DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting comments until Aug. 21 on a proposed array of increases in hunting and fishing license fees.
The proposed changes would raise the cost of an annual resident hunting or fishing license to $20, an increase of $3. The proposed license fees do not include the vendor or convenience fee that pays license sales vendors and for the license sales system that is added to the transaction, according to the DNR.
The proposed fee schedule for all hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and habitat fee is available on the DNR website.
The Iowa DNR has scheduled six public-comment sessions Tuesday, Aug. 21 from noon until 2 p.m., when individuals may express their opinion of the proposal. Attendees may come and go on their schedule during this time. The DNR will not make a formal presentation on the proposed fee increase. Locations include:
Wallace State Office Building, 502 E. Ninth St. in Des Moines
Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery, 122 252nd Ave. in Spirit Lake
Ventura Wildlife Office, 15300 Balsam Ave. in Ventura
Cold Spring District Office, 57744 Lewis Road in Lewis
Delaware County Conservation Board, 2379 Jefferson Road in Manchester
Lake Darling District Office, 110 Lake Darling Road in Brighton
Written comments on the proposal will also be accepted and may be submitted through Aug. 21 via email to wildlife@dnr.iowa.gov or by mail to Joe Larscheid, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wallace State Office Building, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines, IA 50319-0034.
If approved, the price rise would be the first increase in the annual resident hunting license fee since 2002 and the first rise in the annual fishing license since 2004. If approved, the new fee schedule would be effective when 2019 licenses go on sale on Dec. 15.
Revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses is deposited into the Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund, which is the state’s constitutionally protected fund supported by hunting and fishing license sales and federal excise taxes paid on ammunition, fishing tackle and other hunting and fishing supplies. The fund receives no taxpayer money from the state general fund and is used to promote and improve areas to hunt and fish in Iowa.
The authority to set hunting and fishing license fees previously rested with the Iowa Legislature, but this year the Legislature passed a bill, signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, that shifted the authority to the Iowa DNR and the Natural Resource Commission. Any proposed fee increase would be subject to review by the five-member bipartisan Administrative Rules Review Committee before enactment.
Any persons attending the public-comment sessions and having special requirements, such as those related to mobility or hearing impairments, should contact the DNR or ADA Coordinator at 515-725-8200, Relay Iowa TTY Service 800-735-7942, or Webmaster@dnr.iowa.gov, and advise of specific needs.
I am not in favor of the price hike because we do not want to exclude people from hunting and fishing, What should be done is bring more people into the sports of hunting and fishing. Why raise the prices on people who have already been buying licenses and also helping other conservation groups for better hunting? In all, I feel this is a bad idea because you’re going to squeeze the poor man out, and then say goodbye to any new potential license holders because of the price hike.