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Senate committee approves state duck stamp; fee reduced to $5 and revenue directed to waterfowl habitat and youth programs
Summary
The committee voted to pass SB 2216 as amended to establish a state duck-stamp with a reduced $5 fee for residents and nonresidents; Game and Fish Director Jeb Williams told senators proceeds would support waterfowl habitat, private-land programs and youth hunting initiatives.
Senator Sean Cleary introduced Senate Bill 22 16, which would establish a state duck stamp and charge $10 to residents and nonresidents who hunt waterfowl. The committee debated the proposal and adopted an amendment to reduce the fee from $10 to $5; the committee then voted to recommend do pass as amended.
Cleary said the stamp was brought by a grassroots group of duck hunters to provide a dedicated funding mechanism for youth hunting and waterfowl habitat projects. "They viewed it as kind of a funding mechanism for, you know, if folks wanna enjoy duck hunting in the state that they, you know, by paying this modest, increase to a fee through a stamp, that that would be dedicated funding back to youth hunting and waterfowl habitat," Cleary said.
Jeb Williams, director of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, told the committee the department supported clarifying resident counts and expected the fee to support habitat work through existing private-lands initiatives and access programs. "We agreed," Williams said, describing department support for clearer data on resident waterfowl hunters and for using proceeds to support habitat, grasslands, wetlands and controlled-access cropland programs. Williams also said the department could use some of the funds to support youth hunting programs and encourage matching dollars with partners such as Ducks Unlimited.
Williams told the committee the fiscal note estimated roughly $800,000 in revenue at a $10 fee; senators who favored lowering the fee said $5 would still provide data and lessen cost to hunters. Williams said the department would incur some programming costs to implement an electronic stamp and that funds in the new account would require legislative appropriation before they could be spent.
Committee discussion ranged from depredation payments and buffer-strip ideas (rye buffer strips were discussed as a possible voluntary private-land practice) to the social and economic effects of nonresident hunters. Senators asked whether Game and Fish would administer the fund (Williams: yes) and whether the department would report on how funds were spent. Committee members agreed to hear more from the department and moved an amendment lowering the fee to $5; the amendment passed on a roll-call and the committee gave a do pass recommendation to SB 22 16 as amended.
