Michigan hunting, fishing license fee hikes: What you'd pay under Whitmer budget proposal

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18-03-2025

LANSING — Ten dollars more to bag a deer. An extra $13 to shoot pheasant. And $84 more to license a 24-foot motorboat.
Those are among the more than $208 million in proposed higher taxes and fees baked into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's state budget for 2026, records released to the Free Press by the State Budget Office show.
The proposed fee hikes could be significant in upcoming budget negotiations involving Whitmer, the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the GOP-controlled House. Republicans are generally averse to new revenue measures but the Whitmer administration notes that many of the fees have not gone up in decades and says new revenues are needed just to maintain existing services in the face of inflation.
The biggest proposed revenue boost in the budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is a hike in landfill tipping fees, expected to generate an extra $80 million for environmental initiatives, mostly by increasing the "solid waste surcharge" from 36 cents for each ton of waste dumped in a landfill, to $5 per ton. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy says that would bring Michigan more in line with other Midwest states and help pay for cleanup of contaminated sites.
Next is a new tax on vape and nontobacco nicotine products, which is expected to generate $57 million annually to improve health and health care. Whitmer's proposal would tax those products 32% at the wholesale level, matching Michigan's tax on cigars and noncigarette tobacco.
Higher license fees in the Department of Natural Resources are the third biggest item, at $28.9 million, with $22 million coming from higher hunting and fishing fees and $6.9 million coming from higher watercraft fees. The State Budget Office last week released the details on those proposed increases, plus all other proposed tax and fee hikes included in the 2026 budget, after repeated requests from the Free Press.
Whitmer's proposal would increase the base fee for small game hunting from $11 to $17 for resident adults, from $6 to $10 for resident minors, and from $151 to $165 for nonresidents. A combination hunting and fishing license would increase from $76 to $115 for residents and from $266 to $275 for nonresidents. The cost of a base hunting license for seniors would more than double, from $5 to 13.
For adult residents, the fee for a wild turkey hunting license would increase from $15 to $23; the fee for a waterfowl hunting license from $12 to $18; the fee for a pheasant hunting license from $25 to $38; the fee for a deer hunting license from $20 to $30; the fee for a bear hunting license from $25 to $38; and the fee for an elk hunting license from $100 to $150. For seniors, the cost of a deer license would increase from $8 to $23.
More: Gov. Whitmer's 2026 budget proposal accelerates growth in state workforce
For an all-species fishing license, the budget would increase the fee from $26 to $40 for residents and from $76 to $90 for nonresidents. The cost for seniors would rise from $11 to $30.
Turning to watercraft, the budget proposes motorboat license fees that would range from $24.17 for boats less than 12 feet in length to $773.57 for boats longer than 50 feet. The current fee range is from $14 to $448. The fee for a commercial fishing vessel would increase from $15 to $25.90.
The cost of a DNR recreation passport, for entrance to state parks, would hold steady at $14. But instead of opting in when they renew their license tabs, Michigan residents would be charged the fee unless they opt out. That change, if approved, is expected to generate an extra $17.2 million, on top of the increased revenues from hunting, fishing and watercraft fees.
Hunting fees in Michigan last went up in 2014; boating fees have not increased since 1993, according to the summary provided by the budget office.
"Lack of funding will result in loss of opportunities for hunting, fishing, sport shooting, and other wildlife recreation," notes accompanying the fee summary said. "In addition, the quality of fish and wildlife populations and habitat on public and private lands and waters will decline from lack of coordination and management, and the negative impacts of climate change, invasive species, and disease."
But some Michigan sports enthusiasts voiced opposition to the proposed increases in recent emails to the Free Press.
"Unfortunately, hunting has been on the decline in this state, year over year," said Mecosta County resident Ted Rickabus, who runs a furniture repair shop with his wife. "Raising prices will only accelerate the decline in participation."
St. Clair County resident Matt Kosiara, who works for an automotive supplier, said a better solution would be to cut government spending and make certain improvements such as providing more places for people to park when they go to fish at state facilities.
"I'm tired of slicing up my passion for the outdoors with less money for my sport and more money to fix the damn roads!" Kosiara said.
The budget also proposes about $5.6 million in increased revenues from higher fees related to the Workers' Disability Compensation Agency and $5.3 million in increased revenues from higher water quality and land and permit fees, and removal of sunsets on fees that are scheduled to expire. It proposes raising an additional $5 million from hazardous waste management fees.
It proposes raising an extra $2.5 million from higher aircraft registration fees, which have not gone up since 1948. The budget proposes hiking the fee from 1 cent per pound of gross weight currently to 10 cents per pound of gross weight.
Smaller proposed fee hikes in the budget would affect fertilizers, gas storage wells, ski operations, nursing homes, adult foster care facilities, and homes for the aged.
Whitmer and legislative leaders are working separately on a proposed road funding plan. As presented, the budget did not include extra revenues for roads but Whitmer and lawmakers would like to find close to $3 billion more annually.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan hunting, fishing license fee hikes proposal: What you'd pay