Post by Boudreaux on Dec 19, 2008 13:56:30 GMT -5
Dear Camo Member,
Our goal is to keep you informed of issues facing Georgia sportsmen and our natural resources. Please see the article below published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We hope it is of service to you.
Jerry L. McCollum,
President and CEO
Georgia Wildlife Federation
BUDGET UNFAIR TO SPORTSMEN
By Jimmy Jacobs, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's no secret that times are tough all around these days. Gov. Sonny Perdue has told department heads to give him three budget proposals for next year, reflecting cuts of 6, 8 and 10 percent. That mandate applies to the Department of Natural Resources. One of those budgets is expected to end up in front of the General Assembly next month.
Of course, we all want to do our part for fiscal responsibility, but for Georgia hunters and fishermen, it may feel more like dealing with a pickpocket.
Over the last decade, when the state was building up surpluses that eventually reached $1.6 billion, the DNR's budget was cut on a regular basis.
Now, in bad times, even more is being asked. But there are a few details that the politicians prefer not to dwell upon.
According to the Georgia Wildlife Federation, two-thirds of DNR wildlife and fisheries programs are funded directly by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and boat permits. Only one-third comes from the general treasury.
Fairness would dictate that the budget cuts only apply to treasury funds.
But there's more. Back in 1987, sportsmen supported the issuance of $30 million in state bonds to purchase 60,000 acres of public lands. The cost of hunting and fishing licenses was increased to provide $4.5 million per year to pay interest and principal on those bonds.
The bonds were retired in 2007. So what's happened to those sportsmen's millions since then? The money goes into the general treasury, while wildlife and fisheries get little in return.
Last June, Georgia ended some hunting and fishing license reciprocal agreements with Florida. That change promises to bring in an estimated $500,000 annually from increased fees on nonresident hunters and anglers.
A new hunting and fishing license sales system goes into effect in January, with that function handled by a private firm. Sportsmen will pay an extra $3 or so per license to that company as a service charge.
At the same time, the state will save $300,000 by eliminating the staff that used to run the program. Also, the government will save about $800,000 in commissions it had been paying to sporting goods outlets that formerly sold the licenses around the state.
The bottom line is that hunters and anglers will be providing roughly $6.1 million more to the state budget next year than they did during the good times.
In return, the DNR budget again will be cut. That translates into the possible loss of as many as one of every eight conservation officers that enforce the hunting and fishing laws, as well as eliminating jobs for up to 26 wildlife or fisheries technicians.
Additionally, wildlife management areas on federal land could be closed.
Conspicuously absent from these budget cuts are any funds from Perdue's Go Fish Georgia initiative. That $19 million program is building 18 mega-sized boat ramps around the state, as well as the Go Fish Georgia Center at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry.
On Tuesday, the governor announced that the mega-ramp at Laurel Park on Lake Lanier will be the site of the FLW Outdoors Forrest Wood Cup bass tournament in 2010, with a purse of $2.5 million. This event could have a $20 million economic impact on the area. Similarly, the Go Fish Georgia Center is expected to have a $6.3 million annual impact on Middle Georgia.
The numbers sound great for the economy and tourism, but how do they benefit the average angler? Those dollars won't likely end up in fish and wildlife programs.
Eventually there will be 18 giant new boat ramps around Georgia that are designed for use by professional-level bass tournaments, such as the FLW event. But do weekend fishermen need such large facilities? More smaller ramps on more lakes and expanded parking lots at existing ones would be of more use to average anglers.
According to David Waller, the reasoning behind what to cut and what to keep remains a mystery. Waller formerly was director of the DNR's Wildlife Resources Division and now does volunteer work with the Georgia Wildlife Federation's Camo Coalition, a grass-roots lobbying network.
"Nobody knows what is going on or how the decisions are being made," he said. "When a business makes cuts, they usually look at the income vs. the outgo from an operation. Apparently the governor's office is not interested in that."
Calls to the governor's staff did not illicit a response regarding the budget cuts, but DNR communications director Beth Brown provided a statement.
"We certainly understand how sportsmen feel and have heard these concerns from them," she said. "But all departments have to follow the rules and make cuts. We feel we get more from the budget than we put in, unlike some states that have to depend on just their license sales."
It appears that come January, in spite of funneling new money into the state treasury, Georgia's hunters and anglers are going to see less opportunities for their sports and less management of the resources on which those depend.
Jimmy Jacobs, editor of Georgia Sportsman magazine, can be contacted at jimmy.jacobs@imoutdoors.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
13: Maximum proposed number of WMAs to be closed.
20: Maximum proposed number of Conservation Rangers to be eliminated.
340,000: Number of trout stocked from Lake Burton Fish Hatchery.
$400,000: Annual budget of Lake Burton Fish Hatchery.
