Georgia sportsmen and state programs they depend upon are about to be slammed in the wallet! Their recreation activities will be negatively impacted by threatened cuts in the Georgia Department of Natural Resource (DNR) budget. Although potential shutdown of some state parks due to cutbacks has drawn substantial press attention, little has been mentioned about the many hunting and fishing programs and services provided by DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division that are in danger of losing funding.

Cuts being considered include:
Closure of one out of every five Wildlife Management Areas throughout the state. Wildlife Management Areas provide excellent habitat for many species and are used by all types of outdoor enthusiasts.
Shutdown of one of the three state trout hatcheries. This hatchery raises one-third of the trout stocked in Georgia’s trout streams.
Elimination of 28 Wildlife Ranger positions. Wildlife Rangers protect landowners against trespassers, road hunters and other poachers.

Yet these reductions are being considered despite the fact that WRD programs are largely self-sufficient – paid for by sportsmen.

For example, two-thirds of the funding that goes to the Wildlife Resources Division for the management of wildlife comes from sportsmen who purchase hunting and fishing licenses and pay boat registration fees. Only one-third comes from other sources. Sportsmen have been paying for conservation funding in Georgia since the 1930s.

In 1987 sportsmen supported an increase in hunting and fishing license fees that resulted in $4.5 million annually to purchase land for Wildlife Management Areas and Public Fishing Areas. Thirty million dollars in bonds were sold to buy 60,000 acres of land. These 20-year bonds were paid off in 2007 but the $4.5 million dollars generated annually from the 1987 license increase still flow into the State Treasury.

In addition, changes in the hunting and fishing license system beginning in January 2009 – a new computerized license system -- will result in an increase of $800,000 in new money each year to the State Treasury. Moreover, this new system will result in a loss of salaried WRD positions saving the state an additional $300,000. Savings totaling $1.1 million result from this program change alone.

In June of this year the reciprocal fishing and hunting license agreement with Florida was terminated. This will result in a $500,000+ increase in out-of-state license sales that will go into our State Treasury each year starting this deer season.

Thus, sportsmen continue to fund WRD almost entirely, totaling $6.1 million annually from these three sources alone – making WRD one of the few nearly self-sufficient divisions in all of State government -- this reality has been completely ignored in the request for budget cuts.

“Sportsmen urgently need to contact their state legislators to let them know that sportsmen have made a huge contribution towards the management of wildlife in Georgia through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses, boat registrations, and excise tax on equipment purchases,” says Glenn Dowling, Executive Vice President of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, “To make such deep cuts to important hunting and fishing services and programs paid for by sportsmen is unfair and will result in a loss of areas enjoyed by many Georgians. Sportsmen need to speak up now because the cuts are underway.”

The Georgia Wildlife Federation is Georgia's oldest and largest conservation organization, and is the state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. More than 50,000 members of GWF include bird watchers, hunters, anglers, educators, gardeners, hikers – a diverse group of individuals united by conservation concerns and compassion for the environment.