Fee hike for hunting, fishing licenses and state parks clears
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is on track to raise hunting and fishing fees — and the price of park passes — after all 35 state senators on Tuesday approved legislation scripted to avert a looming financial crisis for the division.
“Unanimous approval. Can’t do much better than that,” said Sen. Don Coram, a Montrose Republican who sponsored the bill that would allow Colorado Parks and Wildlife to raise fees to support conservation programs and chip away at a $45 million maintenance backlog on 11 dams owned by the division.
The division tried similar legislation last year in the House, but the proposal foundered in a Senate committee.
“Think the original bill last year started out with pretty drastic increases, and I think we took the opportunity this year to adjust that and say, yes, we need some increases but we will keep them moderate,” Coram said. “I think we did a better job of selling what we were doing.”
Parks and Wildlife last raised fees in 2005, and costs have soared since. The division counts on hunting and fishing licenses for 60 percent of its roughly $150 million annual budget, none of which comes from the state’s taxpayer-filled general fund. While the cost of dam maintenance, fish food at 19 hatcheries, water leases and wildlife management have climbed and pressures on land and wildlife have grown with the increased population, the amount of revenue the division takes in has remained stagnant.
Since 2009, Parks and Wildlife has slashed $40 million from its budget and cut 50 jobs. The agency estimates a $22 million funding shortfall by 2023.
Without an increase in license fees the division has warned of fewer leases for hunting and fishing, fewer licenses issued and more hatcheries shut down.
The bill currently heading to the Democrat-controlled House allows Parks and Wildlife to raise both resident and nonresident fees for licenses. It sets a yearly cap on increases to daily park passes at $1 and annual park passes at $10. Resident annual fishing licenses would go to $33 from $25 and out-ofstaters would pay $95, up from $55. A senior fishing license would increase to $8 from free.
The cost of an elk tag climbs to $53 from $45. Out-of-state elk tags — which account for more than half of the agency’s total fishing and hunting license revenue — would jump to $660 from $450.
Critically, all license prices would be tied to the Consumer Price Index, allowing for annual increases, rather than once a decade.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Lauren Truitt called this year’s bill “much cleaner and streamlined” than last year’s legislation. This bill highlights the needs — like aging dams that can pose a threat to public safety — and protects critical programs like “Fishing is Fun,” public land access and trail maintenance.
While this year’s bill does not specifically outline a plan to enlist financial support from outdoor users beyond hunters and anglers, the legislation’s goals include a push to engage “all outdoor recreationists, including hikers, bikers, climbers and wildlife watchers” in helping to fund maintenance of state lands and wildlife management.
Most conservation efforts in Colorado are funded by hunting and fishing license fees, said Rep. Jim Wilson, a Salida Republican sponsoring the bill in the House.
“We want to make sure and emphasize that. We want to help people become more aware of where the substance of their outdoor experience is coming from and part of that is education,” Wilson said. “We are finding that people who use the outdoors by and large don’t mind helping out.”
The bill should be heard in a House committee within a week.
“We are pretty optimistic,” he said. “We are looking forward to getting these issues through the House and hopefully get Colorado Parks and Wildlife back on its feet.”