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UAC Encourages Action By Anglers in 2006 Utah DWR Funding Crisis

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is facing a $3.4 million shortfall in the 2006 budget and has proposed increases in fishing and hunting licenses to cover it. DWR Director Jim Karpowitz made it clear that the current increase is only to take care of this year's shortfall and that another increase will be needed again next year unless things change drastically. And he has the numbers to back it up. Utah has over 400,000 anglers who are affected by this issue, and their voices are needed now.

The following includes the UAC position, a generally agreed upon proposal to provide short term relief to the DWR, the names of legislators we need to work with in the coming weeks, and information and a couple of links about contacting your Utah legislators.

A Solution That Becomes Part of the Problem

The UAC understands that the DWR has no options other than raising license fees to cover this shortfall, since fishing and hunting license sales make up a major part (92 percent) of DWR funding. But the UAC does not believe this is an effective way to deal with the problem, either in the short term or the long term. One reason is that raising license fees has a very high probability of reducing the number of licenses sold. This reduces DWR revenue by the price of each license not sold, and each license lost also loses federal matching funds that are tied to each license sale. Any "buyer resistance" that reduces license sales can actually reduce funding instead of increasing it.

In other words, to increase funding the only solution available to the DWR has a good chance of becoming part of the problem.

A fresh look at DWR funding is needed. To resolve this dilema the UAC will be combining efforts with the Legislative Affairs Coalition (LAC), which is made up of a variety of wildlife interests including anglers, hunters and wildlife watchers. From the UAC, Ed Kent and Jim Carter participate in the LAC.

Solving the current DWR funding crisis in the short term and long term will require action by the Utah legislature. The Utah Anglers Coalition is committed to playing an active part in solving this problem.

The Short-Term and Long-Term Solutions

The LAC unanimously approved a plan to deal with this shortfall that will be presented at the legislature. Main points of this plan recognize:
1. That the DWR has covered $2 million in underfunded increases in the past two years, and that the state needs to cover it this year with $2.1 million.
2. That this is a start toward recognizing that those who hunt and fish should not be absorbing all the financial burden to support the general Utah population who use the outdoors and enjoy wildlife but who do not purchase licenses.
3. That this will avoid a public relations disaster with Utah citizens, who do not understand why the DWR is raising licenses at a time when a huge surplus has been publicized.
4. That this money this year will prevent having to come to the legislature for significant license increases two years in a row, and will give the DWR and DNR more carefully plan future funding.
5. That this will give time for future funding proposals to go through a public review and education process.

These five points can serve as talking points when contacting legislators. Although $2.1 million only deals with part of this year's shortfall, the DWR can deal with the rest through means other than raising license fees.

Contact your Legislator

Because of the emergency nature of this situation work is starting late, so a united and effective effort is essential to success. Anyone willing to help is asked to contact their legislator if your legislator's name is on the committee lists below. Also, please read and follow the next paragraph carefully.

PLEASE READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT PARAGRAPH!!
Contact with a legislator can be made in person, by phone and by email. Anyone contacting their legislator is asked to identify yourself up front with a name and address, to confirm that you are in the legislator's district, and provide contact information in case the legislator has more questions later. Be brief and to the point about your message. Always remember, all Utah legislators are legally elected representatives of the citizens in their districts. For this reason they all deserve our respect, even if we do not agree with them. It is important to always state your case in a non-confrontational way when discussing an issue with a legislator. Any confrontational contact will hurt our cause greatly. This cannot be overemphasized!

The only issue we need to be addressed now is the appropriation of $2.1 million in emergency DWR funding for 2006. Let your legislator know you support it, and refer to the five points listed above and other supporting information on the UAC web site if necessary.

The legislators in the subcommittee and committee below are the ones we need to reach in this effort:

Natural Resources Appropriation Subcommittee
Senator Thomas V. Hatch, Co-Chair; Representative Bradley T. Johnson, Co-Chair; Representative Carl Duckworth; Senator Beverly Ann Evans; Representative Ben C. Ferry; Representative Kerry W. Gibson; Representative James R. Gowans; Senator Parley G. Hellewell; Representative Rebecca D. Lockhart; Representative John G. Mathis; Representative Rhonda Rudd Menlove; Representative Michael E. Noel; Ivan D. Djamboy, Fiscal Analyst.

Executive Appropriations Committee
Representative Ron Bigelow, Co-Chair; Senator Lyle W. Hillyard, Co-Chair; Senator Curtis S. Bramble, Vice Chair; Representative David Clark, Vice Chair; Representative Jeff Alexander, Representative Ralph Becker; Representative Greg J. Curtis; Senator Gene Davis; Senator Mike Dmitrich; Senator Dan R. Eastman; Senator Beverly Ann Evans; Representative Ben C. Ferry; Senator Karen Hale; Representative Patricia W. Jones; Representative Brad King; Senator Peter C Knudson; Senator Ed Mayne; Representative Rosalind J. McGee; Representative Stephen H. Urquhart; Senator John L. Valentine; Mike Kjar, Fiscal Analyst; John Massey, Fiscal Analyst.

Web Resources

For now, the legislators in the above lists are the only ones who need to be contacted.

Go to this web page to find out who your Utah legislator is and contact information.

Go to this web page for general information on the Utah legislature and legislators.

Watch this web site for more information as this issue progresses.