Originally Posted by
bullseye_62
I pay $165 for a conservation patron license and I know I'm not the only one, so if we could decrease the hunting population by even half
then that would be a huge $$ amount and that would get some people to turn some heads. Anyone else been hearing these kind of conversations and if so what is your opinion?
I normally buy a Patrons license too. I was under the impression that the "lets not buy a license" wind had stopped blowing.
The reality is the DNR has a fixed budget set by the joint finance committee. License sales do not effect the DNR's operating budget since it goes into the states general fund. It is not uncommon for license salses to vary by 40,000 annually if you combine all deer, small game, and fishing licenses. If 20,000 deer hunters decide not to hunt, and not buy a license ... it would barely be noticed. On the positive side, there may be a few more deer around the following year.
All in all, a win win for the deer, and the remaining diehard deer hunters.
JMHO