License Fees Increase

[Kusko]

Welcome to huntchat AlaskaBoy! I agree with you that we do get a lot of bang for our buck, especially considering what I used to pay in Wisconsin. An increase isn't going to bother me too much as long as it is going to a worthy cause.

To be quite honest, a fair number of people who live in villages rarely turn in harvest reports and a few never purchase a hunting license. In fact, our local ADFG office had a raffle of gifts for those folks in our area who turned in their harvest reports. The gifts were donations from local businesses.

For instance, you can look up harvest reports on the ADFG website and find out the caribou harvest based on city or village. In the village of Napaskiak, which is in prime caribou country for 4 months of the year, we only had 4 people turn in their harvest reports. I'd be willing to bet that village kills between 500-700 caribou a season.

So, what I was trying to say before I jumped on my soapbox is that the money needs to go toward worthy causes such as in increased return for harvest reports and more accurate data. I would also like to see the permit system revamped or at least modified. I believe firmly that some folks deserve permits if they've been applying for 20 years.