Raleigh – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced on June 13 that there will be an increase to fees for hunting, fishing, trapping and activity licenses, permits, stamps and certifications. These fee increases will go into effect Monday, July 1.
The Wildlife Resources Commission said the fee increases are based on the total increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers since the last fee increase, which was on Jan. 1, 2020. The increase will help the agency with operating costs that have increased due to inflation and an increase in demand for its services.
The sale of licenses, vessel titles and registrations, federal grants, general fund appropriations and other receipts are where the Wildlife Resources Commission gets their funding. The funds are used to support agency programs focused on species management and habitat enhancement, as well as enforcement, education and public access.
Cost increases
Kyle Briggs, chief deputy director of the Wildlife Resources Commission, said inflation has been a big factor.
“Inflation has dramatically increased the cost of goods and services over the last few years, and the MCWRC has not been immune to those cost increases. While our staff has done a great job stretching every dollar, we were now at the point where we had to raise fees or cut services,” Briggs said.
Wildlife law enforcement will continue to check for valid licenses on hunters, anglers and trappers, and will cite individuals who violate the license requirements amid the increase to license fee, Briggs said. He also mentioned exceptions to license requirements, which can be found online at eregulations.com/northcarolina/fishing/license-information.
At the April 18 Wildlife Resources Commission meeting, commissioners discussed and broke down the fee increases. They also had the results from public comments from Feb. 8.
There were 13 total respondents with the options of: Support, Do Not Support and No Preference:
- 10 of the respondents said they do not support the fee increases, which is 77 percent of those that voted.
- 15 percent, or 2 respondents, said they have no preference.
- Only one of 13 respondents said they support the fee increases.
One of the public commenters said they support the fee increase for guide licenses, but not for lifetime youth licenses.
“For guide fees, I do support increased cost. I would like to see the WRC take further action on guide requirements across the state… regarding hunting license fees for Residents, we should not increase the cost of annual or lifetime license.
We have a hunter recruitment problem, and a barrier to entry being this cost will impact younger hunters from joining,” they said.
“The lifetime children/infant licenses should never increase. I’m disappointed by my recent infant N.C. Lifetime license (purchased last year for my son) as the digital new ways of operating results in less tangibles like a certification, etc.
“Gifting of a lifetime license for youth should be the last area increases should be considered.”
How much more?
Briggs said the increase is almost 19 percent.
“The N.C. General Assembly gave the NCWRC the ability to increase fees based on the total increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) since the last fee increase,” Briggs said.
“Our commissioners have tried to balance increasing fees every year versus a slightly larger increase less frequently. The combination of 4 years since the last increase and high inflation during that time resulted in an increase of 18.75 percent, rounded up to the nearest whole dollar.”
At the April 18 meeting, they provided the proposed price increases.
- The Resident Annual Combination Hunting and Inland Fishing License will increase from $35 to $42.
- Resident Disabled Veteran Lifetime Combinations, as well as Resident Totally Disabled Lifetime Combination hunting and inland fishing licenses, will increase from $11 to $14.
- The annual Sportsman License will increase from $53 to $63.
- The Adult Resident Lifetime Sportsman License will increase from $530 to $630.
- Infant Lifetime SportsmanLicense will increase from $212 to $252.
- The Youth Lifetime Sportsman License from $371 to $441.
- Resident State Hunting License will increase from $25 to $30.
- Lifetime Resident Comprehensive Hunting License increasing from $265 to $315.
- Resident Big Game Hunting License will increase from $14 to $17.
- Bear Management Stamp will increase from $11 to $14.
- Game Land License will increase from $16 to $19.
- Resident State Trapping License will increase from $32 to $38.
- Resident Lifetime Trapping License will increase from $300 to $375.
- Resident State Inland Fishing License will increase from $25 to $30.
- Lifetime Resident Comprehensive Inland Fishing License will increase from $265 to $315.
- Nonresident State Inland Fishing License will see a $9 increase to $54.
- Resident 10-day Inland Fishing License will see a $2 increase to $11.
- Taxidermy License will increase from $50 to $60.
- Taxidermy Cervid Certification increasing to $6.
- Annual Resident Unified Sportsman/Coastal Recreation Fishing License will increase from $69 to $82.
- Annual Resident Coastal Recreation Fishing License will increase from $16 to $19.
- 10-day Resident Coastal Recreation Fishing License will increase from $6 to $8.
Details: Visit ncwildlife.org/about/wrc-agenda-package-2024-04-18-v3/download?attachment