Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday raising the cost of most hunting and fishing licenses for the first time since 2003. Hunters and anglers lobbied for the bill despite the price increases.

Senate Bill 941, by Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, and Rep. Ty Burns, R-Watchorn, shot through the legislative process and bucked a five-year trend of defeats on the idea. It passed both houses bi-partisanly: 38-7 in the Senate and 88-3 in the House.

It simplifies the system by consolidating more than 50 license categories into 15, including creating a youth “super license” and a single license for deer hunters instead of purchasing a tag for each deer, according to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation spokesman Micah Holmes.

He said it increases license costs in many categories but not all. It also mandates that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation report to the legislature every five years to review license prices and revenue against the Consumer Price Index.

Some price change examples

The bill includes changes such as increasing the lifetime combination hunting-fishing license from $775 to $1,024. Non-resident archers now buy a $300 deer hunting license. Next season, they will be required to purchase a $500 deer license plus a non-resident hunting license, increasing from $175 to $208.

A standard annual fishing license for an adult resident will increase from $24 to $30. An annual resident hunting license will increase from $24 to $35. A combination 365-day license decreases slightly, from $53 to $52.

Hunters also will pay a single fee for all allowable deer under a license rather than an individual fee for each deer tag.

One significant change dramatically simplifies the system and lessens expenses for young hunters.

“There are actually ten different definitions of “youth” in our current license code. Everything from under-16 to under-18, to under-21 to under-13, depends on what license you’re looking at, whether you’re a youth or not. With this new license modernization, everyone under 18, residents and non-residents, no matter what kind of license, is youth.”

Instead of a host of youth license options, a single, annual, non-resident youth license, “which shall include all species and all seasons for which a hunting license is required,” will cost $150.” A five-day license option for non-resident youth costs $75. A resident youth hunter license covering all species will cost $25.

If the bill is signed, the changes will go into effect July 1.

Wildlife Department funding

Funding for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is unlike any other state agency in that it receives no general state budget tax-related funds. It is funded almost entirely by license fees, the prices of which are set by the legislature. Licenses change only through legislative approval.

Advocates for the bill, among a coalition of 15 hunting and fishing non-profit groups who signed on to support it, said the difference this year was the user groups’ drive to simplify the licensing process and that this option leaves price-setting in legislators’ hands.

“We formed a coalition of 15 hunting and fishing groups, and when we were on the hill, we came in groups,” said Randall Cole, state chairman of Ducks Unlimited. “That kind of support from hunters and anglers made it clear to legislators that it was a win-win. We couldn’t let this go again without passing.”

Cole said that Ducks Unlimited led the lobbying effort and supported increasing the cost of a state waterfowl stamp from $10 to $20 for residents and $30 for non-residents.

“No one in 2024 can operate on a budget level set in 2003,” McIver said.

Holmes said that, over time, the license changes could increase Wildlife Department annual funding by $6 million to $8 million, or roughly 12 percent over the current $55 million yearly budget. The added revenue multiplies in importance by saving access to matching Federal Sportfish Restoration and Federal Wildlife Restoration funds, many of which come with a three-to-one match.

“We are at risk now of losing some federal grants that require a state money match,” Holmes said.

The Oklahoma Ecology Project is a nonprofit dedicated to in-depth reporting on Oklahoma’s conservation and environmental issues. Learn more at okecology.org