Pay more to play?

The new head of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources might need a calculator more than a deer rifle or fishing rod in 2011.

That's because money -- or lack thereof -- is at the head of the to-do list.

The million-dollar question is whether hunting and fishing license fees -- some of which haven't been increased in 10 years -- should be bumped up to offset a pending revenue shortfall in the Game and Fish Fund, the main funding source for fish and wildlife management. That fund is heading into the red by 2014.

But here's Catch-22: If the DNR raises license fees too high, some hunters and anglers could call it quits, negating the fee increases.

"Market research clearly shows that at a certain point, if the license costs are too high, they begin to drop out," said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief.

The DNR hired a market analysis firm to survey Minnesota's hunters and anglers to find out where that price point is and to figure out what other ways the agency might increase revenue, such as offering three-day or seven-day licenses. The money issue will be a major topic at the DNR's annual Roundtable meetings with citizens Friday and Saturday in Brooklyn Center. The invitation-only event brings together the DNR and citizens from around the state to discuss and debate natural resource issues. About 350 people attend.

The financial discussion comes as state lawmakers wrestle with a $6 billion state budget deficit for the next two years. And a new DNR commissioner, expected to be appointed soon, obviously will have a major input. The DNR isn't proposing a fee increase now but wants to begin serious discussions.

Fish, wildlife imbalance

Compounding the situation, the DNR also has an imbalance in spending between fisheries and wildlife, meaning that hunters and their license fees have been subsidizing anglers and their fish programs. For 2012, the DNR will spend 95 percent of hunting revenues on hunting programs and 112 percent of the fishing revenues on fishing programs.

The DNR calls it a revenue imbalance rather than a spending issue. Balancing the spending sounds easy, but it's like hitting a moving target. Hunting and fishing revenues fluctuate annually. For example, deer and small game license sales can change based on wildlife populations. And the amount of federal aid the state receives in the excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment also changes.

Regardless, it's a problem that officials acknowledge should be corrected.

Citizen members of the Game and Fish Fund Budgetary Oversight Committee have, in recent years, strongly recommended that the DNR increase both hunting and fishing license fees and fix the imbalance. The committee oversees spending of the Game and Fish Fund.

"We do not believe that either the DNR or the Legislature are making this issue an urgent enough priority," they said.

The other option -- slashing fish and wildlife programs to reduce costs -- hasn't been supported by committee members.

License fees stable

There hasn't been a general increase in fishing, small game or firearms deer licenses since 2001. But costs over those 10 years, of course, have increased.

A resident fishing license was increased to $17 (from $15) in 2001. That year, gas was $1.45 a gallon and a movie cost less than $6. If the license fee had kept pace with inflation, it would cost $21.

The same is true for the $25 firearms deer license. It was increased $1 in 2003, but that extra money went into a special account to pay for chronic wasting disease prevention efforts. To maintain the same buying power the $25 license had 10 years ago, it should cost about $31 now.

There are some ways the DNR could increase revenues without general fee increases, and the market research to be discussed at the Roundtable Friday and Saturday offers some ideas in possible license restructuring. The idea would be to try to capture part-time hunters and anglers with licenses for three, five or seven days.

"There's a group of people who buy a [fishing] license every five years," said Dirk Peterson, DNR fisheries chief. "With our electronic licensing system, we can identify those people. Maybe they would be more interested if they had a license that more closely fit them."