Arkansas Sportsman

New licenses an accounting fix

Several readers had questions about the annual 65-plus hunting and fishing licenses that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wants to establish.

The new licenses, if the legislature authorizes them, will not affect those who hold lifetime 65-plus licenses. Currently, sportsmen age 65 or older can get a lifetime fishing license for $10.50, a lifetime hunting license for $25 or a lifetime combination license for $35.50. The Game and Fish Commission will continue to offer the lifetime licenses, but it also wants to create annual 65-plus licenses as a housekeeping matter to comply with new federal accounting procedures.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers funds collected nationally from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act) and the Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson Act). These funds are derived from federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, hunting apparel, ammunition, firearms, boats, outboard motors, tackle, and all other hunting and fishing related gear. An amendment to the Dingell-Johnson Act, the Wallop-Breaux amendment, taxes marine fuel to create or secure boating and fishing access to public waters.

It's a lot of money. The USFWS spends about 26 percent of total Wildlife Restoration revenues annually, and about 18 percent of total Sportfish Restoration revenues. The USFWS apportions the money to the states based on the total number of hunting and fishing licenses they sell. Arkansas is a big hunting and fishing state, so it receives a lot of federal aid money.

Previously, the USFWS regarded lifetime licenses as an annual purchase, even though it's a one-time purchase. That policy has changed, said Mike Armstrong, assistant director for the Game and Fish Commission. Now, states will only get a one-time credit for lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. That will cost Arkansas some federal money.

Therefore, the agency wants to create what Armstrong calls "analogous" 65-plus annual licenses. They will be very inexpensive.

Of course, the lifetime 65-plus licenses are inexpensive, too, and they don't expire. That makes one wonder why anybody would opt for an annual version.

It was kind of funny listening to Armstrong explain this to the commission. The logic -- paraphrased -- is that someone might be in poor health when he becomes eligible for a 65-plus license. With a foot already in the grave, he might not live long enough to realize the full value of a lifetime license and opt for the cheaper annual license.

That sounded cynical to me, and Armstrong didn't look or sound particularly comfortable making the pitch.

The AGFC also sells a Lifetime Resident Hunting and Fishing Sportsman's Permit for $1,000. It covers everything, including your trout stamp and state waterfowl stamp, and also controlled hunt permit fees and leased land fees. I regret not buying one when I was much younger. It would have paid for itself very quickly during the 10 years I lived out of state and had to hunt and fish on non-resident licenses.

I bought Oklahoma's Combination Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License in 1998, the day I fulfilled my six-month eligibility requirement. It also covers everything, including Oklahoma's controlled hunts for elk and pronghorn. At $525, it was an incredible bargain, and it has paid for itself many times over in my years of hunting and fishing there as a non-resident. It now costs $775, so mine looks better all the time.

I also bought a Lifetime Missouri Fishing License before I ended my residence in that state. It's a bargain, unlike Missouri's Lifetime Hunting License. It only allows you to hunt small game. You still have to buy deer and turkey hunting permits separately.

If you have a child, the Arkansas Lifetime Resident Hunting and Fishing Sportsman's Permit would be a wonderful gift.

New video

Continuing its centennial celebration, the AGFC recently released a video titled "Movie of the Century." Filmed and produced by Trey Reid and Aaron Copeland, this short film captures the essence of the Arkansas outdoors better than any I have seen. It features a turkey hunting vignette with Bill Rhodes of Sheridan, an avid turkey hunter and maker of fine turkey calls, and a fishing vignette on Lake Conway with Mark Hedrick and his son Matt Hedrick.

The group cheering its gratitude to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is a bit much, but it is their celebration. You can see it on the AGFC's Web site, agfc.com

Sports on 01/22/2015

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