[mou] about wildlife funding in Minnesota

[Jim Williams]

> Hi,
>
> I want to ask two questions about wildlife funding in Minnesota.
>
> Before you read on -- responses, should you choose to make them --   
> are to be off net, to me directly, please. This is a subject some   
> might find debatable, and this network is not the place for that   
> debate. Thanks.
>
> I am working on an article for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The
> subject is the source of funds for the Minnesota Department of
> Natural Resources. Most of the money it receives comes from hunters
> and fishermen. Yet, almost all of its work impacts non-game species
> as well, including birds.
>
> How would you react if birders and other non-consumptive users of   
> wild lands in
> Minnesota were asked to pay a share of funding needs comparable to   
> that contributed by
> hunters and fishermen? (Hunters and fishermen pay license fees and,
> in some cases, purchase stamps for particular hunting privileges.   
> Hunters and fishermen also pay a federal tax on certain items of   
> equipment, a tax at least some of which is returned to the state  
> of  purchase for )
>
> If you feel you contribute already, how do you contribute to wildlife
> funding in Minnesota?
>
> The birder side of this discussion is important. I will appreciate   
> your participation.
>
> I will not quote you directly unless I have your permission to do so.
>
> Jim Williams
> Wayzata
>