UDWR Biologist Chante’ Lundskog hands out trout eggs to Cache Angler Chip Anderson for transport to Canyon Elementary in Hyrum.
LOGAN – Rising prices of gas and goods have caused the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to reevaluate their fee structure for hunting and fishing licenses and permits. They are proposing a fee increase for both residents and non-residents to keep up with increasing inflation.
The last fee increase for residents was eight years ago, when DWR increased fees for resident licenses, and the last fee increase for non-resident licenses was in 2020.
DWR is proposing their core resident licenses and permits – such as a one-year fishing, hunting and combination licenses – as well as general-season deer and elk permits would increase by $6.
Other fees like extensions and multi-year permits would remain $1 less. For example, a resident combination license is currently $38, that would increase to $44, with an extension or multi-year license available for $43.
The State organization is also proposing some other minor rule changes and is asking for the public’s feedback on all the recommendations.
License and permit fees fund 92 percent of most of the daily operations of the DWR. Some of the funding comes from the Sate’s General Fund, which is appropriated for specific issues that impact all Utahns.
A relatively new responsibility the organization is tasked with is managing aquatic invasive species and preventing species from becoming endangered also needs to be budgeted.
“The license and permit fees are the primary source of funding for the labor, fuel, materials, goods and services we need to help us manage the state’s fish and wildlife,” DWR Administrative Section Chief Kenny Johnson said. “In recent years, costs for all those essentials have increased substantially. We also did an analysis to compare hunting and fishing licenses and permits with other Western states, and this proposed fee increase will make our prices more comparable.”
The public comment period opened on July 11 for each of the five Regional Advisory Council meetings and for the Utah Wildlife Board meeting. Public comments submitted within the online-comment timeframes listed below will be shared with the RAC and wildlife board members at each respective meeting. The public can choose to either watch the meetings online or attend them in person.
The closest Northern Utah Regional Advisory Council meeting to Logan will be held July 27 at 6 p.m. at the Weber County Commission Chambers at 2380 Washington Blvd. #240 in Ogden.
Those who wish to comment during the meeting should attend in person. Online comments will only be accepted until July 21 at 11:59 p.m.
The presentations are also available on the DWR YouTube channel, but comments can only be submitted through the forms on the DWR website.