If you live in NC please contact your legislators to support an increase in licenses and funding for the Wildlife Resources Commission to fund restoration and conservation projects for non game aquatic animals.

The legislature website is here:

http://www.ncleg.net/

Session starts next week and yes I know the state is in a budget hole but license increases are possible for more funding for the WRC.

Gambusia -- Is there a specific NC house or senate bill in the works, or particular legislators looking into WRC license increases for non-game conservation? If you can give us more background info and names, we can write more effective letters. Thanks for bringing this up.

NC has a box on the state income tax form where you can donate any or all of your expected tax refund to the Non-Game Wildlife Fund, which I think is pretty cool. Do other states do this?

NC has a box on the state income tax form where you can donate any or all of your expected tax refund to the Non-Game Wildlife Fund, which I think is pretty cool. Do other states do this?

Minnesota does, and I agree pretty cool idea.

Not really but the non game biologists in western NC told me they do not get much money besides tax checkoffs and donations.

It was suggested to me to raise this issue with my legislators so I thought I would share that idea with other NC residents.

A lot of non game fish and invertebrates they are restoring are key links in the entire food chain from musky on down.

Also increased fees and license would fund more game wardens. One problem I see is few wildlife officers where I go fishing and collect fish.

I plan on calling on Monday.

Here is an idea and its probably dumb but anyway: Increase fishing license sales and require a portion to go to fish and river restoration in NC (to fund projects like is being done on the Pigeon River)

Edited by Gambusia, 21 January 2011 - 10:39 PM.

I suspect the NC legislature would have a hard time passing a license fee increase for non-game use, and hunting/fishing interests would not all support it. BUT -- How about organizing something through sporting goods stores for customers to be able to donate. MAybe at checkout registers they could add a WRC Non-Game donation onto their purchase or something? ... just another possible hair-brained scheme ...

When Ma raised the license fees a number years ago, it went over surprisingly well. One reason was that a significant part of the increase goes to purchase public land, not to the general fund. The land obtained with these funds, while always opened to hunting and/or fishing, is also available to the rest of the population at no cost to them. From the MassWildlife site;

"Wildlands Funding

In the early 1990's, sportsmen and women realized that the cost of land was escalating and through an organized effort, passed legislation that required that when any person purchases a fishing, hunting, or trapping license, a Wildlands fee of $5 is included as part of the purchase. This fee is directed towards a Wildlands Fund that pays for the cost of acquiring wildlife habitat. Lands purchased with this revenue are open to fishing, hunting, trapping and other passive wildlife related recreation. The other source of funding for wildland acquisition are open space bond funds."

We've had the tax contribution option for a long time. Also from MassWildlife;

"REMEMBER ENDANGERED SPECIES ON YOUR STATE TAX FORM

Join the thousands of "in-the-know" people who use their state tax form to make a big difference for rare species in Massachusetts! Since 1983, Massachusetts tax filers of Form 1 have had the option of donating to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Fund when filing their state income tax (Line 32a: "Endangered Wildlife Conservation"), and tens of thousands of people have done so over the years. All contributions go directly into the Fund, currently the source of a significant portion of the annual operating budget of MassWildlife's Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP), which conserves and protects endangered species and their habitats in Massachusetts. Over 20,000 tax filers support the program with over $200,000 in critically-important donations each year. Won't you join them? With your contributions to the Fund, you directly help to study, protect, and restore rare and endangered animals and plants and their habitats. If you have made contributions in this manner, thank you for supporting the Program and its conservation efforts! Past donations have helped restore populations and conserve and maintain habitat for Northern harriers in grassland habitats and Northern Red-bellied Cooters. You can also make contributions directly to the Fund by sending a check payable to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Fund to: Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd, Westborough, MA 01581."

There is talk of license increases anyway so I just thought an ear mark of say ,1 dollar a license sale, to the non game aquatic people would benefit everybody who likes fish and fishes.

Maybe it could all be put into a seperate endowment fund specially for non game aquatic projects?

There already is a general endowment fund for the WRC that has worked great for years.

NC has had the tax donation thing too for years.

Edited by Gambusia, 24 January 2011 - 11:46 AM.