Utah Non-Resident Fishin' License $120.00

[tt600]

Which is why Utah need to make a $40 border waters license. Because precisely zero of the Powell only fishermen will buy the $120 version.

 

[Coho975]

And I’d still like to know what Utah does to support the fishery. I’m sure it’s things I’m just not seeing.

Well, Wayne, Dan and many others at LP are (were) employees of the state of UT. I would say they have made many contributions to maintaining a world class fishery....

 

[Hillbilly]

I don't mind paying 100+ per year for many days on the water or in the field hunting. One day of golf or snow skiing will cost that. If you go a lot, it is cheap entertainment.

 

[Ryan]

Well, Wayne, Dan and many others at LP are (were) employees of the state of UT. I would say they have made many contributions to maintaining a world class fishery....

I was thinking Wayne was NPS. Apologies there.

 

[DVexile]

A question we should all be asking before being ok with higher fishing license fees is if those fees, once collected are fungible to the rest of the states budget.

In Utah they are not. And in fact can’t even be spent by the DWR on non-game resources, they use general funds for those:

Division of Wildlife Resources financial overview

The Utah DWR has several funding sources that are used to support its programs. Many of these programs support wildlife species that are pursued by hunters and anglers, while others support non-game species.

wildlife.utah.gov

 

[Stuart Hepworth]

If licenses were governed by the NPS or by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, you can bet that UDWR employees like Wayne and Ryan would not be employed and working on Lake Powell any more. So, what do they do? Any of the bait fish sampling in the summer and fall gillnet sampling would end and specific knowledge of trends in fish populations would also probably be not as well known as they are now. I am surprised that people who spend big bucks to travel to the lake and spend considerable time on the lake are balking at a fee increase. To me, the license fees are money well spent considering the other costs. But, I am a Utah resident and my fishing license is used throughout the year. I just spent $50 or so bucks on 3 Wyoming day licenses and was considering the yearly license. To me, the cost of recreating out of state to fish is peanuts considering the value of the potential experience...

 

[tt600]

I agree that Utah does miles better than surrounding states in overall fisheries management. But that isn’t going to make people buy the $120 licenses over the $55 ones.

 

[Ryan]

In Utah they are not. And in fact can’t even be spent by the DWR on non-game resources, they use general funds for those:

Division of Wildlife Resources financial overview

The Utah DWR has several funding sources that are used to support its programs. Many of these programs support wildlife species that are pursued by hunters and anglers, while others support non-game species.

wildlife.utah.gov

I’m glad that’s the case. It’s supposed to be in my home state as well, yet that somehow includes wolf reintroduction as well as a new gun control scheme. I hope Utah maintains their charter here.