Voluntary Fishing Permits

[afishinado]

Article detailing the dollar amounts of voluntary fishing permits sold in 2019 plus how some of the funds are being spent in 2020.

Points of interest about the wild trout fund from the article >

All told, the plan is to spend $127,600 of the money raised this year on 14 projects this year. The commission will use the remaining $2,250 to money raised this year for projects in 2021

The wild trout and enhanced waters permit brought in the most revenue, about 45 percent of the total. That’s not necessarily surprising given that it costs more than twice the others, said Andy Shiels, deputy director for field operations for the commission.

The commission is putting wild trout funds into, among other things, eliminating culvert blockages in wild trout streams, so that fish can spread out and spawn in more places. That’s been a national emphasis in recent years, Shiels said.

“So this is our first toes in the stream, specifically for this type of project,” he added.

Link to article > https://adventures.everybodyshops.com/voluntary-fishing-permits-sell/?fbclid=IwAR2AZliaD6Qjkc5N-SwM2m641Dx1QJ71eVXss0F2hyB2d7_bUBKLQlNbzY4

 

[RLeep2]

>>The question was whether anglers would willingly support any or all of them.

As it turns out, they did. More than 7,000 anglers bought permits, generating $129,850 in new revenue.>>

If these numbers are indicative of "support", I'm the King of Denmark. Which I'm not..

What is that, roughly 1% of license buyers bought any of the voluntary permits at all?

Pretty anemic and pretty sad, IMO.

Oh well, I guess this one of those times when the glass has to be viewed as half full. Could have been worse.

 

[D-nymph]

I bought one & am happy to give an extra $10.

 

[Bamboozle]

RLeep2 wrote:
>>The question was whether anglers would willingly support any or all of them.

As it turns out, they did. More than 7,000 anglers bought permits, generating $129,850 in new revenue.>>

If these numbers are indicative of "support", I'm the King of Denmark. Which I'm not..

What is that, roughly 1% of license buyers bought any of the voluntary permits at all?

Pretty anemic and pretty sad, IMO.

Oh well, I guess this one of those times when the glass has to be viewed as half full. Could have been worse.

While I am not a supporter of "Voluntary Permit" program, I and I am sure a bunch of others throughout the state support the PFBC through other donation programs and in my case I have been for close to 20 years.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Why withhold $2,250.00 for 2021? Sounds like money that will somehow disappear to another cause.

 

[afishinado]

PennypackFlyer wrote:
Why withhold $2,250.00 for 2021? Sounds like money that will somehow disappear to another cause.

FBC allocates the money they receive from the prior year since they cannot predict the total dollars contributed until the year ends.

So if they collect say $150,000 in 2020, they would have $152,250 ($2250 unspent from last year) to allocate in 2021 to special projects for each individual fund.

No slight of hand there that I can see. A solid, fiscally responsible way of conducting business, IMO.

 

[Dave_W]

It's a good program and I bought two of the permits.

I'm pleased to see the PFBC has had some positive reaction to this.

 

[govtmule]

i bought extra permits too....just dont by your pack of Newports and support the fishery....jeez man

 

[PennKev]

PennypackFlyer wrote:
Why withhold $2,250.00 for 2021? Sounds like money that will somehow disappear to another cause.

Would you rather they just waste the $2,250 for the sake of spending all the funds collected?

 

[SteveG]

I'm glad to see the money being put to good cause, but it's really a shame that that's all they sold... Ironically I was chatting with a guy today about fishing, and the first thing he said in regard to trout was he stopped to buying a trout permit once they started raising the prices. Luckily the culture as a whole is slowly evolving.

 

[Prospector]

I bought the 3 year Wild Trout Permit. Not sure why it’s deemed “3 year” since it really isn’t time boxed. Maybe something like Gold, Silver and Bronze level donations makes more sense.

Really all that matters is the money ends up improving the waters in our state. I remember that many people were very concerned if the money would be spent wisely. Sounded like many of those folks decided to sit out this first round and then carefully assess if they should jump in this year. Without really knowing what to expect, I like the initial projects that were selected.

 

[silverfox]

I bought again this year. Glad this is working! IMO, $100,000 + in sales of a voluntary conservation permit is a success. It's $100,000 + more than they would have had and some of those projects probably wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the extra funds.

 

[Swattie87]

This is something I was quite critical of last year...Not for the premise or its intent, but for the lack of transparency in its delivery.

Good job PFBC for letting us peak behind the curtain of the finances and see where the money went. I already bought my license, but will go back in and add the WT stamp.

Edit: Buying two to make up for last year.

 

[Fredrick]

RLeep2 wrote:
>>The question was whether anglers would willingly support any or all of them.

As it turns out, they did. More than 7,000 anglers bought permits, generating $129,850 in new revenue.>>

If these numbers are indicative of "support", I'm the King of Denmark. Which I'm not..

What is that, roughly 1% of license buyers bought any of the voluntary permits at all?

Pretty anemic and pretty sad, IMO.

Oh well, I guess this one of those times when the glass has to be viewed as half full. Could have been worse.

I think there could be possibly allot more participation this year , since anglers are now shown that this program wasn't a shell game.

 

[afishinado]

Swattie87 wrote:
This is something I was quite critical of last year...Not for the premise or its intent, but for the lack of transparency in its delivery.

Good job PFBC for letting us peak behind the curtain of the finances and see where the money went. I already bought my license, but will go back in and add the WT stamp.

Edit: Buying two to make up for last year.

^ Very good.

Last year you stated your reasons for being hesitant in participating and you stuck to your guns.

Now, after more info has been shared and you are satisfied your money is being spent in the right place, you plan to participate fully.

So, what you wrote last year weren't just words.

Your intentions and reasons for waiting were sincere and you have proven you are a man of your word.

Good stuff.

 

[moon1284]

I'm not a PA resident. I'll probably fish in PA a total of less than 10 days this year. With that said before I fished the CV a couple weeks ago I bought a full year non res license, trout stamp, and wild trout permit. It cost around 90 bucks. And if I wanted to fish for steelhead I'd have to pay more. On top of that I get a launch permit for my drift boat every two years.

NY is a state that does a lot if things backwards but a non res license that is good for a year from the date you bought it costs 50 bucks. And nothing extra for trout or steelhead. And no launch permit needed for my drift boat.

I think PA is very overpriced for non resident anglers and because of that I'd be willing to be a large percent of non residents dont bother getting licenses.

 

[RLeep2]

Well, I hope participation increases this year and entices some of the folks who were previously skeptical about the permits. That would be good.

I also wouldn't mind a new stamp, the proceeds from which would be used to give a number of members of the state legislature a one way ticket to Cape Canaveral to get in on the ground floor of the first all-legislator manned mission to Neptune. Their intransigence and coveting of power over the levers of fish policy is in my mind, at least a significant portion of the reason the Commission had to explore the voluntary permit option.

Given that, I'd buy several of the new permits, just to show my support...

 

[tomgamber]

I THINK I REMEMBER IDAHO NON-RES BEING ABOUT 100 BUCKS. I ALSO REMEMBER BEING ABLE TO BUY A NON RES FISHING /HUNTING LICENSE FOR A LITTLE OVER 200.

I like these voluntary "permits". If you care and have the means, its an easy way to give in a specific way. If you either don't care or don't have the means you don't have to.

I wouldn't be opposed to an overall increase but its an interesting alternative.

 

[timmyt2]

What streams did they spend the money on and what were the individual projects completed? Saying they spent it on culvert removal is nice but it really doesnt tell me anything.

 

[D-nymph]

Wyoming non resident 7 day fishing license, $100.