DNREC to try again to raise fees for fishing
By JEFF MONTGOMERY, The News Journal
Updated Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Minner administration plans another bid to hook lawmaker approval for new or higher fishing license fees next year.
State Finfisheries Section Manager Roy Miller said the division is seeking support for a previously failed measure that would create a new "general" fishing license. The new license fee would cover both freshwater and -- for the first time -- tidal fishing.
The same proposal died in a General Assembly committee in June. It also would have raised charges to nonresidents and added fees for charter or "head" boats used in fishing.
"Our overarching and fundamental challenge is our fiscal health," Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes told administration budget writers Wednesday. "Because of some fee issues, we've found ourselves needing more money."
The fishing licensing proposal would have overhauled rates last increased in 1985, extending the $8.50 resident freshwater fishing fee to tidal water fishing and boosting nonresident rates from $12.50 to $20. The cost of seven-day tourist licenses would rise from $7.50 to $12.50.
DNREC cited other revenue shortfalls in proposals to shift some state jobs from fee-supported positions to the agency's proposed $45 million general budget, including positions in management and the state's accidental-release prevention program.
Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Patrick Emory said his agency may be unable to match nearly $600,000 in federal grants without additional state income.
Despite the grim financial picture, Hughes called for some new initiatives in his overall request for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2007. Among them was a proposal to hire an ecologist to oversee statewide environmental restoration efforts, including work to recover wetlands and drainage systems.
"We live in a state that has been highly modified over the years," Hughes said. "We've done a lot of harm over the years, most of it not from malice, but from ignorance."
Hughes described the plan as environmentalism in a pure sense, but cautioned that restoration efforts could take decades to produce noticeable results.
DNREC also plans active operations at the historic Auburn Heights Preserve in Yorklyn and Blue Ball/Alapocas Run State Park north of Wilmington.
The agency's $37.4 million capital spending priorities in the next budget year include $7.25 million to cover the state's share of beach preservation work and $2 million for emergency planning and rehabilitation projects associated with the state's dams.
Another $2 million would be earmarked for demolition and redesign of the deteriorating World War II-era fishing pier at Cape Henlopen.
"It is extremely popular," Hughes said. "It is heavily used, enthusiastically and intensely, all year long."
By JEFF MONTGOMERY, The News Journal
Updated Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Minner administration plans another bid to hook lawmaker approval for new or higher fishing license fees next year.
State Finfisheries Section Manager Roy Miller said the division is seeking support for a previously failed measure that would create a new "general" fishing license. The new license fee would cover both freshwater and -- for the first time -- tidal fishing.
The same proposal died in a General Assembly committee in June. It also would have raised charges to nonresidents and added fees for charter or "head" boats used in fishing.
"Our overarching and fundamental challenge is our fiscal health," Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes told administration budget writers Wednesday. "Because of some fee issues, we've found ourselves needing more money."
The fishing licensing proposal would have overhauled rates last increased in 1985, extending the $8.50 resident freshwater fishing fee to tidal water fishing and boosting nonresident rates from $12.50 to $20. The cost of seven-day tourist licenses would rise from $7.50 to $12.50.
DNREC cited other revenue shortfalls in proposals to shift some state jobs from fee-supported positions to the agency's proposed $45 million general budget, including positions in management and the state's accidental-release prevention program.
Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Patrick Emory said his agency may be unable to match nearly $600,000 in federal grants without additional state income.
Despite the grim financial picture, Hughes called for some new initiatives in his overall request for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2007. Among them was a proposal to hire an ecologist to oversee statewide environmental restoration efforts, including work to recover wetlands and drainage systems.
"We live in a state that has been highly modified over the years," Hughes said. "We've done a lot of harm over the years, most of it not from malice, but from ignorance."
Hughes described the plan as environmentalism in a pure sense, but cautioned that restoration efforts could take decades to produce noticeable results.
DNREC also plans active operations at the historic Auburn Heights Preserve in Yorklyn and Blue Ball/Alapocas Run State Park north of Wilmington.
The agency's $37.4 million capital spending priorities in the next budget year include $7.25 million to cover the state's share of beach preservation work and $2 million for emergency planning and rehabilitation projects associated with the state's dams.
Another $2 million would be earmarked for demolition and redesign of the deteriorating World War II-era fishing pier at Cape Henlopen.
"It is extremely popular," Hughes said. "It is heavily used, enthusiastically and intensely, all year long."
