Copyright The Associated Press
The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife’s workload has expanded in recent decades, and costs have risen, while a primary source of revenue — the sale of hunting, trapping and fishing licenses — has declined. Year after year, those trends make budgeting a difficult task. Now, the department is pursuing a financial restructuring and plans to push for a new license that would be required for anyone recreating on Fish and Wildlife land, according to its leaders. That new source of funding would include people like kayakers, birdwatchers and hikers, all of whom utilize wildlife management areas and boat launches. “For the last hundred years, conservation has been paid for by hunters and trappers and anglers,” Andrea Shortsleeve, the department’s chief of operations, said in an interview last week. “Now, (we’re) trying to get everyone else who is using and benefiting from those areas to also pay in.” Amid historic cuts to federal funding, Vermont’s budget writers are anticipating tough choices this year for departments across state government. But Fish and Wildlife’s challenges predate the funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration and don’t just involve economic headwinds. The Fish and Wildlife Department’s more than $31 million annual budget draws on three roughly equal sources: federal funding, the state’s General Fund and department funds. The latter includes revenue sources like motorboat registrations, timber sales and license fees — which brought in about $7 million last year. Over time, that balance has shifted, with licenses and timber sales making up a smaller percentage, leading the department to rely more on the General Fund, the pot of money filled by state taxes. Despite occasional spikes, annual sales of hunting, trapping and fishing licenses have been on the decline in Vermont for decades. At the same time, lifetime licenses of different types have become increasingly popular, with one in five children born in Vermont receiving one. While that popularity raises money for the department, the funds sit in a special account and limit the number of people who pay annually. The worrying financial trends have forced the department to begin restructuring financially, Jason Batchelder, Fish and Wildlife commissioner, told VTDigger. With the help of consultants, the department will compare itself to its counterparts in peer states nationwide. The department is also soliciting bidders to complete a fish culture modernization study, which will recommend new efficiencies to the state’s hatchery system. As inflationary pressures on expenses like health care, vehicles and rent have outpaced revenues, Fish and Wildlife’s mission has changed, too. Rather than focusing solely on a handful of game species — deer, turkey and trout —the department’s mission has grown over decades to encompass the 45,000 species that inhabit Vermont and the public and private lands they call home. “We have a lot more work. Basically, there’s more conservation to be done with not as many people paying into the system,” Shortsleeve said. That’s where the recreation license could come into play. Other states have implemented similar requirements. In 2023, Montana rolled out a conservation license, which is required to access many state lands. Vermont Fish and Wildlife owns 105 wildlife management areas comprising more than 130,000 acres, as well as more than 200 developed fishing access areas. “The people that are moving here — without painting with too broad of a brush — are probably mountain bikers. They’re probably skiers, and may or may not be license holders that pay into our system, right?” Batchelder said. “And so that public access license could be coming at a wonderful time.” Batchelder stressed that the new license concept is still in the works. The department would like to have it live by January 2027, he said, and plans to begin the effort in earnest through the administrative rulemaking process in early winter 2026. Fish and Wildlife has considered charging $5 for a day license and $20 for a yearlong public access license, according to Batchelder. “We know from other states who have done something like this, it’s going to take quite a bit of time to inform the public, get people used to the idea,” he said. “So what we’re looking for is starting to do that in the next year.” The department also intends to create a 365-day hunting and fishing license — rather than just annual licenses that are tied to the calendar year, Batchelder said. Expanding who buys Fish and Wildlife licenses could pay dividends. A decade ago, Fish and Wildlife created the “habitat stamp,” an opportunity for people — especially those buying licenses — to donate money to fund habitat work. That initiative has raised almost $1.5 million so far, and brought in more than $205,000 in 2024, according to the department. But currently, about 95% of that money comes from people buying hunting, fishing and trapping licenses, according to Batchelder. By creating a recreation license, the department expects to raise more habitat stamp money as well. Expanding who funds the Department of Fish and Wildlife is appealing to Mike Covey, executive director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, a group that lobbies on behalf of hunters, trappers and anglers. The department’s work “benefits the entire public,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “So I think it’s reasonable that the entire public would pay.” Sen. Anne Watson, D/P-Washington, chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, which has jurisdiction over fish and wildlife topics. “The functions (the Department of Fish and Wildlife) serves are not necessarily aligned with just their historic sources of revenue,” she said. While she didn’t know enough to endorse the idea of a public access license, she said it was worthwhile for the department to expand its funding to reflect the broad scope of its work. ___
