State fish, wildlife agency in a hunt for funding

Fewer of us participate in hunting and fishing than in decades past; that’s a trend seen at the state and national level, even as more of us take to the outdoors for hiking, birdwatching and wildlife viewing armed only with cameras or binoculars.

But while fish, fowl and the antlered crowd might individually breathe a sigh of relief, the resulting drop in the sale of hunting and fishing licenses means a loss of support for wildlife and habitat conservation work throughout the United States, and in Washington state in particular.

Only about 3 percent of the state’s population now hunts. Nearly 124,000 licenses for deer were sold to hunters in Washington state in 2013, with 33,657 deer harvested. By 2018, the number of deer hunters had dropped 12.5 percent to less than 109,000 licenses with 27,896 deer taken. At $45 for a deer license and $85 for a combined deer and elk license, the decline in hunters has meant a significant loss of revenue for the state and more specifically for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Similarly, there’s been a decline in the number of those purchasing fishing and related licenses. In 2007, there were more than 845,000 anglers in the state, about 16 percent of the state’s residents. By 2017, the number of those fishing dropped to 759,000, about 12 percent of the population, according to WDFW figures cited in a 2018 Yakima Herald story.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-state-fish-wildlife-agency-in-a-hunt-for-funding/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=5d84ad9c25-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-5d84ad9c25-228635337