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Tuesday, March 22, 2005
State looks to assess fee on canoe, kayak owners
By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald Writer
Joyce Parker, owner of River Run Canoe and Camp in Brownfield, is less than happy about the prospect of paying $140 in annual fees for the 14 boats she rents out to summer tourists.
She will face the new expense if the Legislature approves the latest two-year budget proposal, which envisions $10 registration stickers for canoes and kayaks.
Parker said she would be less resistant if the money helped her business - like paying for a cleanup of the Saco River - but the money is intended to help cover a $5.3 million shortfall at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
"If it is used directly on this river, not to another area, I wouldn't mind paying it," she said.
The Appropriations Committee approved the idea Saturday as a way to help fund the agency's $31 million two-year budget.
A separate proposal to allow Sunday hunting for specific game - which was expected to cover a $5.3 million shortfall - failed for lack of public support.
Although the proposal for registering canoes and kayaks just gained momentum last week, it was first proposed in 2003.
At that time, the Legislature considered a $6 sticker. The department ended up cutting 11 staff jobs, including five warden positions, when the proposal was rejected.
The Appropriations Committee, which writes the budget sent to lawmakers, was determined not to have that happen this year.
Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, who owns a sporting camp near Moosehead Lake, said he will happily pay the fee for his roughly 18 canoes, and he hopes the plan passes in the House and Senate.
"Certainly, I'm not voting with my pocketbook," Martin said Monday.
The department estimates there will be about 100,000 canoes and kayaks registered in the first year of its new budget, which begins in July, and 180,000 in the 2007 budget year.
The new fee is expected to bring in an estimated $2.8 million to the state - $2.3 million of it to the department - over two years. The Department of Marine Resources would get the remaining $500,000.
The rest of the department's $5.3 million budget gap would be covered by a number of fees, including $2 of the $3 increase for fishing and hunting licenses that went into effect two years ago and was due to expire in June. That increase is expected to raise up to $2 million, said Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield.
Owners of canoes and kayaks would have to buy the $10 registration stickers in the same way as owners of motorized craft. The proposed law would allow people who buy fishing licenses to get one free sticker for a canoe or kayak.
Many of the 13,000 members of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and the 11,000 members of Maine Audubon will support the measure, according to those groups.
"We wanted recognition that some of the money be directed to issues that we care about," said Jenn Burns, legislative liaison for Maine Audubon. About $80,000 will pay for two state biologists who will work on non-game issues, said Rick Record, department budget director. "This is not a bad deal. I read about the guy in Fryeburg who complained about the fees he has to pay for his canoes and kayaks for people renting them from him all summer," said Bryant. "But where do those people come from? New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York. If he adds another dollar to that, they're paying for it."
The canoe and kayak fee makes extending the fee increase for hunting and fishing licenses more palatable for sportsmen, said George Smith of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine.
"The people against (canoe and kayak registrations) have no case at all," Smith said. "They are just being selfish. It's time to pay their share of the services. I have six canoes and kayaks and three people in my family with a fishing license . . . but I don't object. This makes it fair and it's compelling. It gives sportsmen a break."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com
:angry: :evil: :angry: :evil: :angry: :evil:
Outdoor use fees in play
By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- With Sunday hunting off the table, legislators want those who don't hunt or fish to help support the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The budget document approved Saturday by the Appropriations Committee shifts some of the costs of the department from hunters and fishermen to others who use the outdoors for recreation.
There's a new $10 fee for canoes, kayaks, sailboats and rowboats. And a $1 reduction in the cost of hunting and fishing licenses.
"Sportsmen, for the first time, will have help by having other nonconsumptive groups help with the management of game, nongame and endangered species," said Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, chairman of the oversight committee for IF&W.
Last-minute negotiations resulted in a revamped budget for the department that is expected to bring in at least as much money as the Sunday hunting proposal would have, and reduce the burden on hunters and fishermen.
Instead of absorbing a $3 increase, hunters and fishermen would now be asked to pay an extra $2 for licenses and permits. Fishermen who own a nonmotorized boat won't be expected to pay the extra cost of getting a sticker for their watercraft if they have a fishing license, Bryant said.
Also, there's a new option for hunters and fishermen to buy what's being called a Super Pack License for $200 that would allow a person to hunt and fish all legal game species.
Bryant said the changes are necessary to plug a $5.2 million hole left by the elimination of the Sunday hunting proposal.
While those who don't hunt or fish will be asked to support the department, they will get something in return, Bryant said. The budget calls for five new wildlife biologists who will specialize in nongame and endangered species. The cost of those positions will be shared by the state and federal government.
There's also a controversial provision in the budget that calls for the inland fisheries commissioner and the head of the Department of Conservation to implement an "outdoor access card" that specifically targets those who don't hunt and fish. Bryant said commissioners will put together a panel of interested parties to look at the idea and come back with a recommendation next year. Bryant said the card may be a form of insurance that would cover the cost of a search-and-rescue team if a hiker got lost or hurt in the woods. Some critics of the revised IF&W budget say there was no public input in the process and that Republicans on the committee didn't get a chance to weigh in. Rep. A. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, said he wasn't included in any of the negotiations on the new proposal. As the most experienced Republican on the committee, Trahan said he should have had input on the recommendations.
He called the access card idea "outrageous." Trahan, who was out of town last week because of a death in the family, said canoe and kayak rental shops will be hit hard by the $10 per vessel fee. The budget now moves forward to the full Legislature for a vote by the end of the month. Unless it is changed, the rowboat, canoe, kayak and sailboat fee will be in effect as of July 1, Bryant said.
