Dewine shows interest in sportsmen’s concerns
Spring fling
Critics long contended that whatever Gov. John Kasich had in mind for the Ohio Division of Wildlife under the direction of James Zehringer, there would be plenty to be done and undone.
Those critics, who counted many sportsmen among their ranks, saw the arrival of a new administration as an opportunity to be taken seriously as a partner in policy-making.
Their reasoning is that the people who buy fishing and hunting licenses, along with federal money, pay for virtually all of the division’s field operation. Thus, they figured, the division should be most responsive to its funders.
That’s mostly how things worked until shortly after Kasich’s election, although his administration wasn’t the first that tried to get their hands on wildlife revenue or alter the division’s status.
As the most-recent candidates for governor, Republican Mike Dewine and Democrat Richard Cordray promised to heed sportsmen’s concerns. Since being sworn in, Dewine has made efforts to deliver on his pledge by restoring division leadership to a condition that is at least aware of its ties to license-buying citizens.
That was not always obvious in eight years under Kasich, marked by career professionals being removed from their jobs in the wildlife division, the deterioration of wildlife enforcement, fragmented oversight of wild deer, a budget that squeezed personnel, operations and projects, and an ignored opportunity to add a sizable chunk of public land to a state with little of it.
Most disturbing to sportsmen’s groups, perhaps, was the refusal of the Zehringer-kasich administration to consider an across-theboard increase in resident fishing and hunting license fees — a decision made despite research indicating that without fee increases, which hadn’t occurred in more than a decade, the wildlife division would be met with a revenue shortfall in the tens of millions of dollars.
Fee hikes approved in Kasich’s 2017 budget, aimed primarily at nonresidents, helped but didn’t improve the prognosis for revenue shortfalls.
Now comes change with Dewine, whose appointment of Mary Mertz to succeed Zehringer as director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was seen as a positive by most sportsmen.
Mertz then hired Steve Gray, a former wildlife division chief, as assistant director. Another former chief, Mike Budzik, is back as a consultant after leaving the Kasich regime. Veteran wildlife employee Kendra Wecker has received solid reviews from sportsmen who’ve dealt with her since she was named chief in January.
As for the wildlife budget, whether a published fiscal-year 2018 surplus was an anomaly, a work of fiction or solid remains an important issue. Dewine somewhat responded to those budget numbers when he proposed increases in fees:
Annual resident fishing license (from $18 to 24); resident deer and wild turkey permits ($23 to $30); youth deer and turkey ($11.50 to $15); nonresident turkey ($28 to $37); nonresident three-day fishing license ($18 to $24); and oneday fishing license ($10 to $13).
A Sportsmen’s Alliance fact sheet says the projected revenue increases should lead to the addition of wildlife officers so every Ohio county can have at least one, renovations at fish hatcheries and the addition of archery ranges at four hatcheries, and increased efforts to increase the number of sportsmen and women.
Dewine is asking legislators to consider a $47 million bond package that would allow the state to purchase all or some of the extensive AEP Recreation acreage in southeast Ohio. The governor also is asking that the wildlife chief be allowed to increase future license fees with a process including legislative input.
Supportive sportsmen’s groups are trying to rally enthusiasm for the proposals. But in the current ideological climate, the General Assembly includes some legislators who oppose tax increases and some not inclined to support the purchase of public land, so some of Dewine’s proposals will buck members of his own party.
Ohio sportsmen likely would benefit from the restored wildlife division Dewine seems to have in mind. Whether citizens will support his efforts might determine the future of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in the state.
outdoors@dispatch.com