38% increase in fishing and hunting licenses

[B4noon]

Not a problem to keep up with inflation and have it cost a bit more to provide the same opportunity and service the problem is wdfw has increased by almost 800 employees since 2020 when funding was easy to grab they created a top heavy management level positions and “new work” that align with their new strategic plan those plans don’t generate funding and there’s no way to collect funding so now that funding is hard to come by they are choosing to fund the newly acquired work they created and oh by the not fund and close 6 fish hatcheries and the pheasant program while at the same time charging 38% more for less the are slowly drifting from the core functions of the agency and scrambling to continue to balance the books on the backs of the license buyers it’s the only user group they have to hit up

[baldopepper]

Not a problem to keep up with inflation and have it cost a bit more to provide the same opportunity and service the problem is wdfw has increased by almost 800 employees since 2020 when funding was easy to grab they created a top heavy management level positions and “new work” that align with their new strategic plan those plans don’t generate funding and there’s no way to collect funding so now that funding is hard to come by they are choosing to fund the newly acquired work they created and oh by the not fund and close 6 fish hatcheries and the pheasant program while at the same time charging 38% more for less the are slowly drifting from the core functions of the agency and scrambling to continue to balance the books on the backs of the license buyers it’s the only user group they have to hit up

Can't seem to find those figures. Online shows 1800 employees in 2020  and 2000  now.

[actionshooter]

Guess I'm not ready to let cynicism control my life. Sad way to go thru life.

 I'm not a cynical person at all, actually quite the opposite and I'll ignore the ignorant comment to keep the thread on topic.

 As I was saying, when the price goes up while the quality and opportunity go down, I don't feel like spending more. If they spent the money wisely and with the hunting public in mind, I would be fine spending more.  I just don't feel at this time the WDFW represents the sportsman.
Also, just because we are being charged more does not necessarily mean that the WDFW budget will increase...

[hunter399]

Don't forget the special app fees increase proposal...

What the...... That's crazy now!!!
Are you freaking kidding me, crazy kid tantrum now....lol

That will be next year I hope,since increase happens in July.

[baldopepper]

Guess I'm not ready to let cynicism control my life. Sad way to go thru life.

 I'm not a cynical person at all, actually quite the opposite and I'll ignore the ignorant comment to keep the thread on topic.

 As I was saying, when the price goes up while the quality and opportunity go down, I don't feel like spending more. If they spent the money wisely and with the hunting public in mind, I would be fine spending more.  I just don't feel at this time the WDFW represents the sportsman.
Also, just because we are being charged more does not necessarily mean that the WDFW budget will increase...

Comment was not necessarily aimed at you, , I guess,  more at the general  cynicism that comes out on so many threads.. I realize that it's hard not to be a bit  cynical these days as we watch opportunity and success diminish, guess I've just kinda learned what the kids call "it is what it is".  I write letters, make calls etc., but feel like I'm just shouting into the wind. Washington is what it is, a state of 8 million with about 5% who really care what wdfw does unless it effects fishing. Guess I've just decided I want to spend the last sand in my hour glass not letting their policies rob me of my enjoyment of the outdoors. Went on my first hunting trip about 74 years ago. Seen lots of highs and lots of lows, just wanna go on few more without bad policy reminders haunting my day.
 

[actionshooter]

Guess I'm not ready to let cynicism control my life. Sad way to go thru life.

 I'm not a cynical person at all, actually quite the opposite and I'll ignore the ignorant comment to keep the thread on topic.

 As I was saying, when the price goes up while the quality and opportunity go down, I don't feel like spending more. If they spent the money wisely and with the hunting public in mind, I would be fine spending more.  I just don't feel at this time the WDFW represents the sportsman.
Also, just because we are being charged more does not necessarily mean that the WDFW budget will increase...

Comment was not necessarily aimed at you, , I guess,  more at the general  cynicism that comes out on so many threads.. I realize that it's hard not to be a bit  cynical these days as we watch opportunity and success diminish, guess I've just kinda learned what the kids call "it is what it is".  I write letters, make calls etc., but feel like I'm just shouting into the wind. Washington is what it is, a state of 8 million with about 5% who really care what wdfw does unless it effects fishing. Guess I've just decided I want to spend the last sand in my hour glass not letting their policies rob me of my enjoyment of the outdoors. Went on my first hunting trip about 74 years ago. Seen lots of highs and lots of lows, just wanna go on few more without bad policy reminders haunting my day.
 

No worries, I understand that also, hunters are barely on the radar as far as the rest of the state is concerned, we are quickly losing any relevance we had in the past and I am frustrated also, my grandkids won't be able to experience what we have. At thew same time friends are leaving in hoards to AK, ID, WY and while it looks pretty good, that's not always the answer either.

