Bills propose free hunting and fishing licenses for first responders

A package of bills in Lansing would offer free hunting and fishing licenses to EMS workers, firefighters, police officers and corrections officers.

Since the pandemic, vacancies in first responder positions have reached critical levels. The legislation’s sponsors, led by state Rep. Dave Prestin from the Upper Peninsula, say free licenses could help make these jobs more desirable.

Jacob Steichen agrees.

“It just makes complete common sense to me. It’s just one of those things that brings more attention to first responder jobs,” said Steichen, a Traverse City firefighter and co-founder of the Northwest Michigan Peer Network, which helps provide mental health resources to first responders.

Steichen says firefighting in particular has had difficulty recovering since the 2008 recession.

“We haven’t seen that big uptick in young adults pursuing the career,” he said. “10 to 15 years ago, we would have had 40-plus applicants for one position.”

Now they struggle to find enough applicants to run a testing cycle. Steichen is working on implementing solutions locally, like lowering hiring standards to attract more candidates. But he says piecemeal solutions like free hunting and fishing licenses can make a difference.

“A lot of people that I talk to are police, EMS, firefighters, dispatchers– some of their favorite hobbies are to be in the outdoors. So [this legislation] can really draw some attention to the professions and show some appreciation for folks that are willing to do [them],” he said.

But Michigan conservationists have some concerns about how the free licenses would affect funding for Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources.

“Most of the DNR’s revenue is through hunter and angler license sales – the overwhelming majority. So the department would get hit on the front end with loss of license revenue,” said Justin Tomei, policy and government affairs manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

But he says they would also get hit on the federal level. That’s because the DNR gets federal funding from taxes on hunting ammunition, guns and archery equipment. The formula to distribute that money is based on license numbers – which do not count free licenses, says Tomei.

And as baby boomers age out of the hunting population, license sales overall have declined. Tomei says more restricted budgets could affect DNR staffing, projects and research.

“We want to support our first responders in any way that we can,” he said. “But this issue is just a little more complicated than simply giving them a thank you for the services that they provide to communities.”

Steichen, the firefighter and mental health advocate, says the legislation could help draw attention to careers that badly need people and ease day-to-day stressors faced by those already in the jobs.

“Our jobs and what we’re paid to do is deal with the chaos of civilization. So the best way for us to spend a day off sometimes is surrounded by trees and water,” he said.

But he doesn’t see it as a silver bullet.

“The piecemeal stuff, it definitely helps [with] appreciation and it makes the individuals that do these professions feel good,” Steichen said. “But really, at the end of the day … police [officers], firefighters, dispatchers or EMS workers – what they really want is just a solid career that they don’t get overworked or underpaid doing.”

He says he’s hopeful that a number of bills floating around Lansing can help with that.