http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/com/lic_proposals/

Some very intersting proposals designed to part you from your money. Charging seperately for crab and halibut? Must be all those crab and halibut hatcheries. A life time license for those who can afford one? If you are rich enough you can become exempt from license fee increases. What else can they dream up? How about Bass catch record cards. Cutthroat CRC. Rainbow CRC. Perch CRC. How about a madatory conservation sticker for your boat. Oh, there are so many things. How about for an extra grand you can keep three salmon instead of two? What else can we deam up?

Be sure and send a thank you card to Tim Eyeman.

If that money stayed in the WDFW and was used for Hatcheries, or enforcement or something sportsman related, I wouldn't mind paying more. I believe that money goes into the general fund where it can be wasted on useless bureaucracy.

Some interesting ideas there.
Prices always go up.
I might go for a lifetime license and the lottery sounds like a fine plan to me. I cough up $12 to win a lifetime license.

Don't forget to include a couple of bucks for his legal defense fund!

I think a lifetime licenses would be great if you make sure they include the catch records. It would only take a few years to break even. I could see the State taking your money for a lifetime license and then in a couple of years start charging and arm and a leg for the catch records.

I think we need to go back to the old system where the licence monies go to the WFWD rather than the general fund. Eversince they sold us that bill of goods we have to fight for every penny. at least that way it is a user tax. Not what some Senator from Walla Walla wants to give us for for running a hatchery on the coast. If all the different groups want an issue to get behind this could be one all of us could agree on.

$0.02 worth

Ron bob

I'm confused about the rips on Tim Eyeman... If it weren't for him, you'd still be paying $700/yr to register your 4 yr old pickup truck AND be complaining about licensing fees going up.
The first and only wakeup call from the Washington voters to the state legislators.
Despite the predictions to the contrary, roads are still being built, ferries still run and law enforcement still has resources to set speed traps(but not enforce left-lane violations).
I don't see Tim Eyeman as the villain here.
I'll gladly pay for what I use.

Get your bill for trailer tabs yet?

Tim Eymen
Good man
goverment employee bain
Too bad he steped in his own dodo
one in five voters work for some form of public funded organization(police,fire dept, hiway dept, eudcation) they were the ones that wined the loudest :p :p

Interesting fact, I-695 was never law, got thrown out by the Supreme Court.

'nother little tidbit: Eyman's intiatives try to get money to go to where it should go (thats the premise behind his transportation iniciative), not into the nebulous caldron that is the general fund.

I don't think the voters really like Eyman as much as they are fed up with the crap that comes out of Olympia. If our politicians would stop being spineless *******s people like Eyman wouldn't get the attention and success that they do.

While I personally don't care too much for Eyman, I think that some people are trying to shoot the messenger, which doesn't really change the message.

Anyway that's enough of that, I go fishing to not have to think about all that b.s. (until I have to whip out the regulations and read them three times and consult an attorney to make sure I'm not fishing for the wrong thing or using the wrong gear, or fishing at the wrong time of the year or time of day.....jeez it's no wonder I'm cranky).

Matthew

Ron Bob,

The license funds are distributed sort of like the "old way." Before the WDF/WDW merger, all WDF license fees went into the general fund, and WDF's budget came from a legislative appropriation from the general fund. They got more money out of the GF than the fees that were paid in. All WDW license fees went straight to WDW. Unfortunately, they were perpetually underfunded. During the Gardner administration, he traded GF money to WDW for the right for the governor to appoint the WDW director. That only lasted for the tenure of Curt Smitch, and then the merger happened. Now, post merger, license fees are disbursed to the GF and WDFW in a proportion that is supposed to mimic the distribution in the pre-merger days. I haven't been able to lay hands on the precise revenue and budget data however.

The upshot: careful what you wish for. You already have it.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

I disagree with the lifetime license... It will be a great way to break even in money, but it's only a short-term fix for the "deficit". If you think things are bad now, what will they be like in the following years with even less money?

I'd like to hear some more thoughts.

Matt

I agree. Once everyone has a life time license where do you get revenue now? We'd see even more of this banking mentality where you'd need to think up more way's to fee you to death. I sure don't mind paying more if it was to fully fund the WDFW and the money stayed at the WDFW.

I would not mind an increase if they would fire 75 percent of the biology dudes and just start making fish again. And, while they are it, start making pheasants for Eastern Washington again.

Many states have had this for years, and there was no major flux in people running out to grab these.

The problem I have with the "lifetime anything" license is for the disabled. Let's say you forked over the $$$ for a lifetime fishing license. Let's say the following year you were in a bad accident that left you in a wheelchair.

Disabled sportsmen do not pay as much in licenses as those that are not disabled. You honestly think the state is going to give you a refund? lmao!

bet none of y'all took that into consideration.

As far as the disablility thing goes, thats just the way it goes.
A good friend of mine is now paralyzed, wrecked his motorcycle just over a month ago.
He now has to sell his cars at a loss due to the eonomy. Think anyone is gonna pay him what they were worth 2 years ago cause he's in a wheelchair???

I could be in a wheelchair tomorrow or I could win the lottery. Odds are in my favor. I think I'd be just fine with a lifetime license and not worry about being disabled. Paying for the lifetime license is not gonna come to mind when i'm, drink my bigmac through a straw.
Paying more would be ok if they had audits and there was a public access to view where every cent went that we kicked in. No more of my little cousin needs a job so lets make him the guy that corkies in the logjam at the toutle or something stupid like the wdfw does.