06-03-2025
Whitmer proposed outdoor license hikes, but left Michiganders hunting for a dollar figure
LANSING — Gov. Whitmer's proposed state budget for 2026 calls for nearly $30 million in increased hunting, fishing and watercraft registration fees.
But it's still not clear exactly how much more Whitmer wants you to pay for which specific license.
Michigan's hunting and fishing licenses and related Department of Natural Resources license fees have not gone up in a little over a decade.
Whitmer's budget proposes raising an extra $28.9 million by increasing those fees, as well as watercraft fees. But getting the details on those proposed increases has proven difficult.
According to a budget analysis by the House Fiscal Agency, state hunting and fishing licenses would generally go up 30% to 50% under Whitmer's proposal, while watercraft registrations would increase 60%. But on Wednesday, House Fiscal Agency analyst Austin Scott told lawmakers that some of the proposed increases are "more of a doubling," without providing details. Scott later said his estimates are mostly based on a House Democratic bill introduced last year and that this year's proposals are expected to be similar.
In past years, the State Budget Office has provided the Free Press with a schedule of all proposed fee changes baked into the budget proposal. This year, the budget office has not produced that schedule, despite repeated requests since Feb. 6.
Ed Golder, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said Wednesday there is no proposed fee schedule. "That will be spelled out when the legislation is introduced," Golder said.
The state currently collects a little more than $60 million a year from hunting and fishing licenses.
The proposed increases in the 2026 budget would be used to increase staffing, expand access to outdoor recreation, improve maintenance of state parks, and "ensure the long-term durability and ecological stability of Michigan's state parks and statewide facilities," according to Whitmer's budget proposal.
The lack of details on the fee hikes hasn't prevented legislative Republicans from attacking the proposal as incompatible with Whitmer's pledged efforts to help Michiganders hurt by inflation.
State Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, chair of the House appropriations subcommittee that handles the DNR budget, pledged in February that the proposed fee increases would not get his approval.
"If DNR leadership continues this ridiculous crusade to hike fees across the board — an action that does nothing but punish those who love the outdoors — we are going to zero out their budget," Borton said.
"This is not a threat. This will be their reality if the DNR does not commit to working with us to protect access to the outdoors."
In December, nearly two months before Whitmer's February budget presentation, Democrats introduced a bill to increase hunting and fishing license fees that was expected to raise an additional $22 million. The bill, House Bill 6229, also would have provided for annual fee increases tied to the inflation rate. It did not pass either chamber and did not include watercraft fee increases.
State Rep. Amos O'Neal, D-Saginaw, who sponsored last year's bill, said Wednesday that after more than 10 years it seems reasonable that license fees need to rise. The question, he said, is how much.
The proposed increases in last year's bill may not match what Whitmer is proposing this year.
The bill introduced last year would have increased the base fee for small game hunting from $10 to $15 for resident adults, from $5 to $8 for resident minors, and from $150 to $163 for nonresidents. A combination hunting and fishing license for residents would increase from $75 to $113 for residents and from $265 to $273 for nonresidents.
For adult residents, the fee for a wild turkey hunting license would have increased 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 an all-species fishing license, the bill would have increased the fee from $25 to $38 for residents and from $75 to $88 for nonresidents. It also would have changed the age threshold at which a license is needed from 16 to 17.
The bill would have also reduced the discount for many senior hunting licenses from 60% less than the regular rate to 25% less.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer wants to raise nearly $30M more from hunting, fishing, boating