[hunter399]

This will blow your mind.
There is no such thing as inflation.
Only the price someone is willing to pay..... 😂

[whackmaster]

I will just go hunting and fishing with out a license make sure I'm fully ready to deal with the situation what ever it takes I'm at the age I just don't care anymore

[dwils233]

Not a problem to keep up with inflation and have it cost a bit more to provide the same opportunity and service the problem is wdfw has increased by almost 800 employees since 2020 when funding was easy to grab they created a top heavy management level positions and “new work” that align with their new strategic plan those plans don’t generate funding and there’s no way to collect funding so now that funding is hard to come by they are choosing to fund the newly acquired work they created and oh by the not fund and close 6 fish hatcheries and the pheasant program while at the same time charging 38% more for less the are slowly drifting from the core functions of the agency and scrambling to continue to balance the books on the backs of the license buyers it’s the only user group they have to hit up

Funding was only "good" for about 2-4 years really. Look back at the cuts the department took during the last recession and you'll see it wasn't until around COVID where the funding from the state started to return to a level that supported most programs.

The budget outlook for this year sucks, regardless of the fee increase. No matter what WDFW is going to take quite a significant hit this year and get knocked back down.

[hunter399]

I do believe they should take a better look at "why" sales are down.
Had a conversation with a friend that skipped last year hunting.
I was talking about tactics and up coming plans ect.
Then I mentioned price increases,the total mind set changed,he wasn't excited,and was unsure of his fall season plans.

Raising prices may work for few years and help budget short falls.
It definitely will hurt as a long term plan

[hughjorgan]

I do believe they should take a better look at "why" sales are down.
Had a conversation with a friend that skipped last year hunting.
I was talking about tactics and up coming plans ect.
Then I mentioned price increases,the total mind set changed,he wasn't excited,and was unsure of his fall season plans.

Raising prices may work for few years and help budget short falls.
It definitely will hurt as a long term plan

How many of these people complaining of the adjustment in prices have no problem shelling out thousands to hunt out of state?

[hunter399]

I do believe they should take a better look at "why" sales are down.
Had a conversation with a friend that skipped last year hunting.
I was talking about tactics and up coming plans ect.
Then I mentioned price increases,the total mind set changed,he wasn't excited,and was unsure of his fall season plans.

Raising prices may work for few years and help budget short falls.
It definitely will hurt as a long term plan

How many of these people complaining of the adjustment in prices have no problem shelling out thousands to hunt out of state?

I see your point ,might be a few that hunt out of state.
My friend,this conversation happened yesterday.
He was pretty excited about the upcoming coming season,till I mentioned price increases. Told him to think about it, buy before July,if he had plans to hunt. I don't believe he hunts out of state.

My father ,he flat out refusing to buy a license till he gets a senior discount. If I tell him anything about the commission,he gets pretty disappointed quickly. He recently retired a few years ago,he wants his senior discount.
Even five dollars off for seniors,might help sales.

[timberfaller]

IF you haven't figured it out yet, the D's in charge FAILED "Economics's 101"!   Actions speak louder then words.

They've bankrupted the State, believe raising Taxes while passing bill's that put people out of business, limit their ability's to purchase big ticket item's is the road to better times!!  And its not just their attacks on the firearm dealers and sportsman.  Everyone knows YOU can't spend more then you bring in!  And YOU can't give away if you don't have extra $$$!

[callturner]

I do believe they should take a better look at "why" sales are down.
Had a conversation with a friend that skipped last year hunting.
I was talking about tactics and up coming plans ect.
Then I mentioned price increases,the total mind set changed,he wasn't excited,and was unsure of his fall season plans.

Raising prices may work for few years and help budget short falls.
It definitely will hurt as a long term plan

Its not that they spend more money out of state, its what they get for that money. How many bird farms do we have left? How often do you see feel free to hunt signs anymore? A game warden in Montana told me once that it was cheaper to get a ticket in Montana than it was to buy a license in Wash. As our opportunities  slowly get chipped away, more folks are looking elsewhere to hunt and fish.

How many of these people complaining of the adjustment in prices have no problem shelling out thousands to hunt out of state?

I see your point ,might be a few that hunt out of state.
My friend,this conversation happened yesterday.
He was pretty excited about the upcoming coming season,till I mentioned price increases. Told him to think about it, buy before July,if he had plans to hunt. I don't believe he hunts out of state.

My father ,he flat out refusing to buy a license till he gets a senior discount. If I tell him anything about the commission,he gets pretty disappointed quickly. He recently retired a few years ago,he wants his senior discount.
Even five dollars off for seniors,might help sales.

[Karl Blanchard]

I look at it through the lense of value more than I do a total cost. For a couple hundred dollars I get 100+ days of fun and a very full freezer. Fishing, coyote hunting, fall bears, turkeys, etc. When you break it down, it's an absolutely incredible value if you take deer out of the equation, I can't think of a single activity I do with my licenses and tags that isn't still phenomenal. Guess I just don't see where the diminished value everyone speaks of