{"id":70846,"date":"2017-04-29T16:46:56","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T22:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/questions-mount-around-raising-hunting-fishing-fees\/"},"modified":"2017-04-29T22:46:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T22:46:56","slug":"questions-mount-around-raising-hunting-fishing-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/questions-mount-around-raising-hunting-fishing-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions mount around raising hunting, fishing fees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"
Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

DENVER \u2013 A measure that would increase the cost of hunting, fishing and exploring Colorado\u2019s state parks has cleared the state Houses, but questions about its implications mount as it heads to the Senate.<\/p>\n

House Bill 1321, which would allow the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to increase the cap on fees for hunting and fishing licenses for state residents by 50 percent and gradually increase the price over three years, cleared the House on a 42-22 bipartisan vote.<\/p>\n

While the license cap increase is the highlight, the bill also would increase the fines for hunting or fishing without a license, and allows the CPW to increase entrance fees for state parks. It also would require the purchase of a Aquatic Nuisance Species sticker for boats, the price of which varies depending on the type and size.<\/p>\n

The bill is a comprehensive attempt to deal with a 22 percent decrease in buying power experienced by CPW since fees for residents were increased in 2005.<\/p>\n

The bill would require that fees adjust with inflation if they reach the new cap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill really is to allow CPW to continue to provide the outdoor opportunities it has provided,\u201d said Doug Vilsack, legislative liaison for the Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n

While there is support from outdoors groups, there are concerns about the scope of the measure.<\/p>\n

The conversation last summer was for increasing the price of licenses twofold, and while this has been reduced, the additional provisions brought new questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really drives the essence of bad taste in this bill is \u2018we have a bill, it\u2019s before the general assembly, let\u2019s throw everything we can into it,\u2019\u201d said Sen. Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo.<\/p>\n

That is unfair to Coloradans as it doesn\u2019t take into account the additional costs paid to visit state lands, he said, such as fuel, food and equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m going to go out there and take my boys fishing, it\u2019s more than just the fishing license I have to buy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Because of the scope and the late introduction of the measure, Garcia believes there needs to more public outreach.<\/p>\n

Vilsack disagreed, saying he has been talking with legislators since the beginning of the session about HB 1321, and CPW conducted 18 public meetings where Coloradans could weigh in.<\/p>\n

Garcia acknowledged there were talks between the Sportsman\u2019s caucus, which is a group of legislators who identify with outdoorsmanship, but said they fell short of the stakeholder process a bill typically goes through.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re on the record saying \u2018there\u2019s no pending legislation, we\u2019re just having a conversation,\u2019 all of a sudden you get a 32-page bill dropped in the House.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a long bill and a lot to digest, but that\u2019s the job of legislators,\u201d Vilsack said.<\/p>\n

Garcia said he wants to ensure the money does not go toward purchasing land that the CPW may not be able to care for. \u201cHistorically that has been their behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also wants to rethink the nuisance species charges. Vilsack said that may the most important part of the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is imperative to make sure we can keep the quality of life and things we do here in Colorado,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Measure would allow Parks and Wildlife to gradually increase fees by up 50 percent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[94,885,28,2009],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-70846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-state-government","tag-fishing","tag-headlines","tag-hunting"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70846"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=70846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}