Reductions to Hunting Licenses (R2)

There is a new structure or format for the sporting license fee that will be going into effect on February 1. This is good news for sportsmen especially non-residence. From the standpoint of marketing New York’s outdoor resources, it makes great sense to use this as a foundation for attracting new users of the resource, both in our state and outside of its borders. At the top of the list is the fact that the fishing license year will start up from the day you purchase it. This is an added value from the current way of doing business. Someone buying a fishing license on Feb. 1 will be able to use that same license until Jan. 31, 2015. Add in the fact that the nonresident annual license will be dropping from $70 to $50. Another positive move was dropping the daily nonresident fishing license from $15 to $10. With a new licensing system in place thanks to a recent change in vendors, you’d think that the system would have been tweaked to correct previous problems and make things better. Form what I have seen purchasing or getting a license is still difficult.  The hunting end of things offers an even better deal unless you are strictly just a small game hunter or a waterfowl hunter. There is no small game license anymore. That’s been lumped together with big game, including a bear tag. For residents, the cost is $22. For nonresidents, it’s $100. That is a significant saving. An even bigger savings is realized if you are a big game hunter involving archery or muzzle loader. Both tags formerly went for $140. Now they are just $30 each. We need to take advantage of these license fee reductions in so many ways. I know I will for sure be buying more tags now that they are cheaper.