The fireworks wrapped up this year before July at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.The rush was on after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the Oklahoma Wildlife Modernization Act in late March, especially for cheaper lifetime licenses for residents and big-game licenses for nonresidents before the July 1 effective date.“People saw they could save a couple hundred dollars, and a lot who may have been putting it off said, ‘now’s the time,’” said department spokesman Micah Holmes.Final sales at the previous prices closed on Friday at the end of business.Holmes said lifetime combination hunting and fishing license sales through May were up 213 percent over the same period last year. The price went up from $775 to $1,021.“It sounds like a lot, but don’t get too excited,” he said. “The total sold through the end of May was 442 licenses. It’s a lot relative to what we usually sell, but I just don’t want to give you the wrong idea about that big percentage change.”However, Holmes said the Act means more than a last-minute sales rush.He said it is one of the most significant changes to Oklahoma wildlife management in years because it impacts everyone who enjoys the state’s wildlife. If projections by independent analysts hold, it could mean a boost of up to $10 million for the department, which reported an annual total revenue near $60 million for 2023, with just over $20 million from license sales, not counting lifetime licenses.“For non-resident licenses, it brings Oklahoma more in line regionally with Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas. Oklahoma was a real bargain for non-residents given its great resources, especially for deer and waterfowl hunters,” he said.Wildlife Commission members have wondered aloud in meetings about the sustainability of the department’s current level of operations and ability to take full advantage of federal grant funding, which requires state matching funds, given the current revenue picture and nationwide trends that show younger people turning away from traditional outdoor pursuits.The Act also requires price reviews every five years, perhaps preventing another 20-year gap in price structures as business costs increase.Most people asking about the price increases asked, “Why now?” Holmes said.“After explaining it’s been so long and that we’re simplifying the system, too, most people understand why,” he said.Colin Berg, a longtime Communication and Education Section supervisor at the department’s Tulsa office, remembered the last increase 20 years ago and said the new system would simplify ...
