonresidents, both hunting and fishing. Both dakotas limit us to duck and pheasant hunting to only 10 days/season but we permit them to come here and fish the entire season with one purchase. North Dakota also added a non resident watercraft fee this year. It’s time to to return the favor.

Totally agree. Minnesota nice at its worst. We are surrounded by several states and provinces that take visiting Minnesotans to the cleaners for hunting and fishing licenses AND target us with special rules that don’t apply to residents, and then we let the residents of those states waltz in here and practically fish and hunt for nothing and with no special restrictions.

We should have a special list of states/provinces that unduly punish non-residents with high fees and reduced opportunities and simply return the favor for their residents with big fees and restrictions on bag limits and numbers of days that they are allowed to hunt or fish.