Mike Schoonveld: Extra rod license not included in Michigan DNR proposal, but should it be?

The recent announcement of the Michigan DNR’s proposed fishing license fee increases heading to the legislature has some bold requests. It also has some disappointments.

License fee requests are never popular with either license buyers or with many legislators. Inflation has bumped up the prices anglers pay for everything associated with fishing, from bait to boats.

A license fee increase is just one more hit to their wallet.

Most legislators aren’t fishermen but they are all politicians. Voting no on unpopular or what they view as unnecessary legislation is easy.

There’s no doubt the inflationary policies in effect for the past few years has been a punch in the gut to the DNR’s fisheries budget. Already strapped for funds, the cost of items needed by the men and women doing Michigan’s fisheries workers has gone up 20, 30, even 100 percent over what they were 10 years ago when the current fishing license fees were set.

Years ago the Michigan DNR formed citizen’s advisory committees for major constituent groups to facilitate a two-way dialogue between resource professionals and the citizens who have concerns about those resources.

It’s been a great way for the resource managers to explain current plans and programs to their constituents. It’s also been a way for the resource managers to hear and discuss their constituents’ needs, wants, and expectations.

Quite often, both sides of the table at these advisory committee meetings are able to reach a consensus of how to move forward.

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It’s important for these advisory groups to understand and support the need for the DNR to seek increases to fishing license fees. More important is for individual fishermen to support the fee increase requests that will soon be landing on the desks of Michigan’s state senators and representatives.

The proposed license increases are going to be a hard sell.

The resident all-species license is proposed to be raised almost 54%, from $26 to $40. That’s why it’s hard to understand why the DNR didn’t include the proposal advanced to them from the citizen’s advisory committees for each of the Great Lakes.

That proposal was to establish a voluntary trolling license, which could be purchased to allow up to three additional rods to be used by anglers boat fishing on any of Michigan’s Great Lakes.

Current law allows only three rods per licensed angler. With the additional trolling license, a solo angler could choose to deploy up to six rods.

A pair of anglers, currently limited to six rods could use nine rods and so on.

Polling showed overwhelming support for this initiative by Great Lakes anglers.

However, the inclusion of adding the optional trolling license was not included in the changes to the fishing license fees the DNR sent to the legislature.

When asked why it wasn’t included, the DNR said this could be part of a “phase two” request to the legislature. In bureaucratic parlance, that’s popularly called, “kicking the can down the street.”

That proposal isn’t totally dead since proposals sent to the legislature are often amended in the preliminary committee hearings.

In committee, senators or representatives can insert an amendment or add wording to a proposal before it goes to the floors for final approvals.

For most legislators, the license fee adjustment is just another bit of business that needs to be addressed in this session.

However, if a legislator gets a few dozen, a hundred or even more letters, phone calls or emails from their constituents suggesting either the addition of a voluntary trolling license or similar wording be added to the proposal, they will take note that this is something worthy of consideration.

It’s a call to action for them.

This is also a call to action for Michigan’s army of Great Lakes anglers to contact their senators and representatives about this legislation. It’s the way our government is supposed to work – so make it work. Unsure of how to contact your legislators? Go to “Find My Legislator” at: www.michiganvotes.org/legislators.