Poll: WDFW Fee Increase, Do you support it?

[bearpaw]

Word on the street is that WDFW is planning a fee increase again this year. All those in favor please vote yes!
Vote for as many options as you want.


Proposed Increses Noted in attachment....

[CedarPants]

Anyone happen to know the pricetag on their newer "office" out here in Spokane Valley?  For a struggling agency that has to tap us hunters/fishers for increased revenue as they cut agents and are forever short staffed on bios - they sure seemed to come up with a large sum of money out of knowwhere to build that mansion.

I'd like to know where they got the money for that, and I'd also like to know exactly who all works in that office since it clearly isn't filled with bios who make excursions up north daily to confirm wolf packs.

Also - our fees went up this year, and by my math I lost a week of late rifle for deer in the northeast.

Pay more to play less?  Not this guy

[arrowflinger]

There was a lot of talk that since the a lot of folks saved cash this year by not applying for Special applications it would increase again to make up for lost profits........guess they are right.

[Dhoey07]

I voted both no and maybe.  The maybe is how or what fee increases would be spent. 

[buckfvr]

I cant think of anything good to say about this agency and its methods of governing.......clearly, we need a wholesale change, revamp, eliminate those who have contributed to its lameness, and ineffectiveness.   

[Huntbear]

I voted Reduce the fees...

Let them learn to live on a tight budget like the rest of us...    Cut the management, put more enforcement in the field..  make my hunting experience better with less wolves and we will talk about an increase..\

As long as the department is so top heavy, not fighting to save our hunting grounds, giving into the animal huggers,  etc... no way in hell I am saying ok to an increase..

[jess]

NO... We pay enough already... as a sportsman in tired of paying to enhace the wolf population through the wdfw... As far as im concerned they are just a bunch of tree huggin wolf lovers that are paid by sportsmen like us.. And the wardens i have met are just revenue agents...

[buckfvr]

I voted Reduce the fees...

Let them learn to live on a tight budget like the rest of us...    Cut the management, put more enforcement in the field..  make my hunting experience better with less wolves and we will talk about an increase..\

As long as the department is so top heavy, not fighting to save our hunting grounds, giving into the animal huggers,  etc... no way in hell I am saying ok to an increase..

I agree, except I dont see the need for more enforcement when they have the guys out actively trying to cite traffic violations and wood cutters , and doing all the multi-tasking...lets let our fish and game officers be just that....like it used to be.  Get them out of town and in the woods and by god listen to their input......Let these guys do their jobs.....Bios are too political.....

[CedarPants]

One concept that I don't think WDFW fully takes into consideration ......

Between all my tags, fishing licenses (fresh and saltwater), discovery pass, special permit apps, etc - i paid around $300 and change this year.

I also have 3 boys, and a wife, and we are an outdoor family.  I don't subscribe to the mentality of heading to the woods without my wife and kids - we go as a family.

So, in theory - that's $1,500 for my family.

If it gets to expensive, they don't lose my $300 - they lose my $1,500, as we'll just find something else to do or go hunt elsewhere.

[buckfvr]

One concept that I don't think WDFW fully takes into consideration ......

Between all my tags, fishing licenses (fresh and saltwater), discovery pass, special permit apps, etc - i paid around $300 and change this year.

I also have 3 boys, and a wife, and we are an outdoor family.  I don't subscribe to the mentality of heading to the woods without my wife and kids - we go as a family.

So, in theory - that's $1,500 for my family.

If it gets to expensive, they don't lose my $300 - they lose my $1,500, as we'll just find something else to do or go hunt elsewhere.

Im not so sure thats not a part of the agenda anyway............get as many of us if not all of us to quit hunting in our state....

[firefighter4607]

 
It sure seems that way.I voted no and lower prices. They keep jacking up prices every year. And it's not like it's a few cents here and there it's a couple dollars or more. They keep sticking it to us and wekeep buying it because when we do voice our opinions it falls on deaf ears. 

[CedarPants]

One concept that I don't think WDFW fully takes into consideration ......

Between all my tags, fishing licenses (fresh and saltwater), discovery pass, special permit apps, etc - i paid around $300 and change this year.

I also have 3 boys, and a wife, and we are an outdoor family.  I don't subscribe to the mentality of heading to the woods without my wife and kids - we go as a family.

So, in theory - that's $1,500 for my family.

If it gets to expensive, they don't lose my $300 - they lose my $1,500, as we'll just find something else to do or go hunt elsewhere.

Im not so sure thats not a part of the agenda anyway............get as many of us if not all of us to quit hunting in our state....

Part of me thinks so.  The other part knows if we all quit hunting, the majority of them would be out of a job.  I think its somewhere in the middle.  Thin the crowd so the majority can't afford to participate.  Then just charge the ones that are left, that will participate no matter what, and arm and a leg.

[huntnphool]

They need more money so the gamies can help Seattle patrol Seafair and the Tri Cities boat races.


"WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

August 6, 2012

Contact: (360) 902-2938

Fish and Wildlife police officers focus
on public safety, not poaching at Seafair

OLYMPIA - During the recent Seafair celebration in Seattle, enforcement officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) cited 47 people for "boating under the influence," fined 46 others for boating violations, and responded to four swamped vessels.

One officer also ticketed a participant for possessing an undersized crab caught in saltwater earlier in the day.

Known primarily for enforcing state hunting and fishing laws, WDFW police officers play a key role in other aspects of law enforcement throughout the state, said Mike Cenci, the department’s deputy police chief.

"Our main job at Seafair was to help protect the public’s safety, which is a responsibility we all share," Cenci said. "Drinking too much alcohol and operating a boat is never a good idea, but it’s especially risking when there are that many people and that many boats."

For the sixth straight year, WDFW joined with the Coast Guard and the Seattle and Mercer Island police departments to monitor an estimated crowd of 150,000 people at the three-day event. WDFW sent seven officers and four boats to assist in the joint effort, said Cenci, who also spent a day in a patrol boat.

Several weeks ago, the department also sent officers and patrol boats to assist in law enforcement at the hydroplane races in the Tri-Cities.

"We provide assistance where we can to partner police departments, which also help us with our own cases," he said. "They often don’t have all the boats they need, and we can help with that."

WDFW’s enforcement program includes 138 commissioned officers, plus 16 non-commissioned staff, deployed throughout the state. While most of their efforts are directed toward protecting the state’s natural resources, WDFW officers frequently encounter many of the same situations faced by other police officers - but in a different environment.

"We are certified police officers, not just game wardens," Cenci said. "For that reason, it’s important that we continue to maintain strong partnerships with other police departments around the state." 

[Atroxus]

I voted no and reduce fees simply because at the rate they are increasing I will be priced out before I really learn to hunt well, and before I can start a hunting tradition with my son. 

[Feanix]

The proposed increases in the attachment appear to be this years current prices.