$43 million: Minimum economic impact of Lake Burton Fish Hatchery in northeast Georgia counties.
Our goal is to keep you informed of issues facing Georgia sportsmen and our natural resources. Please see the article below published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We hope it is of service to you.
Jerry L. McCollum,
President and CEO
Georgia Wildlife Federation
BUDGET UNFAIR TO SPORTSMEN
By Jimmy Jacobs, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's no secret that times are tough all around these days. Gov. Sonny Perdue has told department heads to give him three budget proposals for next year, reflecting cuts of 6, 8 and 10 percent. That mandate applies to the Department of Natural Resources. One of those budgets is expected to end up in front of the General Assembly next month.
Of course, we all want to do our part for fiscal responsibility, but for Georgia hunters and fishermen, it may feel more like dealing with a pickpocket.
Over the last decade, when the state was building up surpluses that eventually reached $1.6 billion, the DNR's budget was cut on a regular basis.
Now, in bad times, even more is being asked. But there are a few details that the politicians prefer not to dwell upon.
According to the Georgia Wildlife Federation, two-thirds of DNR wildlife and fisheries programs are funded directly by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and boat permits. Only one-third comes from the general treasury.
Fairness would dictate that the budget cuts only apply to treasury funds.
But there's more. Back in 1987, sportsmen supported the issuance of $30 million in state bonds to purchase 60,000 acres of public lands. The cost of hunting and fishing licenses was increased to provide $4.5 million per year to pay interest and principal on those bonds.
The bonds were retired in 2007. So what's happened to those sportsmen's millions since then? The money goes into the general treasury, while wildlife and fisheries get little in return.
Last June, Georgia ended some hunting and fishing license reciprocal agreements with Florida. That change promises to bring in an estimated $500,000 annually from increased fees on nonresident hunters and anglers.
A new hunting and fishing license sales system goes into effect in January, with that function handled by a private firm. Sportsmen will pay an extra $3 or so per license to that company as a service charge.
At the same time, the state will save $300,000 by eliminating the staff that used to run the program. Also, the government will save about $800,000 in commissions it had been paying to sporting goods outlets that formerly sold the licenses around the state.
The bottom line is that hunters and anglers will be providing roughly $6.1 million more to the state budget next year than they did during the good times.
In return, the DNR budget again will be cut. That translates into the possible loss of as many as one of every eight conservation officers that enforce the hunting and fishing laws, as well as eliminating jobs for up to 26 wildlife or fisheries technicians.
Additionally, wildlife management areas on federal land could be closed.
Conspicuously absent from these budget cuts are any funds from Perdue's Go Fish Georgia initiative. That $19 million program is building 18 mega-sized boat ramps around the state, as well as the Go Fish Georgia Center at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry.
On Tuesday, the governor announced that the mega-ramp at Laurel Park on Lake Lanier will be the site of the FLW Outdoors Forrest Wood Cup bass tournament in 2010, with a purse of $2.5 million. This event could have a $20 million economic impact on the area. Similarly, the Go Fish Georgia Center is expected to have a $6.3 million annual impact on Middle Georgia.
The numbers sound great for the economy and tourism, but how do they benefit the average angler? Those dollars won't likely end up in fish and wildlife programs.
Eventually there will be 18 giant new boat ramps around Georgia that are designed for use by professional-level bass tournaments, such as the FLW event. But do weekend fishermen need such large facilities? More smaller ramps on more lakes and expanded parking lots at existing ones would be of more use to average anglers.
According to David Waller, the reasoning behind what to cut and what to keep remains a mystery. Waller formerly was director of the DNR's Wildlife Resources Division and now does volunteer work with the Georgia Wildlife Federation's Camo Coalition, a grass-roots lobbying network.
"Nobody knows what is going on or how the decisions are being made," he said. "When a business makes cuts, they usually look at the income vs. the outgo from an operation. Apparently the governor's office is not interested in that."
Calls to the governor's staff did not illicit a response regarding the budget cuts, but DNR communications director Beth Brown provided a statement.
"We certainly understand how sportsmen feel and have heard these concerns from them," she said. "But all departments have to follow the rules and make cuts. We feel we get more from the budget than we put in, unlike some states that have to depend on just their license sales."
It appears that come January, in spite of funneling new money into the state treasury, Georgia's hunters and anglers are going to see less opportunities for their sports and less management of the resources on which those depend.
Jimmy Jacobs, editor of Georgia Sportsman magazine, can be contacted at jimmy.jacobs@imoutdoors.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
13: Maximum proposed number of WMAs to be closed.
20: Maximum proposed number of Conservation Rangers to be eliminated.
340,000: Number of trout stocked from Lake Burton Fish Hatchery.
$400,000: Annual budget of Lake Burton Fish Hatchery.
$43 million: Minimum economic impact of Lake Burton Fish Hatchery in northeast Georgia counties.