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Show Collection of the Federal land use fee can be handled much the same as the selling of migratory waterfowl stamps, which are sold at post offices. jurisdictional interest of the state, and distributions otherwise made under the Federal aid program. Nonresident Discrimination Recommendation 67: State policies which unduly discriminate against nonresident hunters and fishermen in the use of public lands through license fee differentials and various forms of nonfee regulations should be discouraged. With few exceptions, states charge nonresidents higher fees than residents for hunting and fishing licenses, tags, permits, and stamps. In states where public lands are important for hunting and fishing, this practice effectively favors residents over nonresidents who may want to hunt on Federal public lands within the state. The types of licenses, special tags, and permits issued by the individual states vary considerably. Of the 23 states that sold separate small game permits to both residents and nonresidents in 1966, the fees ranged from $1.00 to $5.50 for residents and $4.35 to $25.00 for nonresidents. The average differential was $14.67. For big game, 13 states sold a comparable permit to both residents and nonresidents in 1966. Costs to residents ranged from $2.00 to $13.00; costs to nonresidents ranged from $20.00 to 174 $100.00. The average differential in this case was $27.15. In addition, states often require special tags and permits for individual species, particularly elk, deer, antelope, and bear, which increase the differential between resident and nonresident costs. The cost of big game permits and licenses and the disparity between resident and nonresident are greater in the 11 Western State region than elsewhere in the United States.14 Generally, the same conditions prevail with respect to fishing license fees, although the level of charges for both residents and nonresidents is substantially lower than it is for hunting. All citizens share a common heritage in the public lands, just as they bear the common burden of maintaining, protecting, and developing these properties through their Federal tax dollars. No one should be granted a cost advantage to hunt and fish on the public lands due solely to his place of residence. The Commission recognizes that the states depend heavily on the revenues from license sales to support the cost of administering enforcement and other elements of their fish and game programs. Moreover, we acknowledge that in some cases nonresidents present special enforcement and rescue problems because of their unfamiliarity with the area. A reasonable differential for nonresidents is justified on these grounds. However, to the extent that such unusually high differentials may have been used as revenue raising vehicles to compensate the states for added burdens caused by nonresidents using Federal lands which yield no tax revenue, implementation of our recommendations in Chapter Fourteen for equitable payments-in-lieu-of taxes should eliminate the need for further reliance on this practice. Some states also have other nonfee laws, regulations, or practices, which discriminate against nonresidents or effectively favor residents with respect to hunting and fishing on the public lands.15 Such restrictions and exclusions are unjustified. 11 Colorado State University, Fish and Wildlife Resources on the Public Lands App. Table 41. PLLRC Study Report, 1969. 15 For example, there is a statutory prohibition in Colorado against nonresident hunting of mountain sheep, mountain goats, and buffalo (most mountain sheep and mountain goats are found only on the national forests in Colorado); in Montana, a nonresident may hunt big game only if accompanied by a resident possessing a big game license; in South Dakota, nonresidents may not hunt migratory waterfowl; in Wyoming, nonresidents must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident hunter with a guide permit when hunting elk, deer, bear, moose or mountain sheep in a national forest, national park, or national refuge. In Nevada, nonresident deer hunting tags may be limited in number, while the tags of residents are not so limited. Nonresident hunting and fishing licenses are similarly restricted in number in Wyoming. In Arizona, only residents may apply to hunt buffalo, and there are special permit hunts for which only residents are eligible. |