MISSOURI FISHING LICENSES INCREASE IIN '94

JEFFERSON CITY -- No one would be surprised to learn that fishing conditions in Missouri have been better this year than they were during the deluge year of 1993, so it comes as no surprise to Al Brand that fishing license sales have increased this year.

As assistant chief of the Fiscal Division with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Brand keeps track of how many permits are sold each year. He says that as of Oct. 31, MDC had sold about 50,000 more resident fishing licenses than it had by that date last year.

"No question about it, the flood hurt us last year," says Brand. "Some people didn't buy fishing permits because their fishing holes were under water," says Brand, "but the effects went far beyond that. People outside the state didn't know that most of the state was not affected by flooding, and that kept away even more potential permit buyers."

The good news, says Brand, is that permit sales have rebounded to normal levels. In the first 10 months of 1992, MDC had combined sales of all hunting and fishing permits of $15,540,438. That dropped to $14,537,775 in 1993. This year's 10-month total is back up to $15,432,720.

"We're fortunate to have a stable funding source for conservation programs," says Brand. "The one-eighth of one percent sales tax prevents debilitating revenue swings experienced by agencies that depend almost entirely on permit sales to fund their work."