The man who made national headlines back in April by calling the Bill of Rights “above my pay grade” took another shot at the nation’s founding principles of “no taxation without representation” by trampling upon hunting and angling independence.
Following the Fourth of July holiday weekend, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy shut down more than three dozen Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Garden State including boat ramps, parking areas for wild beaches and shotgun ranges at state WMAs, citing staffing shortages involving state employees furloughed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The restrictions were expected to be in place through July 27.
What the governor failed to understand – or perhaps refused to acknowledge – is that actual staffing and management of WMAs in New Jersey are virtually unaffected by the general budget; regular taxpayers don’t pay for these state wildlife management areas, because they’re already pre-paid for by hunters and anglers.
As described in detail by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/wmarticl.htm), these multiple-use public lands administered by the Division of Fish and Wildlife and managed by the Division’s Bureau of Land Management for fish and wildlife habitat were purchased with funds from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, state waterfowl stamps and through the Green Acres Program.
The staffing situation – apparently integral to keeping the WMAs opens – involved roughly two dozen staffers who mostly manage trash collection and cleanup along more than 348,000 acres of public lands. Ironically, the state WMAs and facilities are “carry in – carry out” where trash/recycling receptacles are not provided by the state.
In some areas including the Flatbrook-Roy and Pequest WMAs, accessible fishing sites for people with disabilities were developed exclusively through partnerships with private groups including Trout Unlimited and Ramsey Outdoor Stores, making the governor’s decision even more tenuous.
According to the Division of Fish & Wildlife, operational funding for the Wildlife Management Areas is provided entirely by hunters and anglers. Additionally, capital projects such as boat ramps, dams and parking lots are usually funded through combinations of Federal Aid (funds from excise taxes on sporting equipment paid for by hunters and anglers), Green Acres and General Fund Capital appropriations. Furthermore, nearly half of the present system was purchased through Green Acres bond issues, approved previously by New Jersey voters at the polls.
For some New Jersey anglers who’ve long recognized the shortfalls in the state’s marine fisheries budget while fighting for much needed funding, the governor’s decision to shutter the WMAs is hardly a surprise.
“Anglers have been reluctant to ‘pay to play’ via a saltwater license in part because Trenton can’t be trusted with the monies,” said Greg O’Connell, beach access representative for the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and a board member of the RFA-NJ chapter. “This is just another example of earmarked or dedicated funds being abused and misspent by our elected officials.”
