My cohort Brett Prettyman made some interesting points in his Sunday Tribune column on how the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources gets only 11 percent of its funding from general funds with the rest coming from hunting and fishing license fees. Brett suggested those who enjoy wildlife watching without helping foot the bill for wildlife management need to kick in some cash too. That's a long standing and legitimate complaint from hunters.
But one point Brett did not make is that in difficult economic times such as these when all state agencies are facing potential big cuts, the DWR may be in slightly better shape because those hunting and fishing dollars can only be used to manage wildlife. So, while the agency could face big cuts in its general funds, the 89 percent of its budget that comes from license fees is relatively safe.
So, at least in this instance, having that dedicated and relatively stable source of revenue to manage wildlife is not a bad position to be in as the economic downturn forces draconian cuts in other agency's budgets.
-- Tom Wharton