[mou] questions on wildlife funding

[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