Heading outdoors? WA recreation prices go up as state tries to fix budget deficit

New license fees for fishing and hunting in Washington state take effect July 1.

The 38% price hike is the first increase since 2011.

Before the new fee, it cost just over $14 dollars, for example, to dig for razor clams.

“The out-the-door price after this increase will be $17.44,” said Morgan Stinson, chief financial officer at the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

He said while the fees will generate new revenue, it’s not a gain. The agency’s share from the state general fund will be slashed because of the state’s budget deficit.

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Brandon Bean, the department's budget officer, estimated the new fees will generate $16 million over the next two years.

“Without this fee [increase], the department faced further reductions that we were largely able to mitigate against with this particular increase in there,” Bean said.

But even with the revenue from the higher fees, the department is working on a long list of program cuts, including wildlife disease work.

“The funding we have now we can no longer spend on avian flu and white nose bat syndrome and some of these other diseases,” Stinson said.

In addition to the new fishing and hunting fees, the cost of the Discover Pass, which allows access to state parks, will be $45 starting in October, up from $30.