Susan M. Cover -- 623-1056
scover@centralmaine.com
:angry: :evil: :angry: :evil: :angry: :evil:
:angry: :evil: :angry: :evil: :angry: :evil:
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
State looks to assess fee on canoe, kayak owners
By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald Writer
Joyce Parker, owner of River Run Canoe and Camp in Brownfield, is less than happy about the prospect of paying $140 in annual fees for the 14 boats she rents out to summer tourists.
She will face the new expense if the Legislature approves the latest two-year budget proposal, which envisions $10 registration stickers for canoes and kayaks.
Parker said she would be less resistant if the money helped her business - like paying for a cleanup of the Saco River - but the money is intended to help cover a $5.3 million shortfall at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
"If it is used directly on this river, not to another area, I wouldn't mind paying it," she said.
The Appropriations Committee approved the idea Saturday as a way to help fund the agency's $31 million two-year budget.
A separate proposal to allow Sunday hunting for specific game - which was expected to cover a $5.3 million shortfall - failed for lack of public support.
Although the proposal for registering canoes and kayaks just gained momentum last week, it was first proposed in 2003.
At that time, the Legislature considered a $6 sticker. The department ended up cutting 11 staff jobs, including five warden positions, when the proposal was rejected.
The Appropriations Committee, which writes the budget sent to lawmakers, was determined not to have that happen this year.
Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, who owns a sporting camp near Moosehead Lake, said he will happily pay the fee for his roughly 18 canoes, and he hopes the plan passes in the House and Senate.
"Certainly, I'm not voting with my pocketbook," Martin said Monday.
The department estimates there will be about 100,000 canoes and kayaks registered in the first year of its new budget, which begins in July, and 180,000 in the 2007 budget year.
The new fee is expected to bring in an estimated $2.8 million to the state - $2.3 million of it to the department - over two years. The Department of Marine Resources would get the remaining $500,000.
The rest of the department's $5.3 million budget gap would be covered by a number of fees, including $2 of the $3 increase for fishing and hunting licenses that went into effect two years ago and was due to expire in June. That increase is expected to raise up to $2 million, said Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield.
Owners of canoes and kayaks would have to buy the $10 registration stickers in the same way as owners of motorized craft. The proposed law would allow people who buy fishing licenses to get one free sticker for a canoe or kayak.
Many of the 13,000 members of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and the 11,000 members of Maine Audubon will support the measure, according to those groups.
"We wanted recognition that some of the money be directed to issues that we care about," said Jenn Burns, legislative liaison for Maine Audubon. About $80,000 will pay for two state biologists who will work on non-game issues, said Rick Record, department budget director. "This is not a bad deal. I read about the guy in Fryeburg who complained about the fees he has to pay for his canoes and kayaks for people renting them from him all summer," said Bryant. "But where do those people come from? New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York. If he adds another dollar to that, they're paying for it."
The canoe and kayak fee makes extending the fee increase for hunting and fishing licenses more palatable for sportsmen, said George Smith of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine.
"The people against (canoe and kayak registrations) have no case at all," Smith said. "They are just being selfish. It's time to pay their share of the services. I have six canoes and kayaks and three people in my family with a fishing license . . . but I don't object. This makes it fair and it's compelling. It gives sportsmen a break."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com
:angry: :evil: :angry: :evil: :angry: :evil:
Outdoor use fees in play
By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- With Sunday hunting off the table, legislators want those who don't hunt or fish to help support the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The budget document approved Saturday by the Appropriations Committee shifts some of the costs of the department from hunters and fishermen to others who use the outdoors for recreation.
There's a new $10 fee for canoes, kayaks, sailboats and rowboats. And a $1 reduction in the cost of hunting and fishing licenses.
"Sportsmen, for the first time, will have help by having other nonconsumptive groups help with the management of game, nongame and endangered species," said Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, chairman of the oversight committee for IF&W.
Last-minute negotiations resulted in a revamped budget for the department that is expected to bring in at least as much money as the Sunday hunting proposal would have, and reduce the burden on hunters and fishermen.
Instead of absorbing a $3 increase, hunters and fishermen would now be asked to pay an extra $2 for licenses and permits. Fishermen who own a nonmotorized boat won't be expected to pay the extra cost of getting a sticker for their watercraft if they have a fishing license, Bryant said.
Also, there's a new option for hunters and fishermen to buy what's being called a Super Pack License for $200 that would allow a person to hunt and fish all legal game species.
Bryant said the changes are necessary to plug a $5.2 million hole left by the elimination of the Sunday hunting proposal.
While those who don't hunt or fish will be asked to support the department, they will get something in return, Bryant said. The budget calls for five new wildlife biologists who will specialize in nongame and endangered species. The cost of those positions will be shared by the state and federal government.
There's also a controversial provision in the budget that calls for the inland fisheries commissioner and the head of the Department of Conservation to implement an "outdoor access card" that specifically targets those who don't hunt and fish. Bryant said commissioners will put together a panel of interested parties to look at the idea and come back with a recommendation next year. Bryant said the card may be a form of insurance that would cover the cost of a search-and-rescue team if a hiker got lost or hurt in the woods. Some critics of the revised IF&W budget say there was no public input in the process and that Republicans on the committee didn't get a chance to weigh in. Rep. A. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, said he wasn't included in any of the negotiations on the new proposal. As the most experienced Republican on the committee, Trahan said he should have had input on the recommendations.
He called the access card idea "outrageous." Trahan, who was out of town last week because of a death in the family, said canoe and kayak rental shops will be hit hard by the $10 per vessel fee. The budget now moves forward to the full Legislature for a vote by the end of the month. Unless it is changed, the rowboat, canoe, kayak and sailboat fee will be in effect as of July 1, Bryant said.
Susan M. Cover -- 623-1056
scover@centralmaine.com
:angry: :evil: :angry: :evil: :angry: :evil:
