Wisconsin Assembly approves bill to hike hunting and fishing license fees for out-of-state residents

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• The Wisconsin Assembly unanimously passed a bill to raise hunting, fishing and trapping license fees for out-of-state residents.
• The bill, which was sent to the Senate for consideration, aims to address a deficit in the state's fish and wildlife account.
• The Department of Natural Resources estimates the fee adjustments would generate approximately $780,000 annually.

The Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would raise a variety of hunting, fishing and trapping license fees for out-of-state residents to help shrink a deficit in the state's fish and wildlife account.

The Assembly passed the legislation 97-0, sending it to the Senate.

The state Department of Natural Resources estimated the changes would generate about $780,000 more annually for the account, which funds a variety of projects ranging from fish stocking to wildlife surveys.

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The account is built largely on license fee revenue. But years of waning interest in outdoor activities has led to a projected $16 million deficit in the account heading into the state's next two-year budget period.

Two whitetail deer are seen in the Wyomissing Parklands on Nov. 19, 2020. The Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill on Thursday that would raise a variety of hunting, fishing and trapping license fees for out-of-state residents to help shrink a deficit in the state's fish and wildlife account. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Republican lawmakers raised nonresident deer hunting licenses by $40 to $200, nonresident hunting and fishing license fees by $5 and nonresident combination licenses by $20 in the state budget that Gov. Tony Evers signed in the summer.

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The license increases in the bill range from a $1 increase on a nonresident two-day sports fishing license to a $5,750 increase for a nonresident commercial fishing license. The Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill that would raise nonresident bow and crossbow hunting license fees by $35 to $200, sending the measure to the Senate. The broader bill approved Thursday includes that increase as well.