Maurice
Administrator
Staff member
Well we could always eliminate the senior license and charge them every year like everyone else. Freeloaders the lot of them! And theys likely the ones killin' all the stocked trouts.
bikerfish
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 29, 2009
- Messages
- 3,639
yeah, senior licenses will be $300!!! hell, isn't it bad enough they're sucking all the SS moneys??? haha!!!
and don't even get me started on those damn kids!!! ;-)
C
CRB
Well-known member
When you look at the graph there is a drop off of fisherman less than 40 years old.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
I support the proposal as written.
Glade E. Squires: A reasonable approach to fishing, boating fees
As a commissioner for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, I value and am proud of the unparalleled water resources and recreational opportunities that abound here in southeastern Pennsylvania. From Antietam Reservoir and Leaser Lake to the Lehigh, Schuylkill and Delaware rivers and many other places that we all know and love, it is hard to beat a day on the water.
The same can be said all across the commonwealth. Each year, an estimated 1.1 million anglers and over 3 million boaters enjoy Pennsylvania's more than 86,000 miles of streams and rivers and nearly 4,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Our water resources generate an estimated $1.2 billion annually in fishing-related expenditures while creating lasting memories with families and friends.
Senate Bill 1168 offers a way to sustain the tradition of fishing and boating in Pennsylvania by authorizing the Fish and Boat Commission to establish its fees in a business-like approach to meeting its costs while minimizing the impact on the angling and boating public.
Under the current system, we see sales and participation drop after fees are increased in large sums by the Legislature after several years to account for rising costs over time. In addition to hurting the sport and the local, regional and statewide economic engines it drives, this boom-and-bust cycle compromises our ability to serve the residents and visitors to Pennsylvania. Our agency receives no general fund revenues, so when participation drops, fewer people are being asked to support a larger part of the costs of serving all anglers, boaters and aquatic resources.
Sens. John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and John Wozniak (D-Cambria) summed it up best in their bipartisan memo explaining SB 1168: "As an independent administrative agency that is not supported by General Fund revenues and relies on user fees to pay for almost everything it does, the PFBC has a vested business interest in setting a fee structure that generates sufficient revenues to sustain its work on behalf of anglers, boaters and aquatic resources while having the least possible negative impact on participation and sales." Twenty other senators agreed and joined them as sponsors of the bill.
That explanation is a great summary of both what we need to do and what we intend to do with the authority from SB 1168. We are not a for-profit business. But as a government business, we need to use the revenue we receive from customer sales to provide the goods and services that our anglers and boaters expect.
The rest of the board of commissioners and I are committed to using a thoughtful, deliberate approach to setting fees that accounts for inflation since the last license increase in 2005, anticipates changing demographics, recognizes sales data patterns and anticipates modest, incremental increases to keep up with rising costs — all while attempting to minimize the long-term impacts to our customers.
Unfortunately, the current system of setting fees results in larger increases that tend to drive people away from the sport. SB 1168 would give us the ability to set prices to correspond with the costs of doing business over time, rather than having to repeatedly ask the Legislature for big increases needed to catch up since the last increase.
These decisions would be made following a transparent, public process that allows for anglers and boaters to express their opinions to us about any proposed fee changes. In addition to retaining existing checks and balances, SB 1168 would give the Legislature the ability to disapprove any proposal.
The state Senate passed SB 1168 in June, and it is before the House of Representatives for consideration when lawmakers return to Harrisburg this month.
If you are like me and want to see the Fish and Boat Commission continue to protect the water quality of our streams, rivers and lakes and the health of the fish that live in them; produce approximately 3.2 million trout annually; stock millions of other cool and warm-water fish; ensure safe and legal fishing and boating practices; and offer improved access to waters throughout Pennsylvania, please ask your state representative to support SB 1168 as a way to establish a sustainable future for fishing and boating in Pennsylvania.
This year, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of our agency. Senate Bill 1168 can help to ensure that fishing and boating thrive for another 150 years in Pennsylvania.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Glade E. Squires of Downingtown is District 8 Commissioner for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The district comprises Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill counties.
Link to source: http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-fishing-license-boat-fees-squires-yv-20160905-story.html
Glade E. Squires: A reasonable approach to fishing, boating fees
As a commissioner for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, I value and am proud of the unparalleled water resources and recreational opportunities that abound here in southeastern Pennsylvania. From Antietam Reservoir and Leaser Lake to the Lehigh, Schuylkill and Delaware rivers and many other places that we all know and love, it is hard to beat a day on the water.
