> Hal Opperman <halop at accessone.com> suggested;
>
> "What about selling these licenses at REI and similar stores, as was
> suggested in the earlier thread?

I believe that retailers get a $.50 "agent fee" for each license sold.
I don't believe that enough "Conservation Licenses" are sold to
be attractive to businesses that do not get a lot of sales to hunters
and fishers.

When the legislature first passed the law requiring the Department of
Fish and Wildlife to implement this new license, it was provided as
a sticker to stick on your vehicle. If you bought a hunting or fishing
license, the sticker came along for free. I believe this is where
some have gotten the impression that the permit is required in
addition to a hunting or fishing license. It used to be that way
but it was provided to hunters and fishers free-of-charge. In the
early years of this permit, the Department lost money. It cost more
to print the things than was obtained in revenue. The only hope for
making it a profitable venture was to streamline and cheapen it. So,
it became a simple check-off box on the same master license document
that is purchased for hunting and fishing.

I know that substantial energy is being invested in exploring ways to
make license buying easier, more readily available to a broader group
of people. The internet option is, I am quite certain, one of the
options being explored. I will ask an appropriate person where this
is at.

I think it is important to realize that the state Department of Fish and
Wildlife has very little money to spend on education about this license,
posting of lands, and improvements to the license itself. Putting up
money collection stations at Wildlife Area parking lots is probably
out-of-the-question, both because of cost and the likelihood of
vandalism.

I have enjoyed reading the discussion on this topic, many useful ideas...
and it is good to hear the thoughts of a constituency other than
the traditional hunting and fishing crowd. I am anxious to get out
to one of the sites where we have $300,000 toilet. Perhaps, John Shelton
could let us know where that one can be found.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

P.S. Richard Rowlett only wants someone to tally up all of the words in
messages posted to Tweeters because he knows he would win.