Fish Commission lands one

The state’s Fish and Boat Commission has finally made a big catch after years of coming up empty. The state Legislature recently passed a bill that would permit the commission to set its license and permit fees, raising them for the first time since 2005. It’s a commonsense compromise that allows the commission to fund its operations while imposing only modest increases on licenses and fees.

The commission has been at odds with the Legislature over funding for years. Lawmakers have refused to increase fees for fishing licenses and permits, fearing a backlash at the polls if they voted for anything resembling a tax increase, even if it was a user’s fee.

The lack of increased funding resulted in reduced staffing for the commission and forced the elimination of several significant projects.

All this happened even though the commission operates without any money from taxpayers. The agency gets its money from fishing and boating license and permit fees, industrial leases on commission properties and a federal excise tax on fishing supplies.

While the adult fishing license remained at $22.50, the agency’s fishingand boating-related programs have risen by $11 million.

While approving the changes, the

Legislature did provide for oversight, allowing lawmakers to rescind the agreement if they’re not satisfied with the commission’s actions.

Gov. Tom Wolf didn’t sign the bill because of concerns about the oversight, but he allowed it to become law after hearing that commission members were OK with the deal.

The fee increases are modest and will allow the agency to operate better. Resident adult fishing licenses will increase to $24 in 2022, followed by annual jumps of $1 per year to $27 in 2025. A trout-salmon permit, currently $8, would be $10 in 2022 with incremental increases to $11.50 in 2025. Those figures don’t include the automated licensing system’s fee of 90 cents per sale.

While there are plenty of kudos to be passed around on both sides for finally coming together, there’s another similar situation facing the Legislature and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

There, the fee for adult hunting licenses has remained at $20.90 since 1998. Unfortunately, there has been some bad blood between the commission and the Legislature over issues such as deer management and timber and mineral rights.

Those issues must be dealt with as soon as possible so that hunters, like their fishing counterparts, can fully enjoy Pennsylvania’s great outdoors.