Higher license fees seem justified

It’s always with reluctance that we consider paying more for the Montana birthright of fishing and hunting, but that’s the scenario unfolding as the Legislature considers a proposal to raise more money for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Among other changes, the bill would create a new base hunting license — $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents — and bump annual resident fishing licenses from $18 to $21. 

The bill also eliminates many of the current (and popular) discounts for hunting and fishing licenses.

Without additional money, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says it could face a 20 percent budget cut that could result in the closure of hatcheries and regional offices and layoffs of 100 employees.

That prospect promises to have noticeable impacts for all of us who enjoy pursuing fish and wildlife.

The measure had broad support in a hearing last week, and we would add our endorsement. We all would rather not have to pay more for the distinctly Montana privileges of hunting and fishing, but in this case the increases seem to be justified.

Get the job done in Helena

Gov. Steve Bullock delivered the State of the State address to the Legislature on Wednesday night.

As usual with these affairs, it took quite a while to deliver, but it probably could have been summarized in one line: “The state of the state is in flux.”

With a Legislature that is solidly Republican in both the House and Senate, and a governor who is proudly Democratic, the next three months will either offer a lot of “give and take” or a lot of “take it or leave it.” 

It’s too early to tell, but headwinds are developing that could result in a rocky ride for some major proposals of the governor’s agenda. The Build Montana infrastructure spending plan, the Healthy Montana expansion of Medicaid and the governor’s wish to keep $300 million in the rainy-day fund have all met with Republican opposition or revision.

Meanwhile, Republicans seem to be intent on cutting taxes everywhere they can, and the governor is unlikely to go along with most of those proposals.

Every two years, whether we like it or not, hard decisions have to be made, and with the well-being of 1 million Montanans depending on the answers, we believe the governor and our legislators will do their best to get the job done.