License Policy Changes

Looking for a $6 gift to please a Washington sportsman?

Washington’s hunting and fishing license policy will enter a transition beginning Jan. 1, requiring some sportsmen to buy a $6 interim license to tide them over from January through March.

In the past, Washington’s general hunting and fishing licenses have been valid for a year beginning Jan. 1. However, waterfowl stamps, steelhead permits and late-season big-game tags have been valid beyond Jan. 1 through the end of their respective seasons.

That’s going to change in 1999, when all licenses and tags will be valid for a year beginning April 1.

This will make Washington one of the few Western states that doesn’t base it’s license cycle on the calendar year.

To keep sportsmen legally licensed in this transition from Jan. 1-March 31, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department is issuing an interim hunting-and-fishing license. It costs $6 for residents and $30 for nonresidents.

All other stamps and tags will remain valid through their fall-winter seasons.

Waterfowl hunters and special-permit elk hunters are the only sportsmen who will not need the interim license to be out hunting or fishing from Jan. 1-March 31, said Madonna Luers, department spokeswoman.

Beginning April 1, Washington’s fee structure also will change.

The policy puts the state in the same league with warehouse stores that serve up discounts for larger packages.

For instance, the new “small game” license will cost resident adults $30 (or $15 for disabled veterans and youths under 16). This license is the basic requirement for hunting everything but big game. It includes one turkey tag (currently $18) and fees for the Eastern Washington upland bird permit (currently $10) and pheasant enhancement stamp (currently $10).

Therefore, someone who hunts nothing but turkeys will pay more next season, but the average sportsman who hunts a variety of birds will pay less.

The small-game license will cost only $16 when purchased at the same time as a big-game license.

Big-game hunters have five options.

To hunt only deer, a resident hunter currently pays $15 for a hunting license and $18 for a deer tag, a total of $33. Under the new structure, the same hunter will pay $36 for a deer tag, which includes the cost of the hunting license.

But hunters will save by purchasing a combination of big-game tags.

For instance, the combination of deer, elk, cougar and bear will be available for $66 next year. This year, buying those same tags separately cost $77.

Because of these changes, no combination hunting-fishing license will be offered next year. This will wipe out some of the savings for sportsmen who normally buy both the basic hunting and basic fishing licenses.

But anglers can increase their savings if they fish for a wide variety a species.

The basic freshwater fishing license will cost $20 next year, which is an increase of $3 if you fish only for trout. On the other hand, anglers who fish for trout and bass will save money, since the new freshwater stamp includes the cost of the $5 warmwater fishery enhancement requirement.

The big savings will be enjoyed by anglers who fish for trout, spiny rays, steelhead and salmon, since this basic freshwater license is good for any species in freshwater, including steelhead (currently $18) and salmon (currently $8).

The savings increase with the addition of saltwater and shellfish licenses.

In the short term, the biggest loser in the new structure would be the senior citizen who fishes only for one species at a single water.

Currently seniors pay $3 a year for a freshwater license. In order to fish these waters from Jan. 1-March 31, a senior (70 or over) will have to buy the $6 interim license. On April 1, the cost of an annual freshwater license for seniors, including the opportunity to catch salmon and steelhead, will be $5.