Some more facts on the issue at hand

[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Okay Boys and Girls; enough is enough. It’s past time that we look at how the DWR is funded and how the money is spent. Way too many of you folks are urinating and moaning about this proposed $8 license fee increased without having a clue about where it will go or how it will be used. Well here a few hard and fast facts for you to chew on and a link to the complete breakdown of who, what, where, when, and how for the year 2012.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]One hundred percent of the license dollars collected stay within the DWR to carry out the division's mission to conserve and protect the wildlife of Utah. These are called restricted funds. These funds are restricted for exclusive use by DWR and cannot be transferred to other state agencies. Other types of funding in this category are revenues from Certificates of Registration (CORs), donations, wildlife license plates and miscellaneous fees. They accounted for 48.86% of the 2012 budget, or $30,612,743.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]The next highest amount of funding is Federal funds which accounted for 29.92% of the budget, or $18,745,189. The DWR receives federal funds each year for wildlife, sport fish and sensitive and endangered species. The revenue is allocated by the USFWS from federal excise taxes on hunting and shooting equipment and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel. Each state's allocation is based on the state's hunting and fishing license sales and land area. Other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense, award funds to accomplish their agency goals on a contract basis.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Then comes money from dedicated funds, such as Hardware Ranch, that are be used only by the DWR. Contributions are also dedicated funds. They accounted for 12.22% or $7,657,635 in 2012.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And the final funding comes from the General funds. General funds (yes, your tax dollars) account for nine percent ($5,642,200 in 2012) of DWR's annual budget. These funds are used primarily for sensitive species, law enforcement, wildlife depredation and some fish hatchery programs. Because the legislature has indicated that the DWR should not use hunting or fishing license revenue to fund nongame species management, these funds help cover the costs of nongame management.[/#800000][/font]
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[size 3][font "Calibri"][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 2]The total budget for 2012 was $62,657,767. If you’d like to see where that money was spent, here is a link to the complete report that the above information came from:[/size][/#800000][/font] [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/about-us/191-financial-overview.html"][#0000ff]Fiscal Year 2012 financial information[/#0000ff][/url].[/font][/size]
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[size 3][font "Calibri"][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 2]And finally, I offer you this little gem about your money and the process to use it:[/size][/#800000][/font] an annual work plan and budgeting process ensures that all funds are optimized. DWR's fiscal responsibility is reflected in its performance in both state and federal audits.[/font][/size]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]You will also note in the report that hunting, fishing, and law enforcement account for 44.51% of the total budget with fishing the largest expense of the three at 18.39%. So where will your $8 end up? How the Hell should I know. It doesn’t matter as far as I’m concerned. But I know for a fact that it will end up funding SOMETHING to do with the overall DWR process; and that is good enough for me. And in my opinion, it should be good enough for the rest of you.[/#800000][/font]
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