Conservation Commission considers postponing increase in permit

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Conservation Commission is considering whether to delay price increases for state hunting and fishing permits because of tough economic times in the state.

The four-member commission is to meet by telephone Monday to reconsider fee increases it approved in May for a variety of permits. At issue is whether to change the implementation date of some of the increases from March 1, 2003, to March 1, 2004.

"The timing of it is related to the economy," said Carter Campbell, the chief financial officer for the Department of Conservation. "The way the state budget is at this point, it's a difficult time for everybody."

The increases range from 50 cents to $2 and would generate as much as $1.8 million annually for the Conservation Department. The last fee increases came in 1999 and ranged from $1 and $4.

It was not immediately clear which of the increases would be delayed and which would not.

The department, established in the Missouri Constitution, has a budget of $125 million for the current year but does not receive any general state tax revenues.

Instead, the department is funded by various fees and a one-eighth cent sales tax approved by voters in 1976.

The Conservation Commission had said fee increases were needed because of increase costs.

"We're just not seeing the money roll in," Campbell said.

If the scheduled increases go into effect, permit fees would account for 23 percent of the department's revenues.

State Sen. Chuck Gross said Friday that he had been concerned about the fee increases because they appeared arbitrary and not linked to any economic hardship within the agency.

"At this point, I am not comfortable with some of the reasons why they are raising fees," said Gross, R-St. Charles. "But I'm glad to hear they are looking again at the issue."

The commission controls, manages, restores, conserves and regulates the bird, fish, game, forestry and all wildlife resources of the state.

Up 50 cents

Under the new fees, the price of daily fishing permits would increase to $5.50 from the current $5 while season-long, resident fishing permits would increase to $12, instead of $11.

Small game hunting permits would increase to $10 from the current $9 while daily hunting permits would rise to $11, instead of $10. The cost of a combination hunting and fishing permit was set to remain at $19.

Various permits for deer and turkey hunting would increase by $2.

Denny Ballard, executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, said the commission's plans to reconsider the increases came as a surprise to him.

The federation had previously supported the increases.

"It's kind of a strange element," Ballard said of the delayed increase. "We have come to expect increases now and again, albeit small increases, and sportsmen have always been willing and able to pay it."

Department officials have said that hunters and anglers were increasingly concerned that their interests would get less attention if the agency became more dependent on sales tax revenue.