Quote:
Originally Posted by jmen24
Funny enough is they actually do not have anything better to do. A CO's job is to enforce the wildlife laws of the state. .
|
Actually this is not entirely true. COs are also responsible for:
-Primary search and rescue group for both water bodies and forested lands
-Hunter Education Instruction
-land owner assistance for wildlife and OHRV access questions/issues
-work in cooperation with Coast Guard for maritime violations
...I'm sure there are more that I haven't listed.
They are VERY understaffed in their endeavors and do a terrific job in my opinion.
Also, your fishing license fees do not just go to pay for stocking efforts. All of the above are also funded by fee revenues. When some idiot walks off onto Mt Washington in May with a shortsleeve shirt, shorts and sneakers and thousands are spent to find and rescue him...guess where that $ comes from? Aquisition of new land for public access (ramps) and the building and maintaining of ramps come from there. Educational programs for our schools and non-profit programs all come from Fish and Game funding (some of which comes directly from fees).
I not only don't complain about buying my licenses, I am happy to pay the fees because I get much more than my money's worth back in return.