This is from the "figures don't lie" department – in this case, the department is the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, and the figures are the annual hunting, fishing and trapping license sales since 2002. Simply put, those figures have been declining, and the question begging to be asked is why, and what can be done? It would be easy to lay the blame on the fact that fewer New Yorkers are hunting, especially younger residents. But how would one account for the fact that fishing license sales have also been steadily declining?
During the 2002-03 license year, 2,033,341 licenses were sold for a total fee income to the state of $43M. Just three years later 1,822,104 were sold, totaling less than $40M. And so far for the 2006-07 license year, which began on Oct. 1, 2006, the total license sales are lagging even more, only about 1.4 million having been sold as of the end of January. Ironically, trapping license sales were the only ones to increase, jumping from around 11,000 in '02 to almost 13,000 so far this year.
Now, $43M is a decent chunk of money, even in this age where government talks in billions or even trillions of dollars. The revenue from license sales is also supplemented by the special sales taxes placed on some sporting equipment, such as firearms, ammo and fishing gear. The federal government also gives annual funds to states based on the state's total license sales each year. Added to the license and tax income, it helps keep New York's Conservation Fund and projects going. The drop of over $3M in the past three years is significant, but not as telling as the drop in license sales that has occurred across the board during that span.
Consider that there were only 287,468 small game hunting licenses sold last year out of a total of almost 900,000 various hunting license types (big game, sportsman, super sportsman, etc.) of which over 700,000 were big game oriented sales. And for the first time that I'm aware of, more muzzleloader hunting stamps (82,000) were sold than archery (65,000) last year. The license that was most purchased was the resident fishing with about 385,000, while second place went to the resident sportsman license with about 292,000 sold. Also keep in mind that many license types are counted more than once, even though purchased by the same person, especially those that cover several activities, such as hunting (big game, small game, turkey, archery and muzzleloading) under the basic, sportsman or super sportsman licenses.
New York once ranked right up there with Pennsylvania, Michigan and Texas as one of the top states for hunting licensees. The 2005 figures, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, showed total nationwide hunting licensees rose 2.8 percent from the previous year. Arizona led all states with an 8.3 percent increase, while Tennessee added 45,000 more hunters, the most of any state. However, New York's hunting licensees dropped by 8.6 percent, from 627,749 in 2004 to 573,970 in 2005-06 In Pennsylvania the figure is 1,006,293 hunting licensees, Texas is 1,039,709 and Michigan's is 789,244.hunters (although a 5.2 percent decline there). Unfortunately, many experts estimate that the number of New York's hunters will decline by almost 50 percent in another decade.
While most non-hunters probably don't see this as anything that will directly affect them, it certainly will, both physically and economically. There are still something like 23 million hunters and more than 43 million anglers in the United States, more than those who participate in rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, tennis or golf. A U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service study showed that from 1993 to 2003 total spending by anglers and hunters went up nearly 70 percent, to $80 billion, but has declined the last two years. The bulk of funding for natural resources and conservation stewardship and programs comes from fishing and hunting revenue. As that revenue declines, either general taxes must cover the deficit or programs must be cut. Here in New York, that could be especially evident.
According to the 2001 National Survey of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, it was estimated that $3.5 billion was spent on wildlife recreation in New York State, producing an annual economic output of more than $6.2 billion. So major drops in either hunting or fishing participation translates to some serious economic losses that would impact every taxpayer in the state. So it would seem in our state government's best interest to do all it could to insure both hunting and fishing remain viable and popular activities. But that doesn't appear to be the case these days.
A survey of sportsmen and women in the state a few years ago asked what their major concerns were, and the number one answer was the steady decline of access to places to hunt and fish. Not far behind was the declining quality of the hunting and fishing they experienced when afield or on the water. Now the decline in license sales seems to indicate that disappointment is causing them to cease hunting or fishing or both. That the DEC has continually lowered its priorities of fish and wildlife programs while increasing other programs pretty much says it all.
The good old bottom line results if this continues will hit on several fronts. First will be the car-deer accident and depredation problems will only get worse, as will the bear and coyote incidents, as hunting and access declines and development and sprawl increases. If angler numbers continue to drop, who will fund the hatcheries, marinas and launches' budgets and upkeep. Where will funds come from to keep pace with public forests, parks and education centers? If major diseases hit fish or wildlife, where will those funds to study and combat the threats come from? Obviously these deficits will probably be filled from the General Fund, i.e. all us taxpayers. And in a state which has the distinction of being nicknamed "The Land of Taxes," that doesn't bode well for the future.
I suspect too many state politicians view "upstate" hunting and fishing as perennial recreational activities that also bring in lots of cash and always will. But the "golden goose" is rapidly losing its ability to keep supplying Albany with those golden eggs. And they won't have to look far for who's to blame - like maybe the nearest mirror.

Perch Derby Still A Go
This Saturday's Perch Derby at Chenango Lake is a go. The event is from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. For more info call Mayhood's Sporting Goods (607) 334-2001.