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Legislature to consider Game and Fish Department's license fee hikes

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking state legislators to vote on two bills that would add funding to the agency in 2014. The first bill would raise license fees for hunters and anglers. The second bill would establish a raffle for big game and trophy hunts.

The Department’s Eric Keszler says they’ve already cut down their budget where they could.

“In FY 2013, we cut 3% off of our commission budget and 8% off of the money that we get from the legislature. And in FY 2014 we’re looking at an additional 5% off of our commission budget. So that’s an 8% cut for the biennium that we’ve already done. In spite of that, to keep up our current level of services we’d be needing this increase that we’re looking for in the legislature this year.”  

If legislators do not approve the bills, Game and Fish may need to make further budget cuts of up to 20%. About 80% of the department’s revenue comes from various fees. The proposed license fee structure, which has been supported by the legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee, established prices by what people are likely willing to pay for different animals, rather than leaning on across-the-board increases.

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.
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