To help pay for the upkeep of some state lands, in May, Utah’s House Bill 309 will require everyone that enters a state Wildlife or Waterfowl Management Area (WMA) in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber Counties to possess a hunting or fishing license. The justification is that hunter and angler license fees pay for the maintenance of these state lands.

To understand how much that may cost a bird watcher that doesn’t hunt or fish, the cheapest annual resident fishing license rings in at a little more than $30. If you want to take an out-of-state visitor, it will cost them at least $30 as this is how much the cheapest license — a three-day nonresident fishing permit — cost.

Utah is not alone in making these changes. Colorado passed a similar law in 2020. Montana has long had a $10 Conservation License to enter state lands, but prior to 2023 only hunters and anglers were required to possess them. Now everyone who visits the blue spaces on maps of Montana must buy one. Looking at this trend, it is clear less state land will be free to access in the future.

I understand the rationale behind making everyone pay, but I am against these charges. When I was younger, I spent 20 days a year in the Farmington Bay WMA. These trips taught me how to duck hunt, identify birds and develop friendships. I had a hunting license, but if I didn’t hunt. I wouldn’t have bought one to go there. This WMA is near Salt Lake City and is a great wetland to view waterfowl and shorebirds. It would be a shame if people didn’t visit this WMA because they couldn’t afford to spend $30.

A good example of managing lands for everyone is the free entry to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. The legislation that set aside this land in 1928 was primarily sponsored by hunters and some of the land purchases came from the money raised selling duck stamps. If you hunt waterfowl, you must buy a duck stamp. Despite this history, a recent survey found over two-thirds of the visitors to this refuge were bird watchers. That is fine as they have also opened up more of the refuge to hunters. This is a win-win outcome.

Another concern I have with additional fees is they’re forcing public land users to become detectives in order to figure out what and where fees and licenses are required.

For example, Utah WMA fees only apply in class I or II counties. Who outside the state legislature knows what those are?

I’m glad the state carved out many exceptions for kids and educational activities in this law, but this makes the rule even more complex. If you combine understanding the requirements in this law and their exceptions, with where you need state park passes and the rules governing access to federal lands, the ability to comprehend what is required to use these lands has morphed from simple addition to calculus over the last decade.

Like everything else, the cost to operate public lands have increased. A good way to keep these costs down is to become better land stewards. I’m continually embarrassed by the mess left behind by a few recreationists.

To address these problems, we need to use our phones to report poor users rather than turning our back. You can keep an extra trash bag in your car and backpack to make sure you leave places looking better than you found them. These behaviors won’t get rid of the recent law but hopefully if more people who use the land, care for the land, we can keep cost from rising in the future.