Division of Wildlife budget in crosshairs: An Interview with Sen. Tim Grendell

Editor's Note: The following is a follow-up to an op-ed we published earlier this week, entitled "Senate Republicans take aim at Ohio Division of Wildlife."

By Larry S. Moore

After publishing my first op-ed on the subject of budget changes impacting the Ohio Division of Wildlife, I contacted Republican Senator Tim Grendell's office to get his position regarding the free landowner deer permits that are a sticking point in the budget bill.

Before I relay my conversation, it is incumbent upon me to say that gun owners should recognize Senator Grendell as a staunch conservative supporter of our rights.

During our conversation, Senator Grendell observed that "the license is free today but that doesn't mean it will be free tomorrow. I am not willing to go down that road. I want to ensure that landowners will continue to be able to hunt on their land without being charged.

"I believe we have addressed the issues to allow landowner reporting for the 2011 system using an address to report their deer harvest in the budget bill," he said.

I noted to the Senator that the Division of Wildlife has a good track record for keeping their word to constituents, which include the landowners. Senator Grendell added, "That is prior to the modern movement of Governor Strickland shifting the burden of ODNR to fees and permit increases. He is taking the move from a general revenue based system to a "pay to play" system to an entire new level. I don't like it."

We also discussed the Division projected cost figures to operate the old system specifically to meet the requirements of landowner reporting. Senator Grendell said, "I've not seen any specific costs or data to back up those costs. I don't believe the ($1.2 to $1.5 million) cost factors. If the current concern is reporting deer harvest, I believe a solution is in the budget bill."

The Senator concluded, "Keeping landowner licenses free should not be a big deal. It is part of the privilege and right of being a landowner with 200 plus year history of case law that goes back to 16th Century England law regarding migratory animals, ownership and public trust laws. The landowner rights and the public trust factors do merge. I am working to protect the landowner rights."

I appreciate Senator Grendell's time to discuss the issue. However, on this point I will continue to have a different view.

I firmly believe it is unreasonable to expect the Division of Wildlife to operate a dual reporting system or to make expensive design alterations to the new system. At a time when cuts in state government are the norm, imposing additional overhead to any agency, regardless of the final dollar amount, does not seem the best course of action. I call on Governor Strickland and ODNR Director Sean Logan to publically assure the General Assembly and Ohio landowners that the administration will ensure the deer permits continue to be free.

The best course of action appears to be to remove the language dealing with the Division of Wildlife from the budget bill (HB 1). Let the Division and sportsmen return to the legislature with a separate bill. This approach will provide the time to examine all solutions, detail the cost impacts to the sportsmen and engage in a calm debate without the imposed deadline of the budget bill.

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.

The members of the conference committee that will settle differences between the House and Senate versions of HB1 are:

• Chairman Rep. Vern Sykes (D-Akron)
• Rep. Jay Goyal (D-Mansfield)
• Rep. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster)
• Sen. John Carey (R-Wellston)
• Sen. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo)
• Sen. Dale Mille (D-Cleveland)

Contact them today and encourage them to remove the language that deals with the Division of Wildlife, including language that says the landowner doesn't have to obtain the free deer permit, language that deals with letting grandkids of out-of-state
land owners hunt for free, and language on giving free licenses to Ohio National Guard members (this free license, in addition to the lost license fee, will also result in approx. $6 of lost Pittman-Robertson federal matching money for the Division.)