All the testimony was in favor, from an array of sportsmen’s groups and the Idaho Farm Bureau, and the Idaho Fish & Game “price lock” fee increase, along with a surcharge to cover depredation and access, has cleared the Senate Resources Committee on a unanimous vote. Chairman Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, said he’ll carry the bill on the floor of the Senate; it’s already passed the House.

Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, quizzed Fish & Game Director Virgil Moore about the proposal, which would allow hunters and anglers who loyally buy licenses every year to lock in current rates and avoid the increase, asking how long that price lock will ask. Moore said the proposal is for a “minimum of five years.” Then, it would come back to lawmakers for review.

“If this bill is successful, will the intent of the department be to not seek a fee increase for at least five years?” Siddoway asked.  Moore said yes, with regard to resident fees, which the measure addresses. “That is correct,” he said. “We have no intent of seeking a fee increase on those that are increased in here for a five-year period.”

When Siddoway said he wondered “how the non-resident hunters and fishermen got off scot-free without any increases,” Moore said the measure does include an increase in the non-resident short-term fishing license, the one-day or multiple-day license, which he said is a “high-volume product.” Plus, he said, “In 2009, we boosted non-resident license and permit and tag fees substantially. It was in 2009 that the economy tanked, and our non-resident sales also tanked. We lost nearly 35 percent of our non-resident sales over a two-year period.” Those license buyers have just now come back, he said. “In 2009, we had the most expensive non-resident products. Since then, other states have raised their prices, and we’re in the upper-middle part of the pack.”

Moore said, “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to raise those fees at this time. Now, if demand remains high … there may be an appropriate time in the next few years to come back for a request for non-resident fee increase, but we didn’t feel now was the time to do it, because we just now got those customers back.”

Among those testifying in favor of the fee-increase bill:

Michael Gibson, Idaho field coordinator for Trout Unlimited, said, “Idaho has arguably the best fishing and hunting opportunities in the lower 48 states and is the envy of the nation. … Trout Unlimited and its members say today that we are willing to pay our fair share.”

Larry Fry of the Idaho Sportsmen’s Alliance said it’s been more than 12 years since the last resident fee increase, and growing costs have forced cutbacks in Fish & Game programs; Idaho Fish & Game gets no general tax funds. “We support a reasonable general resident license increase,” he said. “We believe such an increase will help ensure vital IDFG programs are maintained into the future and not cut further.”

Brian Brooks of the Idaho Wildlife Federation said, “HB 230 will still keep Idaho licenses half of the cost of some of our surrounding states.”

Dennis Tanikuni, director of government affairs for the Idaho Farm Bureau, said, “We think this is a big step forward for the Idaho Fish & Game Department, in fact we think it’s a paradigm shift. … It’s also an opportunity for mutual progress for sportsmen and the landowner community.”

Resident license fees for those who don’t buy in 2017 and continuously thereafter would rise by 20 percent starting in 2018, if the bill passes the full Senate and is signed into law by the governor. It also adds a $5 surcharge to raise an additional $2 million to pay for wildlife depredation and hunting and fishing access.

Fish & Game estimates the “price lock” fee increase will raise another $3 million a year. “Seventy percent of our buyers do not buy every year – 30 percent do,” Moore told the senators. “We would raise more money by people buying every year than people paying a higher price intermittently. … We believe the discount for the continuous buyer makes sense.”

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