100% cash for license sales goes into DWR

When a hunter or angler slaps down money for a hunting and/or fishing license, he or she, at some point, probably wonders just where the money goes?

Most people don't know.

A survey of 2,125 sportsmen by AnglerSurvey.com and HunterSurvey.com found only 39 percent of anglers and 47 percent of hunters knew the right answer.

Which is: Every dollar spent on a hunting or fishing license goes back to the wildlife agency. Or, in the case of Utah, the Division of Wildlife Resource.

The biggest percentage of those polled believed some or all of the money went into the general fund to be spent on such things as roads, education or insurance premiums for elected officials.

It was a yes, no or don't-know quiz.

• Funds go into the general state treasury to be used to run the government. The response: 14.6 percent of the anglers and 12.5 percent of hunters said yes.

• Funds are dedicated only to fish and wildlife. Answer: 38.8 percent of anglers and 46.6 percent of hunters said yes.

• Funds are shared between wildlife and the state treasury. Answer: 29 percent of anglers and 26 percent of hunters said yes.

• 17.6 of the anglers and 14.8 percent of the hunters admitted they didn't know.

This is not to say some legislators wouldn't like to tap into the wildlife funds. If they could, some certainly would. But they can't.

Federal law requires that 100 percent of the money collected from license sales goes back to the wildlife agency. Failure to comply would mean losing federal funds. In 2007, $350 million in federal money went to fisheries and $267 million went to wildlife and hunter education.

And where does the money go? To benefit hunters and fishermen.

Sure, some goes toward salaries and equipment. A recent study, however, found Utah has fewer wildlife officers per capita and pays some of the lowest salaries in the Western United States. Consider, too, Utah fish hatcheries will produce a million pounds of fish this year. All those fish require food, care and clean water constantly flowing through the raceways. All will be planted for fishermen to catch.

The trapping and relocating of big game animals is no small job. It takes a lot of personnel and equipment, hundreds of hours and very often a costly helicopter.

The end result is that Utah has growing herds of buffalo, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, antelope and mountain goats. The only big game animals struggling right now is the mule deer, and even there, strides are being made.

Then you've got bear studies and trapping efforts, habitat restoration programs, marsh rehab, which includes phragmites control, law enforcement, disease control, research and a hundred other projects wildlife staff are involved in to benefit Utah wildlife.

The fish experiment station in Logan, for example, is constantly working to benefit threatened species, such as the June sucker, and is trying to come up with a new fish resistant to whirling disease. Whirling disease costs Utah sportsmen millions.

Then there are the educational programs such as Project Wild and Watchable Wildlife. All are intended to give people a greater respect for wildlife.

So, next time you slap down money for a hunting or fishing license, know the money, all of it, goes back into the resource.

---

E-mail: grass@desnews.com