Multiyear license sales could affect future fees

Whether the availability of multiyear hunting and fishing licenses for Ohio residents translates into a financial windfall for the state’s Division of Wildlife won’t be known for some time.

In the first six days multiyear licenses were sold, from Oct. 9 through last Sunday, 888 were purchased, division spokesman John Windau said.

The financial wellbeing of the division, which operates on about a $60 million annual budget with only a smidgen of general tax money, is tied to the number of licenses sold or held annually.

The gift-giving season is around the corner, and a multiyear license would make quite a gift. A youth lifetime license at about $431 and an adult license at $468 might represent a large investment for many families, but such a purchase avoids inevitable cost increases for annual licenses.

The current cost for a license — $19 for adults, $10 for youth — has stood since 2004, when it was set by the state legislature.

Depending on whom one asks, the wildlife division may or may not need to significantly increase revenue to maintain the quality of its programs. Many sportsmen’s groups and former wildlife officials support a modest increase in the cost of annual licenses. Officials of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the cabinet-level agency under which the wildlife division operates, have strongly opposed.

How hunters and fishermen take to the multiyear license could impact future costs of an annual license. And customers wonder what’s in it for them.

Though not a scientific sampling, comments from the OhioSportsman.com forum hint at what the A tranquilized bear cub lies with a bucket stuck on its head in McHenry, Md., on Oct. 13. Wildlife officials tracked the black bear cub for three days in order to tranquilize it and remove the bucket. Prices for multiyear and lifetime licenses

Youth 3-year hunting:

Youth 5-year hunting:

Youth 10-year hunting: Youth lifetime hunting or fishing: Adult 3-year hunting or fishing: Adult 5-year hunting or fishing: Adult 10-year hunting or fishing: Adult lifetime hunting or fishing: Senior 3-year hunting or fishing: Senior 5-year hunting or fishing: Senior lifetime hunting or fishing:

reception for multiyear licenses will be. In essence, skepticism and hard scrutiny have their place.

Here are a few comments posted since the announcement:

• “I plan on buying one for my kids. At 37 don’t know if it makes sense financially to buy one for myself. If you are under 30 it makes perfect sense to get one. As you approach 40 it’s a gamble.”

• “I’m 39 and will be 40 in March. The lifetime doesn’t make much sense, but I like the other multiyear options.”

• “The other options offer a minimal savings. I think the 10-year option saves you like $10. For me to fork out hundreds of dollars up front it’s going to have to be more than a few dollar savings. I’d rather spend $19 or whatever it is each year and leave the large lump sum in the bank making money.”

• “Right now it offers limited savings, but it would possibly protect from license fees increases in a few years.”

• “What do you think the price of hunting/fishing license will be in 10 years? It’s definitely not going down. This could end up saving some people (especially young people) a considerable amount of money over a lifetime. I’m 50, started hunting when I was 10. Don’t remember what a license cost then, but it wasn’t $19!”

• “I found one of my father’s old licenses from 1969 — $4.39.”

The answer to one question on the forum — whether someone who purchases an extended license and then moves out of Ohio forfeits its use — turns out to be consumer friendly. A long-term license remains valid after the holder moves out of state, Windau said. Permits, such as those for deer or wild turkey, would have to be purchased for the season at the rate in effect.