The same can be said all across the commonwealth. Each year, an estimated 1.1 million anglers and over 3 million boaters enjoy Pennsylvania's more than 86,000 miles of streams and rivers and nearly 4,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Our water resources generate an estimated $1.2 billion annually in fishing-related expenditures while creating lasting memories with families and friends.
Senate Bill 1168 offers a way to sustain the tradition of fishing and boating in Pennsylvania by authorizing the Fish and Boat Commission to establish its fees in a business-like approach to meeting its costs while minimizing the impact on the angling and boating public.
Under the current system, we see sales and participation drop after fees are increased in large sums by the Legislature after several years to account for rising costs over time. In addition to hurting the sport and the local, regional and statewide economic engines it drives, this boom-and-bust cycle compromises our ability to serve the residents and visitors to Pennsylvania. Our agency receives no general fund revenues, so when participation drops, fewer people are being asked to support a larger part of the costs of serving all anglers, boaters and aquatic resources.
Sens. John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and John Wozniak (D-Cambria) summed it up best in their bipartisan memo explaining SB 1168: "As an independent administrative agency that is not supported by General Fund revenues and relies on user fees to pay for almost everything it does, the PFBC has a vested business interest in setting a fee structure that generates sufficient revenues to sustain its work on behalf of anglers, boaters and aquatic resources while having the least possible negative impact on participation and sales." Twenty other senators agreed and joined them as sponsors of the bill.
That explanation is a great summary of both what we need to do and what we intend to do with the authority from SB 1168. We are not a for-profit business. But as a government business, we need to use the revenue we receive from customer sales to provide the goods and services that our anglers and boaters expect.
The rest of the board of commissioners and I are committed to using a thoughtful, deliberate approach to setting fees that accounts for inflation since the last license increase in 2005, anticipates changing demographics, recognizes sales data patterns and anticipates modest, incremental increases to keep up with rising costs — all while attempting to minimize the long-term impacts to our customers.
Unfortunately, the current system of setting fees results in larger increases that tend to drive people away from the sport. SB 1168 would give us the ability to set prices to correspond with the costs of doing business over time, rather than having to repeatedly ask the Legislature for big increases needed to catch up since the last increase.
These decisions would be made following a transparent, public process that allows for anglers and boaters to express their opinions to us about any proposed fee changes. In addition to retaining existing checks and balances, SB 1168 would give the Legislature the ability to disapprove any proposal.
The state Senate passed SB 1168 in June, and it is before the House of Representatives for consideration when lawmakers return to Harrisburg this month.
If you are like me and want to see the Fish and Boat Commission continue to protect the water quality of our streams, rivers and lakes and the health of the fish that live in them; produce approximately 3.2 million trout annually; stock millions of other cool and warm-water fish; ensure safe and legal fishing and boating practices; and offer improved access to waters throughout Pennsylvania, please ask your state representative to support SB 1168 as a way to establish a sustainable future for fishing and boating in Pennsylvania.
This year, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of our agency. Senate Bill 1168 can help to ensure that fishing and boating thrive for another 150 years in Pennsylvania.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Glade E. Squires of Downingtown is District 8 Commissioner for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The district comprises Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill counties.
Link to source: http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-fishing-license-boat-fees-squires-yv-20160905-story.html
franklin
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2009
- Messages
- 4,660
I can't support this until they show me where the money is going.
ryansheehan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2015
- Messages
- 2,520
Glade E. Squires: A reasonable approach to fishing, boating fees
LOL!
LOL!
bikerfish
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 29, 2009
- Messages
- 3,639
into their pockets!!!!!
foxtrapper1972
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
- Messages
- 2,455
With a name like Glade Squires he should be the president of the polo and yacht club....
Man that is a blue blood, elite name if I ever heard one!
I bet he only fishes chalk streams with a ghillie and wears tweed.
Man that is a blue blood, elite name if I ever heard one!
I bet he only fishes chalk streams with a ghillie and wears tweed.
laszlo
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2012
- Messages
- 974
I think that last comment caused him to resign.
steveo27
Member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2014
- Messages
- 919
LOL
foxtrapper1972
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
- Messages
- 2,455
Glad to be of service!
