Not quite as free as a bird
New fees imposed at Woodbridge Reserve
Crane fanatics will no longer be able to visit the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve for free come mid-November.
“We’ve kind of had a much smaller program in place for many years at select wildlife areas that require user fees,” Peter Tira, a Department of Fish and Wildlife public information officer, said on Monday. “The Legislature actually kind of instructed and directed Fish and Wildlife to generate more money from these lands to help with their upkeep and maintenance and so it kind of directed us to expand the land pass program which we are doing.”
According to Tira, the land pass is a great opportunity to generate money from a lot of different groups who use the wildlife reserves such as bird watchers, hikers and photographers. He said historically, hunters and fisherman have paid for the bulk of these properties and their upkeep through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses.
“There are a lot of other groups who use these lands and enjoy them and so this was a way by the Legislature to have some of these other groups contribute to the land, the upkeep and the conservation of the species that live there,”
“There are a lot of other groups who use these lands and enjoy them and so this was a way by the Legislature to have some of these other groups contribute to the land, the upkeep and the conservation of the species that live there.” PETER TIRA PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Tira said.
All of the money from the new fees will go toward the maintenance and conservation of the reserve along with habitat enhancement and species protection, he said.
Those 16 and older visiting the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve will have to pay $4.32 for a one-day land pass and $24.33 for an annual pass. Those who own a fishing or hunting license will not be required to purchase a pass.
“If you have a hunting and fishing license you do not need a land pass since you’re already paying for the habitat and conservation of species throughout the state,” Tira said. “This is another way to generate some money and pay for the upkeep for some of these real special places so all of these group can enjoy them.”
Passes can purchased online through the Department of Fish and Wildlife website at www. ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales,
as well as 1400 licensing agencies across the state which can be searched by county on the Department of Fish and Wildlife website www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing. Passes can be purchased at sporting good stores, bait and tackle shops, gas stations, hardware stores and other places that sell hunting and fishing licenses.
Sandhill Crane Festival attendees touring the reserve during the festival will also be subject to these fees in the future. Festivalgoers won’t have to worry about the fees this year because the fees won’t be collected until after this year’s festival.
“It would just mean the budget for staging and putting on the festival would increase a bit because we would have to include the fee that the Department of Fish and Wildlife charges,” Sandhill Crane Festival Chair Ken Nieland said.
“Up to this point the Department of Fish and Wildlife has accommodated the festival tours on their site without a charge, and I think they’re probably trying to recover the fees it takes to operate and maintain those sites.”
Howard Larimer, a member of the Sandhill Crane Festival committee and volunteer docent at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, said he had been working with David Moore with Department of Fish and Wildlife to find a satisfactory way to implement the new fees with the festival.
“I believe that we were able to figure out a way to do some type of a group pass, although they are still working on all the details,” Larimer said. “We’ll probably need to increase the cost of the tours out to Woodbridge just to cover that extra cost for having that pass for everyone. Overall, I think that it probably will be reasonable how we can do it. We’re working out all the details on it.”
According to Larimer, although people may not like to pay fees, he believes the fees make a lot sense.
“The Woodbridge Ecological Reserve and all the expenses of keeping the roads up and maintaining and managing it for the cranes is paid for by hunting and fishing licenses but nobody could hunt or fish there,” he said. “So it makes sense that the public that wants to enjoy that area out there help with the cost of maintaining it.”