Cherokee hunting, fishing rights compact negotiations expected

[SMS]

The price of those permits hasn't been revealed, and earlier reporting indicated it would be at a partial rate.

The question of whether or not those licenses will be counted towards the number of licenses sold for the purposes of calculating our share of federal excise tax on hunting/fishing products hasn't been resolved either....so we could end up with more hunters and less funds for ODWC...

I have zero problem with folks hunting inside the original treaty area, but if they want to hunt/fish the rest of the state why don't they get on down to walmart and buy one like the rest of us?

 

[fishfurlife]

I do not support how this turned out in the least.

 

[Okie4570]

So could they lobby the right to go back to Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina and hunt for free next?

 

[Jared]

Cost will be $2 (minimum required by law) for a hunting/fishing license. They are supposed to be getting 1 deer and 1 turkey tag as well. Will begin on Jan 1, 2016.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Through the compact, which will take effect Jan. 1 and run through 2018, the tribe will issue a Cherokee Nation hunting and fishing license — as well as one deer tag and one turkey tag — free of charge to every Cherokee citizen over the age of 16.
The licenses, recognized by the state, will be good for hunting and fishing in any of Oklahoma’s 77 counties under the same regulations that apply to people with state-issued licenses. The Cherokee Nation will give the state $2 for each license issued, with the money to be used for conservation.

The money is estimated to total $300,000 with 150,000 hunter-fishers added to the state’s rolls, a figure touted as a potential windfall for state fish and wildlife management efforts.

Federal revenues for fish and wildlife are raised through excise taxes on hunting and fishing gear, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues grants based on formulas that, in part, depend on the total number of hunters and anglers in a state. State and tribal officials assert that the increased count of hunters and fishers in Oklahoma could help the state annually qualify for up to $4 million more in federal fish and wildlife funding.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/governor-cherokee-chief-sign-compact-for-hunting-fishing-licenses/article_595c934d-76bb-5f87-bdf8-9146bf36c2b6.html

 

[SMS]

The excise tax issue is not a lock. They could end up selling all those licenses and the state might not get any extra share of that pot. That issue should have been worked out first.

The point remains: Why not buy a license like the rest of us if you want to hunt outside of tribal land? Special snowflake welfare is all it is.....

 

[dennishoddy]

Pittman-Robertson rebates to the states that are collected on ammo and sporting gear are doled out by the number of licenses sold in the state per capita.
If the ODW sells 150,000 licenses to the state @ $2 they get $300K
It's doubtful that 1/10 of those license owners will actually use them.
But, the Pittman-Robertson money will roll into the ODW as if every one of the license holders were an active Hunter/fisher.
I'm not liking the way it went down with the $2 deal, IMHO it should have maybe been half price.
The tribes are flush with gambling money. Wouldn't have made a dent in their coffers.

 

[Raoul Duke]

The excise tax issue is not a lock. They could end up selling all those licenses and the state might not get any extra share of that pot. That issue should have been worked out first.

The point remains: Why not buy a license like the rest of us if you want to hunt outside of tribal land? Special snowflake welfare is all it is.....

C'mon, ya at least gotta appreciate the irony and poetic justice of the paleface gubmint getting screwed over by a tribe in a treaty.

 

[SMS]

It's not clear that the bulk sale will qualify for any P-R money. They said as much in the press release on signing day. It's an "if" or "maybe" at best.

(And it's far from a pale face gubmint. The only one getting screwed will be the sportsmen footing the bill for the reduced rate special snowflake permits.)

 

[dennishoddy]

The Pittman–Robertson Act took over a pre-existing 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.[7][8] Instead of going into the U.S. Treasury as it had done in the past, the money is kept separate and is given to the Secretary of the Interior to distribute to the States.[4][8][9] The Secretary determines how much to give to each state based on a formula that takes into account both the area of the state and its number of licensed hunters.[2][3][6][9][10]

These States must fulfill certain requirements to use the money apportioned to them. None of the money from their hunting license sales may be used by anyone other than the State’s fish and game department.[3][6][8] Plans for what to do with the money must be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.[6] Acceptable options include research, surveys, management of wildlife and/or habitat and acquisition or lease of land, among other things.[1][6][10] Once a plan has been approved, the state must pay the full cost and is later reimbursed for up to 75% of that cost through P–R funds.[1][3][10] The 25% of the cost that the State must pay generally comes from its hunting license sales.[1] If, for whatever reason, any of the federal money does not get spent, after two years that money is then reallocated to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.[6][9]

In the 1970s, amendments created a 10% tax on handguns and their ammunition and accessories as well as an 11% tax on archery equipment.[1][2][3][8][10] It was also mandated that half of the money from each of those new taxes must be used to educate and train hunters through the creation and maintenance of hunter safety classes and shooting/target ranges.[1][2][3][10]