Decline In Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays For Conservation

It's actually a well written and un biased article. Rare for npr.

Every time I encounter an anti hunting acquaintences that wants to debate it I bring up PR funding and license sales and that if it were not for hunters paying for it you'd never have the wildlife we have today.
 
I would venture to say it declined significantly in the northeast when Mass retroactively made most gun owners prohibited.

It's your basic gun control. The more people you prohibit from owning a gun the less people will hunt.

I guess they'll have to start selling bird watching licenses.
 
I know.. NPR.. but seems like a balanced article overall.

Decline In Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays For Conservation

Good article actually, grim future ahead if all holds true.

I can see now when they start asking non-hunters to contribute they'll demand no hunting, when all these years they've never been asked to contribute a dime. Sad, really. Not that i'm for more taxes or fees... the states have plenty of money their wasting elsewhere.
 
I haven't bought a license to hunt or fish in 35+ years. Bought my lifetime licenses big game small game bow muzzle loader turkey fishing and not a dime since. Bought same for sons when they were four. They never need to buy a license. Not sure how any of that figures into stats for revenue.

New York has been raising license prices. They recently reduced fishing license costs trying to get some people back.
 
I haven't bought a license to hunt or fish in 35+ years. Bought my lifetime licenses big game small game bow muzzle loader turkey fishing and not a dime since. Bought same for sons when they were four. They never need to buy a license. Not sure how any of that figures into stats for revenue.

New York has been raising license prices. They recently reduced fishing license costs trying to get some people back.
One thing you'll never hear me complain about believe it or not is the proce tag to hunt in mass. Resident "sporting" license includes huntig AND fishing for $45 and it includes 2 antlered tags, small game and upland bird. Other stamps for turkey, bear, and antlerless tags are only $5. It's pretty cheap to hunt and fish in mass compared to other states.
 
One thing you'll never hear me complain about believe it or not is the proce tag to hunt in mass. Resident "sporting" license includes huntig AND fishing for $45 and it includes 2 antlered tags, small game and upland bird. Other stamps for turkey, bear, and antlerless tags are only $5. It's pretty cheap to hunt and fish in mass compared to other states.

Yea it is. A sporting license, 2 doe tags, turkey tags and a waterfowl stamp is like 70 bucks. I ain't complaining. I pay more than that for just 1 tag in RI (non-resident though).
 
Yea it is. A sporting license, 2 doe tags, turkey tags and a waterfowl stamp is like 70 bucks. I ain't complaining. I pay more than that for just 1 tag in RI (non-resident though).
Hell I paid $75 for a Maine non resident SMALL GAME LICENSE!
 
Yes. License fees are 35% of conservation funding and p r tax is 11%. Did you read the article?

Yes, but I read it too fast.... this part explains a lot...

"
To access those federally apportioned funds, states have to pony up some of their own matching money - 25 percent or more of the total they're looking to get back. No match, no money."

What the actual f***? So the feds are probably sitting on a pile of cash from P-R money.... I guess what I was driving at earlier, is that 10/11% is a shitload of money, and you would think that it would, at least
partially, offset the slumping hunting license sales due to the volume alone.

-Mike
 
I remember when Romney was planning on taking the money for fish and game and using it elsewhere, until he realized he'd lose the fed money that goes with it.

Why are the republicans we elect in this state never on our side?
 
I remember when Romney was planning on taking the money for fish and game and using it elsewhere, until he realized he'd lose the fed money that goes with it.

Why are the republicans we elect in this state never on our side?
Perhaps because they are politicians, first and foremost.
 
Yea it is. A sporting license, 2 doe tags, turkey tags and a waterfowl stamp is like 70 bucks. I ain't complaining. I pay more than that for just 1 tag in RI (non-resident though).

Yes...you can't compare non-resident to resident. Differences between Res and Non Res out West are moronic. Every year states raise tag prices to NR, and they are whoring the resource more and more. Many are not willing to pay it anymore, as the demographics of baby boomers paying retarded prices to hunt game have changed as the Gen X is taking over. Paying thousands just for a tag only is borderline dumb.....

MA prices are OK, but there are other much better deer hunting states that are cheaper for their residents. And MA is pretty much unhuntable in the eastern third of the state with the laws on the books, unless you know someone or have land access.
 
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I like the article.....I would also like it if they brought up gun control, anti hunting a**h***s as the reason a lot of people don't want to deal with all the crap anymore.

I also kinda thought it funny that most people stop hunting at 65....you figure you retire you'd want to hunt more. That actually resonates with me as I've gotten into my late 40's I've taken a bunch of nice bucks, boar, and other small game and realize, I either start fanning out into elk, and other species. But when you look at the cost of that western stuff....it's really an eyeopener. Minimum trip to kill an elk is likely 5K now with the tags, travel, etc and that's the very low end...higher success rate your looking at 10K.....the cost benefit analysis ends up being idiotic. I can do a lot with 10K rather than put an elk on my wall.
 
Yes, but I read it too fast.... this part explains a lot...

"
To access those federally apportioned funds, states have to pony up some of their own matching money - 25 percent or more of the total they're looking to get back. No match, no money."

What the actual f***? So the feds are probably sitting on a pile of cash from P-R money.... I guess what I was driving at earlier, is that 10/11% is a shitload of money, and you would think that it would, at least
partially, offset the slumping hunting license sales due to the volume alone.

-Mike


Im with Mike on this. 10 percent excise on anything gun, bow, ammo related has to be a shit ton of cash. They may see a skump in license sales but the last few years theres been a boon in gun sales. So WTF.

I think the whole article is written as a reason to money grab and feed the beast with new sources of revenue from the yuppie outdoor non Hunting side. Which they should have been paying all along.

Lets face it, if some buying a Smith and Wesson Shield is paying 10 percent then so should some guy buying a fancy hiking stick. Which one do you think gets used more in the outdoors?
 
Yes...you can't compare non-resident to resident. Differences between Res and Non Res out West are moronic. Every year states raise tag prices to NR, and they are whoring the resource more and more. Many are not willing to pay it anymore, as the demographics of baby boomers paying retarded prices to hunt game have changed as the Gen X is taking over. Paying thousands just for a tag only is borderline dumb.....

MA prices are OK, but there are other much better deer hunting states that are cheaper for their residents. And MA is pretty much unhuntable in the eastern third of the state with the laws on the books, unless you know someone or have land access.


I know this - obviously. That wasn't my point. The point was that even in RI - where tags aren't expensive - you still pay by the tag. Apples to apples - res vs res - MA is cheaper.

Point being - our hunting licenses are one thing we really can't complain about. That said the state does a poor job managing the land. So I guess you get what you pay for.
 
I
Point being - our hunting licenses are one thing we really can't complain about. That said the state does a poor job managing the land. So I guess you get what you pay for.

Definately agree with that.

There are a few bright spots here, the turkey hunting is very good, and so is the pheasant program. Filling turkey tags and getting plenty of pheasants is not a problem in this state.
 
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