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One behalf of the conservation groups listed below and the sportsmen and women of Georgia, we write to
ask for greater sportsman partnership with DNR into the expenditure of sportsmen's dollars.
In 1970, the primary mission of the DNR Board was oversight and management of the Game and Fish
Department. That era was the best example of public/private interaction and the results of that work are all
around us today.
Under the Carter re-organization of state government, and with the increasing complexity of rules governing
the environment, the role of DNR and the Board has changed dramatically. Today, the Board rarely deals
with issues that are primarily important to sportsmen. Yet the financial support provided by sportsmen to
game and fish programs remains very strong.
The effect over time has been less emphasis by the Board on things hunting and fishing, and indeed, less
knowledge of hunting and fishing by DNR Board members.
Recently, WRD has expressed an interest in increasing fees for Georgians. Further, the 1991 license increase
is scheduled to lapse in the coming fiscal year. An increase in hunting and fishing and boat registration fees
looms in the near future.
Sportsmen have always been generous in their support of their programs. However, the intimacy and interest
of the Board that was once enjoyed by sportsmen is now lacking, due to the other important work performed
by the DNR Board.
To better serve sportsmen's interest and at the same time avoid loading more work onto the DNR Board,
sportsmen are in support of a plan that would create an across-the-board increase in resident fees, with those
fees dedicated to a sportsman's fund to be used for WRD programs. A Sportsman's Board would be appointed
to recommend to the DNR Board how these additional funds should be used.
A recent poll conducted by GONetwork showed overwhelming support from sportsmen for the creation of a
SPLOT - Sportsman's Program, Land, and Operation Tax - that would charge all license purchasers a
surcharge of some percentage. Sportsmen would approve this surcharge and the purposes for its use themselves.
The funds derived from this surcharge would flow into a SPLOT fund. The purpose for the funds
would be defined ahead of creation of the SPLOT, and the duration of the SPLOT would be finite, likely five
years at a time.
A Sportsman's Board, consisting of one member each from the various statewide conservation organizations,
would be charged with recommending to the DNR Board how the funds should be released. The
Sportsman's Board would hold no constitutional authority, merely an advisory role.
The Sportsman's Board would exist only as long as the SPLOT was active.
Sportsmen would like to see this, or some other improved method of enhancing sportsmen involvement and
funding for the Wildlife Resources Division of DNR, in place before the 1991 license fee increase sunsets.
Thank you for your attention and help in this effort.
Sincerely,
GONetwork
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