Vermont wildlife agency considering recreational license to boost revenue

Montpelier, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife’s workload has expanded in recent decades, and costs have risen, while a primary source of revenue – the sale of hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses – has declined.

Now, the department is pursuing a financial restructuring and plans to push for a new license that would be required for anyone recreating on Fish and Wildlife land, according to its leaders. That new source of funding would include kayakers, bird watchers, and hikers, all of whom utilize wildlife management areas and boat launches.

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“For the last hundred years, conservation has been paid for by hunters and trappers and anglers,” Andrea Shortsleeve, the department’s chief of operations, said in an interview in early November. “Now, (we’re) trying to get everyone else who is using and benefiting from those areas to also pay in.”

The Fish and Wildlife Department’s more than $31 million annual budget draws on three roughly equal sources: federal funding, the state’s General Fund, and department funds. The latter includes revenue sources such as motorboat registrations, timber sales, and license fees – which brought in about $7 million last year.