Fish and Wildlife proposes annual access pass to fund maintenance of access areas

Jason Dachholder, a Fish and Wildlife commissioner, told the House Ways & Means Committee that the department is proposing a new annual access pass for people who use Fish & Wildlife-managed access areas but do not buy hunting, fishing or motorboat licenses. "This is a Vermont conservation license proposal," Dachholder said during a slide presentation, explaining the change is intended to broaden the payer base for maintenance of fishing access areas, wildlife management areas, fish culture stations and shooting ranges.

Dachholder said license sales that historically funded those lands have declined and that the department faces rising infrastructure and maintenance costs. He told members the proposed pass would be available to residents 18 and older, purchased annually, and likely priced in the $18–$20 range. The department expects to sell the pass via on-site kiosks and QR-code point-of-sale options and plans an initial period of education and passive enforcement. "We were in the 250,000 a year range projecting out about 3 to 5 years of this being on the ground," Dachholder said when asked for revenue estimates.

Committee members questioned how the pass would treat common but unofficial uses of access areas — such as swimming and ice skating — and whether schools or organized youth programs would need to buy passes. Dachholder said carve-outs for schools and organized programs are likely but that the department has not worked out all operational details. He also confirmed holders of existing hunting or fishing licenses would be exempt from the new pass.

Several members raised equity and access concerns, saying an added fee could make outdoor recreation harder to afford for low-income Vermonters and could create discretionary enforcement risks. One member said, "This just seems like it's going in the opposite direction," arguing the change could reduce access for some residents. Dachholder said the department plans a multi-year, educational rollout and emphasized the department's preference to encourage voluntary purchase rather than immediate ticketing.

The committee also pressed the department to clarify data showing a long-term decline in license sales; members highlighted that lifetime or permanent licenses may not be reflected in historic trend charts. Dachholder acknowledged data gaps and committed to follow up with updated numbers and to coordinate with the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office to refine projections.

Dachholder said the department narrowed earlier versions of the proposal after public feedback; language that would have applied the pass to other state agencies' lands was rescinded and the current scope would apply only to Fish & Wildlife-managed lands. He listed several explicit exemptions — camps, fish culture stations, stream-bank management areas and the department's two shooting ranges — and said the commissioner has statutory authority to set fees, subject to administrative review processes.

The committee did not act on the proposal during the session. Members asked for clarifying information on last fee increases, updated sales data, nonresident pricing, and details on enforcement and outreach. Dachholder said the department is aiming for implementation in 2027 if a change is approved in 2026 and that further stakeholder outreach and detailed operational planning would follow.

The committee closed the conversation by thanking the department for the presentation and asking staff to return with more data and refined estimates; no formal vote or motion was taken at the meeting.