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I have read that they are talking about raising many outdoor fees. Hunting
licenses—fishing licenses going up $7.00 ea. Then the state duck stamp is going
$10.00 if this passes. There are also a number of park fees going up.
Now I am not against an increase, but is it just to get us out of Blago's hole
or will we see something for our dollars? Have you ever seen what other states
offer their sportsmen? There are open areas that are open to the public to walk
in and hunt.
In Wisconsin all public waterways are open to duck hunting. I hunted on
the Castle Rock flowage and you can pull up along shore anywhere except by a
house and hunt ducks. You can’t run out of water to hunt waterfowl! There is no
reason for anyone with a row boat, not able to take the boat and duck hunt on
public waters. They don’t have to be on private property or state run areas
where they run out of blind sites and you have to go home. They are not
restricted to little plots here and there where they can hope to hunt. When they
head out to duck hunt, they are going to hunt!
The idea of raising the controlled pheasant areas to eventually reach $50 for 2
stinking birds is ridiculous! I know commercial breeders that sell birds for $16
a piece and they are making money on it. We need more open land owned by the
state to allow hunting. If they don’t start acquiring it now, we will never see
it. It will just get so expensive to hunt with no place to go; many will abandon
the sport which I believe many already have. They will certainty put more CPO’s
on to harass us for not tying our shoelaces right! I had a friend bring a
landowner to court in DuPage County to prove he had permission to hunt his land
and the judge still fined him. That makes you really want to call a CPO when you
see a violation—you may end up in his sights!
A raise in fees is cool if we see some results for our dough. A lot of sportsmen
from Illinois actually hunt outside of the state, because of the available areas
there are to hunt. I think they should form a commission to see what can be done
about opening our waterways and procuring more land. Then we will pay with a
smile!
Don Bekeleski
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