pa hunting license increasing and keep going up

I must be a fool... I'll pay for an archery license no matter what the cost is and no matter how many days I get to hunt.

I'm not from the state and don't know everyones situation... But $40 is nothing these days. $40 gets you 2 cases of beer... Going out to the movies for 2 people, etc etc.

 

I hunt Pa and Oh. I pay $165 for NR Ohio license and deer tags and and it is almost $60 every weekend I hunt there due to fuel, tolls, food, etc. I have killed one deer in 3 years there. I hunt because I love it, not just to fill tags. I will not stop hunting Pa if the license goes up to $50 or even $100.

 

I must be in the minority with regard to this issue. While I'm not always in agreement with the GC's use of revenue, they are not receiving funding from the state like all other agencies. Aside from boom and bust timber sale cycles and the Marcellus operation, license sales are a large part of their funding. The cost of doing business is always going up. Not only do they have increasing capital and operating costs, but their personnel costs are increasing as we see across the state. Pensions, healthcare, salary, etc., all driven by union negotiations as they are statewide.

As was stated earlier, we still rank 49th for resident license costs, and factoring in this 5 year tiered increase we will still won't break out of the bottom 10.

There was a study/census put out back in 2011 (can't find the link right now) that put average per hunter expenditures at ~$1200.00/year. I think most aren't going to balk at a license increase of this scale.

Just my two cents.

I'm no rich man by any means, but I'm certainly not going to hang up hunting as a result of these increases.

Sunday hunting is a separate issue all together. It will come down to economics winning out in the end. Our state would be much better off with simply adding that one final day to the legal options for sportsman both in and out of state.

 

yes they will the "ultimate sportsman" combo but you will only be allowed 1 buck still. (archery,muzzle loader, gun)

 

THE PITTMAN FUND GIVES THEY 75% OF THE MONEY to buy new land

Pittman pays 75% on land purchases etc. The rest is paid through licenses etc.
Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, most often referred to as the Pittman–Robertson Act for its sponsors, Nevada Senator Key Pittman and Virginia Congressman Absalom Willis Robertson, was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1937 and became effective on July 1 of the following year.[1][2][3][4] It has been amended many times with several of the major ones taking place during the 1970s[1][2][3][5] and the most recent taking place in 2000.[6]

Prior to the creation of the Pittman–Robertson Act, many species of wildlife were driven to or near extinction by commercial/market hunting pressure and/or habitat degradation from humans.[5] The Act created an excise tax that provides funds to each state to manage such animals and their habitats. Notable species that have come back from the brink since the implementation of this act include white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and wood ducks.[1][4][5]

Contents [hide]
1 Overview
2 Results
3 Economics
4 Related legislation
4.1 Similar legislation
4.2 Legislative oversight
4.3 Proposed amendments
5 For more information
6 References
Overview[edit]
The Pittman–Robertson Act took over a pre-existing 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.[7][8] Instead of going into the U.S. Treasury as it had done in the past, the money is kept separate and is given to the Secretary of the Interior to distribute to the States.[4][8][9] The Secretary determines how much to give to each state based on a formula that takes into account both the area of the state and its number of licensed hunters.[2][3][6][9][10]

These States must fulfill certain requirements to use the money apportioned to them. None of the money from their hunting license sales may be used by anyone other than the State’s fish and game department.[3][6][8] Plans for what to do with the money must be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.[6] Acceptable options include research, surveys, management of wildlife and/or habitat and acquisition or lease of land, among other things.[1][6][10] Once a plan has been approved, the state must pay the full cost and is later reimbursed for up to 75% of that cost through P–R funds.[1][3][10] The 25% of the cost that the State must pay generally comes from its hunting license sales.[1] If, for whatever reason, any of the federal money does not get spent, after two years that money is then reallocated to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.[6][9]

 

I will never quit buying a license. I just want every hunter to pull their own weight. and the GC to quit wasting our dollars.

 

Yep. I know of the excise tax. It's not a 75/25 split for all funding of the agency. Not to mention the state funding to cover its 25% share of the reimbursement is derived heavily by, you guessed it, license sales.

PA received approximately $33 million from the grant this year. That is to be divided between the PGC and PFBC. The PGC projected expenditures to be approximately $114 million this year. Depending on how those funds are split between the two agencies, that tax will account for less than 20% of total revenue.

Again, I don't agree entirely with how the commission spends its money (same can be said for most state agencies), but I can't see a modest increase in prices that were set almost two decades ago as being unreasonable.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

how should every hunter pull their own weight?

 

Yes, and Pa had better stay a one buck state, because you would KILL (pun intended) deer hunting here if it were a two buck state.

 

just the pheasant thing drives me crazy. I have to buy extra stamps to hunt with special weapons. the PGC isn't stocking the game that I hunt. heck I have to buy an extra stamp for a second turkey that they aren't stocking. but I don't believe pheasant hunters are pulling their own weight. I know a guy that shot 30 pheasants last year, that is $1260.00 worth of birds in his freezer. pretty good deal for a $30 license. they are hunting a stocked bird that costs the PGC millions a year. I feel like I am paying for the birds they hunt. if I hunted pheasants I would have no problem paying for a stamp as I have no problem buying a trout stamp. why does everyone have to buy special stamps for self reproducing game but the pheasant guys don't have to buy a stamp for a stocked species? it is the only stocked species that doesn't have a special stamp that I know of and it is costing millions. if the birds can't self reproduce quit wasting the money unless the program is funded differently. if we have to buy special licenses shouldn't we be getting something back from the PGC besides tickets? pheasant hunters are getting something for nothing.

 

I wish they would change a few more things to open up opportunities. I'm not a Sunday hunter but it would add opportunities. Also changing the bear season to match NY would be awesome. Everyone gets a bear tag and it's good for any season you have a stamp for. Ex. Archery, rifle, muzzloader.

 

I am completely fine with one buck. I don't have a problem with that at all. If they were to allow one for each of those seasons we'd have nothing worth chasing.

 

Those prices don't look bad to me at all. In fact, really reasonable. Looks like you still have a bargain when you consider the hours of entertainment. The cost of licenses is nothing compared to the equipment, gas, etc., that goes into hunting. Whining about it certainly isn't going to change things. Pay up and hunt, or use that money to buy a purse to match your shoes.

I posted this because I was able to find PA on a map.

With Tom's help.

 

Ouch.

 

I just saw this posted on FB by the PGC and it says they are not raising prices for the 2016-17 season:

Pennsylvania Game Commission The cost of a license has not increased for the 2016-17 license year.You can view prices here: http://www.pgc.pa.gov/.../Lice.../Pages/LicenseTypes.aspx... The Game Commission has not had a license fee increase since 1999.

It went on to say:

A license fee increase has not been approved for the 2016-17 license year.

 

Crisis Averted!

 

completely understood now.

 

hell if that happens the white tail deer would on the endanger species.

 

Bought mine yesterday, same price as it has been.

 

the bill did not pass for this year!