How much money does your state take in during deer season? The short answer is “lots,” but the long answer is one that I’ve yet to see anyone really break down with much validity.
Yes, we know deer hunting is a multi-billion-a-year business in America. And, yes, we know the economic impact is critical for wildlife management efforts. Yet, we usually just see some numbers (billions of dollars) and say, “wow,” and move on with our day. Here’s a call for at least one mathematician and one really good journalist (with time on their hands to do open-records requests) to get to the nitty-gritty bottom line of all of it.
I’ll use today’s brief blog post to get you started. I hope it triggers you to want to know more about your state.
News of our Missouri today tells us that Missourians spent $13.3 million this year on deer permits ALONE. As of last week, they bought 810,000+ permits, and the season doesn’t end until mid-January. That’s just permits. What I’d like to know is exactly (and I mean down to the penny) where that $13.3 million is going. Yes, there’s wildlife biologist salaries to pay and lights to turn on in state buildings, but what are the residents actually getting for that $1.1 million-a-month stipend?
Same goes for Wisconsin. In the Badger State, hunters bought 795,072 licenses for a total of approximately $25.7 million. Same here, the season goes for nearly a month yet. Wisconsin attracted 745,672 resident deer hunters plus 36,400 nonresident gun hunters and 13,000+ nonresident bowhunters. A DNR friend once told me the breakdown in Wisconsin went something like this: 57% to “fish and wildlife,” 24% to customer service, and 19% to law enforcement. Seems simple enough? Maybe, but I’d really like to see the minutia here. Line item stuff.
Maybe that’s asking for a bit too much, but as one of the “business owners” (tax payers), I don’t think that’s too much to ask. And I really think everyone should be asking these same questions. It doesn’t matter if your state is bringing in $5 million, $13 million or $25 million. These aren’t number to sneeze at. If anything, we would get a much clearer picture as to who’s not pulling their weight when it comes to managing our natural resources (be that fellow taxpayers or government bodies).
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