After years of opposing efforts to reform California’s costly and antiquated fishing license system, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has embraced a national R3 movement (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) that aims to increase sales and revenue. DFW’s new-found religion is born from necessity because declining hunting and fishing license sales have crippled DFW’s budget. License revenue that once accounted for 40 percent of their annual budget has dropped to about 20 percent.
Until recently, DFW never examined why license sales decreased over 55 percent since 1980, despite the state’s large coastline and numerous lakes and rivers. Does it make sense to offer licenses that expire on Dec. 31 each year, no matter when purchased? And why does the state use a Price Deflator Index formula that essentially operates on auto-pilot, increasing hunting and fishing license fees every year? So, is anyone surprised that California is among the most expensive states in which to hunt and fish, and license sales are declining?…
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