MADISON, Wis. — Editor's note: The video above on the Minnesota DNR push for funding first aired on May 1, 2023.
Here's a quick heads-up for Minnesotans who like to fish and hunt across the border in the Badger state:
Better stash a few more bucks away in the checking account.
The Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday approved a bill that promises to raise a variety of hunting, fishing and trapping license fees for out-of-state residents to help shrink a deficit in the state's fish and wildlife account.
The Assembly passed the legislation 97-0, sending the bill on to the Senate.
Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimated the changes would generate about $780,000 more annually for the account, which funds projects ranging from fish stocking to wildlife surveys.
The account is built largely on revenue from license fees. But years of waning interest in outdoor activities has led to a projected $16 million deficit in the account heading into Wisconsin's next two-year budget period.
Republican lawmakers raised nonresident deer hunting licenses by $40 to $200, nonresident hunting and fishing license fees by $5 and nonresident combination licenses by $20 in the state budget that Gov. Tony Evers signed in the summer.
The license increases spelled out in the new bill range from a $1 increase on a nonresident two-day sports fishing license to a $5,750 increase for a nonresident commercial fishing license. The Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill that would raise nonresident bow and crossbow hunting license fees by $35 to $200, sending the measure to the Senate. The broader bill approved Thursday includes that increase as well.
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