Been there, done that. Over the years, Utah has tried several things similar to that, all of which have just turned into increased license fees after a short time. It has always ended up as nothing more than a license fee increase in disguise. They had an upland stamp, then it turned into a "conservation" stamp, then they just added it to the cost of the license and did away with the stamp. I don't know if the money ever actually made it to where it had been proposed to go, but it seems like every time things like that get proposed, the legislature just cuts the wildlife budget all that much more (and then some). They see some extra money coming in for wildlife and think they can cut the budgets further than they were already going to cut.
If there were an accounting for the money, and not a taking away by the lawmakers, I would be all for it. As it stands right now, I would be against it simply because I don't feel confident that the legislature would allow the to go to where it needs to go. Until we ge some truly wildlife/hunting friendly legislators, I feel it would hurt the overall wildlife management program more than it would help any specific type of wildlife.
Personally, I believe a much better approach would be to join with any of the many great clubs out there that focus on doing improvements OUTSIDE of the grasp of the state lawmakers. There are groups out there doing nearly as much for upland game as what DU does for ducks. Their biggest problems usually are funding related or labor shortages. Become active in one of those groups and you can be assured (through first hand knowledge) that your money and effort is going where you want them to go.
Just my .02 worth.
If there were an accounting for the money, and not a taking away by the lawmakers, I would be all for it. As it stands right now, I would be against it simply because I don't feel confident that the legislature would allow the to go to where it needs to go. Until we ge some truly wildlife/hunting friendly legislators, I feel it would hurt the overall wildlife management program more than it would help any specific type of wildlife.
Personally, I believe a much better approach would be to join with any of the many great clubs out there that focus on doing improvements OUTSIDE of the grasp of the state lawmakers. There are groups out there doing nearly as much for upland game as what DU does for ducks. Their biggest problems usually are funding related or labor shortages. Become active in one of those groups and you can be assured (through first hand knowledge) that your money and effort is going where you want them to go.
Just my .02 worth.
