Senate Republicans take aim at Ohio Division of Wildlife

By Larry S. Moore

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has experienced a number of budget issues and continued cuts. Curiously some of the more serious cuts came at the hands of Senate Republicans and were made in areas that are self-funded.

The Division of Wildlife and Division of Watercraft are two ODNR Divisions that are self-funded. Both have found themselves unexpectedly in the crosshairs of Senate Republicans under the guise of budget cuts. In reality, there is nothing about budget cuts involved despite what the Republican sound bites of "doing more with less in government" may say.

The Division of Wildlife is in the process of developing and fielding a new web-based license sales, deer check and customer system. This system will replace the current license system which is antiquated and experiencing high equipment maintenance costs.

The automated deer check process is at the heart of one part of the budget bill. The new deer check concept is that a successful hunter can call in via cell phone, traditional land line or use the Internet to record the deer harvest. By providing a deer permit number, the successful hunter will also receive a deer check number. The deer check number is tied to the hunter via the permit number. This change means that landowners, who currently are not required to have a deer permit will now be required to obtain a free permit. The Division is on record stating the permit will continue to be free. After meetings with the farming community organizations, the Farm Bureau and the Ohio Farmers Union, they agreed to support the concept because it makes it easier for the landowner to check harvested game.

However, House Republicans successfully blocked the requirement that land owners be required to obtain a free deer permit. The Senate was supposed to put the original language back into the bill, but when House Bill 1 passed the Senate it was again stripped. The current rumor has it that the conference committee will restore the language. Quite frankly, I don't trust the General Assembly or conference committee to accomplish that mission.

What the change means is that the Division of Wildlife will be forced to maintain the antiquated deer check system solely for the use of landowners. Landowners must supply their tag and drive to a check station to record a deer harvest. This wastes both time and fuel for the landowner. The impact to the Division of Wildlife is in the range of $1.2 to $1.5 million dollars annually. Of course no additional funding was provided in HB 1 to cover the increased cost. This means that the cost will effectively be paid by the hunters and deer hunters who are required to purchase licenses and tags. The cost is not being paid by the landowners. Since the Division of Wildlife has no plans to increase costs, it means reductions in other programs or services. Personally, if the Division must cut costs perhaps they could levy fees for the private lands biologists that work with farmers.

An additional point of interest involves an amendment offered by Jason Wilson (D-30) to provide free hunting licenses to members of the Ohio National Guard. I certainly want to support our Guard members, many of whom have been financially impacted during the war on terrorism. It is rather difficult to argue against providing an additional benefit to our Guard. However, I must ask why would we want to give away funding from a self-funded agency? Once again, no money was allocated to replace the lost revenue to the Division of Wildlife.

I've talked to two guard members who said they would willingly continue to purchase their hunting/fishing licenses. They recognize the value of the conservation services of the Division of Wildlife. This is likely a rather small impact. The Division of Wildlife really does not know how many Ohio National Guard Members hunt and fish. There are 17,000 active Ohio National Guard Members (ONG). If 20% of ONG members fish and hunt, the Division will lose $500,000 in revenue which includes federal aid money from Pittman-Robertson and Dingle-Johnson taxes.

The Division of Wildlife receives no taxpayer or General Revenue Funds (GRF). Additionally, requiring the Division to maintain and operate an antiquated check system solely for the benefit of the landowners does not make sense. Actually, I have to wonder why landowners should not purchase licenses and tags like the rest of the hunting community. I can accept they hunt for free, even though under our system they do not own the wildlife.

As you can see, the changes above have nothing to do with reducing the size of government or the tax burden to Ohio citizens. Quite the opposite, they are requiring approximately $1.5 to $2 million in additional cost to the Division. The changes are also placing unfunded mandates on the Division in the case of the free licenses. Neither situation has anything to do with reducing nor balancing the state budget. In fact, they are making it worse for the Division of Wildlife.

Please contact your State Representative and Senator requesting they help fix the Division of Wildlife budget issue and protect the sportsmen dollars that funds the agency.

Outdoor writer and hunter education instructor Larry S. Moore is a long-time volunteer leader for Buckeye Firearms Association and winner of the 2005 USSA Patriot Award and 2007 League of Ohio Sportsmen/Ohio Wildlife Federation Hunter Educator of the Year.

Additional Information:
Senate budget bill makes hit on ODNR