General Assembly passes bill to increase hunting, trapping fees

Delaware legislators overwhelmingly supported a bill to increase hunting and trapping fees and add a conservation access pass for non-hunters to enter one of the state's 17 wildlife areas.

House Bill 401 now sits on the desk of Gov. Jack Markell, awaiting his signature.

If given the final approval, the new fees will help replenish a diminishing revenue stream for the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife. It would become effective July 1, 2017.

In public meetings earlier this year regarding the proposed fee changes, Director David Saveikis said his department needed $600,000 in new revenue in order to avoid further cuts. He said a bump in revenue could also go a long way toward improving services offered at wildlife areas.

Fee increases include: Delaware resident hunting license from $25 to $39.50, nonresident hunting license from $130 to $199.50, resident trapping license from $3.50 to $10 and nonresident trapping license from $25 to $75. Several other licenses, tags and stamps were also increased.

A new fee would be the Conservation Access Pass. The legislation establishes the fee at $39.50 for residents and $65 for nonresidents for an annual pass. Three-day passes would also be available for $10 and $20, respectively. Anyone with a hunting license would not be required to also purchase an access pass.

The access pass will come in the form of a vehicle sticker. The pass cannot be used to enter state parks nor can the state park pass be used to enter wildlife areas.

Saveikis told the Natural Resources Committee in June that the fees as proposed would generate $551,000 in state funds, which would correspond to $1.1 million in additional federal wildlife grants.

Hunters generate about $4.2 million each year through license purchases and federal excise taxes on the purchase of firearms and ammunition. The excise tax, known as the Pitman-Robertson Act, allocates $3 from the federal government for every $1 contributed by the state. Fifty percent to 70 percent of wildlife program operations revenues depend on those fees. The ratio for the new and increased fees will not match exactly 3-to-1 because some of the money generated will be used for non-grant-eligible activities.

The Senate passed the bill 18-3, with Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, and Sen. Richardson, R-Laurel, voting against. The House passed the bill 38-2, with Rep. Rich Collins, R-Millsboro, and Rep. Dave Wilson, R-Bridgeville, the only two against.

Collins attended public hearings earlier this year to voice the concerns of his constituents. He said his concerns remained when the bill came up for vote.

“I believe most Delawareans are still hurting from the economy,” Collins said, adding that most of his constituents are not flush with money to pay for increased fees. “I think it's wrong [for DNREC] to reach out, tap you on the shoulder and say 'give me more money' whether you have it or not.”

He said this is the third fee increase DNREC has been granted in the last year. The fee for state park annual passes was increased in 2015, and the Legislature recently voted to double the license fee for registering boats.

“Now, technically, you have to pay pretty significant money just to walk through and enjoy property your tax dollars paid for,” Collins said.

The proposed fees had the support of the nature community. Chris Bason, executive director for the Center for the Inland Bays, said he supported the bill as a whole, saying it was a very well thought out approach.

“The concept did have wide support from the wildlife council and the public,” he said. “People recognized hunting [revenue from] license fees was dropping and the cost to manage publicly owned land was going up.”

He said there was no better example of management costs on the rise than in Assawoman Wildlife Refuge south of Bethany Beach.

“Assawoman is essentially a little state park in the summer,” he said. “Most of the people who are coming are not coming in to hunt during the summer; they're there to bird watch, to run, walk their dog or access the bay.”

With everyone contributing, he said, there should be more money available to combat issues related to sea-level rise as well as general refuge management.