January 4, 2017
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
It’s played out just like this. Fishermen and hunters head out to a nearby lake or field and they forget their annual license has expired until a game warden seemingly pops out of nowhere. It often happens this time of the year.
The state wildlife department is issuing friendly reminders, now, to renew those licenses, before they meet you in a Western Oklahoma field with a pouch of quail and aren’t quite as friendly.
The assistant chief of the Law Enforcement Division for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Lt. Col. Nathan Erdman says after the New Year holiday, division employees meet several sportsmen in the field who don’t have the current year’s hunting or fishing license. He says it’s something that’s fairly easy to forget about, but it could end up costing sportsmen and sportswomen a fine.
The annual residential hunting license and fishing license are valid from January 1 to December 31, each year and each costs $25. Erdman says they’re available from hundreds of license venders across the state.
Other licenses and permits that expire each year on December 31 include the annual Wildlife Conservation Passport, Land Access Permit for Honobia/Three Rivers WMAs, fishing guide license, and paddlefish permit.
Hunting seasons that open one year and close during the following year would require a renewed annual hunting license, also.
Erdman says that hunters and anglers are the folks who pay for a great deal of wildlife management and conservation activities whenever they buy their licenses and heed the regulations.
Another option instead of renewing each year is to buy the longer-term licenses instead. They carry an overall lower cost on a year-by-year basis, making them more economical and doing away with the need to renew them annually. The Department offers hunting, fishing and combination licenses valid for five years or for a lifetime.
For Paragon Communications, I’m Nathan Brewer.
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