Eagle Tribune Editorial: NH canoe tax is a desperate money grab
A commission formed to find ways to improve the “sustainability” of Fish and Game recommended that New Hampshire start charging.
Now the chairman of the commission, state Sen. Robert Odell, R-Lempster, has filed legislation that would require owners to pay an annual fee of $10 for every dinghy, dory, punt, pram, shell, skiff or other example of the non-motorized fleet.
Other members of the sustainability panel say the fee is necessary.
“It would be catastrophic if we don’t find an additional source of funding,” said the chairman of the Fish and Game Commission, Thomas Hubert.
He said small-boaters “will be willing to contribute” once “they learn the big picture.” Not that they would have much choice, except to avoid New Hampshire waterways.
State Rep. David Kidder, R-New London, another panel member, said $10 a year is a small price to pay to enjoy the privilege of canoeing or kayaking.
Paddling your own canoe is now a privilege?
Not surprisingly, sportsmen are not thrilled by the fee — or tax, as they call it.
And neither are we.