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Figure 1:Pandemic Reverses Declining Fishing license Trend already on a more substantial decline prior to the <br /> Fishing licenses purchased by type and year(March 1 to Jan.31) pandemic.Yet licenses for deer hunting show an <br /> El Great Lakes salmon and trout stamp increase in 2020 and first-time hunting licenses also <br /> 2 00M Inland trout stamp show increases, a notable finding given that merely <br /> III Nonresident fishing license holding steady would have represented a shift in a <br /> ®Resident fishing license 0.1 <br /> previously downward trend. <br /> 1.60M <br /> In October,the DNR conducted an online survey of <br /> 8,822 of the adult first-time fishing license buyers - <br /> both in-state and out-of-state - and got responses from <br /> Loom 30%of them.Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed said <br /> they had returned to fishing after many years away from <br /> the sport; 33%were truly buying their first fishing <br /> 0_50M license; and 28%typically fish in another state but <br /> recently decided to fish in Wisconsin. <br /> 0.00M The majority of respondents said that COVID-19 was <br /> 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 "not at all" an influence on their buying their first-time <br /> Source:Department of Natural Resources license. However,two of the most common reasons for <br /> for state residents)who have never purchased a license the purchase were "a reduction in work/school hours" <br /> or not done so for at least 10 years. From March 2020 for 16%of respondents and "other leisure activities <br /> to January 2021,first-time license sales to Wisconsin were no longer available to me" at 14%. <br /> residents totaled 93,414, more than doubling the The DNR has previously linked a substantial increase in <br /> 45,557 sold during the same months in the prior year fishing licenses sold in 2009 at the height of the Great <br /> (see Figure 2). Recession to higher unemployment, which allowed for <br /> First-time licenses to non-residents increased 38.6%. In more leisure activities. COVID-19 not only left many <br /> both cases those were easily the highest in at least five workers unemployed, but it also reduced the number of <br /> years. other leisure activities they and their children could <br /> pursue. <br /> Data for hunting licenses are not as complete and are <br /> somewhat trickier to interpret - those licenses were OTHER OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ALSO <br /> ON THE RISE <br /> Figure 2:2020 Welcomes New Anglers to Wisconsin DNR data show a broad increase in other outdoor <br /> New fishing license purchases by residents and non-residents by <br /> year(March 1-Jan.31) activities - from state park visits to trail passes for all- <br /> terrain vehicles.Sales of state park vehicle stickers rose <br /> II Non-Resident by more than 42% in the 2020 calendar year over 2019 <br /> IZ Resident despite the fact that the 2020 data are missing <br /> 80K December sales (see Figure 3). <br /> Data on state park visits may not be as reliable - state <br /> 60K parks were shut down at some points during the <br /> pandemic and the state figures represent a best <br /> 40K general estimate because each property reports <br /> �� attendance differently.That said,the DNR data show <br /> 20.7 million visits in calendar year 2020, a 17.6% <br /> 20K increase over 2019 and the highest year in our <br /> available data (again,the 2020 data do not include the <br /> OK month of December). Notably,these visits do not <br /> 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 include other state lands,such as natural areas,for <br /> Source:Department of Natural Resources which no count is available. <br /> 11.11 <br /> 2 THE WISCONSIN TAXPAYER I FEBRUARY 2021 <br />