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Price of duck stamp could rise

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The cost of duck stamps could increase if a House bill designed to free funds for conservation passes.

Waterfowl hunters must have a federal duck stamp to hunt. Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sale of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to conservation efforts like purchasing or leasing wetland habitat, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Because the $15 price tag on a duck stamp hasn’t changed since 1991, the buying power of the stamp has decreased while the cost of land has tripled. The House bill would increase the price of Federal Duck Stamps to up to $25 for the next five years and up to $30 for the five subsequent years.

During a House hearing on the legislation, Rep. John C. Fleming R-Louisiana, who sponsored the bill, said he wants to find a happy medium, where the price of the duck stamp isn’t a “deterrent” to hunters but also accounts for inflation during the past 25 years.

Tom Brossia, a former Ducks Unlimited Colorado state chairman who lives in Durango, said the price increase is all about how hunters look at it.

“When increasing habitat, there are often parts of these federal refuges where hunters can go, so in addition to conservation, it increases public hunting areas or can provide better hunting opportunities,” Brossia said.

The additional money would go toward new conservation easements and maintenance of existing easements, said Steve Guertin, deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who testified at the hearing.

Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Florida, said the last thing the federal government needs is more land.

While, the federal stamp is needed for all hunters, Guertin said the department is also ramping up efforts to market the duck stamps to nonhunters who enjoy the wildlife and land.

“People can support the larger vision for conservation that, until now, has largely been paid on the shoulders of hunters, both male and female, for the last several decades,” said Guertin.

If the legislation passes, the Congressional Budget Office estimates a $25 stamp would bring in $13 million a year, and a $30 stamp would bring in $22 million a year.

mbowerman@durangoherald.com. Mary Bowerman is a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.



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