By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Evergreen State hunters should scramble to buy their 2025-26 hunting licenses before the new fee schedule becomes effective next Tuesday, July 1.
This is the first time license fees have increased since 2011, and it’s going to pinch a lot of wallets. A combination license for deer, elk, black bear and mountain lion will cost residents $117.30, while someone of more modest pursuits will still be paying $103.50 to hunt deer and elk.
Cost of a resident deer and small game combination license will be $81.42, but a non-resident will be charged $663.78.
A resident elk/small game discounted combo license will run $88.32, while non-residents must shell out $742.44.
There are significant discounts for seniors age 70 and older, according to the fee schedule. There are also discounts for military veterans and disabled persons.
As noted last month by the Spokane Spokesman-Review as Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson inked the legislation, the new fees are expected to increase revenue for the Department of Fish & Wildlife, but there will not be a net increase in the agency budget “because of expected cuts to the agency’s share of the state general fund.”
Ferguson, when he signed the legislation last month, called the fee hikes “modest.”
Northwest Sportsman magazine explained it this way: “The bill was not requested by WDFW but will raise $19.3 million every two years, though lawmakers sucked a like amount of state General Fund dollars out of the agency’s budget, making the increase a wash at the end of the day.”
While the cost of hunting has gone up over the past several decades in Washington, many outdoorsmen contend genuine hunting opportunities have declined for general season hunters. There are scores of special permit hunts listed in the regulations pamphlet, which may be downloaded here. The actual regulations booklet runs more than 120 pages, complete with descriptions of game management units, official hunting hours, how to tell a black bear from a grizzly, and other information.
