The day the fish were really biting. Don Poole — known to his friend as Mister Bass — caught a fish. If he can, so can you. ~~ Photograph by Robert Sutherland

An old friend used to say, “Do your giving while you’re living.  Then you’re knowing where it’s going.”  It’s time for us to do our Christmas shopping, even if we forget the Reason for the Season.  We can get presents for our loved ones that we know will be returned as soon as they can get the receipts to the store … or we can get a gift that will truly last a lifetime and might provide years of enjoyment.  Fishing licenses and hunting licenses.  Go on, laugh, but this is a good deal.

What would you rather pay for: Death Cab for Cutie  memorabilia or a fishing license for your grandkids?   Get a gift that might help them develop a love of Lake Allatoona and the outdoors!

The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division has a great gift idea to please all the hunters and anglers in your family … that will also benefit the wildlife and wild places they enjoy.

A lifetime license or annual hunting or fishing license gives access to the great outdoors, and provides support for Georgia wildlife and state-managed lands.

Lifetime Hunting & Fishing Licenses

With a lifetime license, the Georgia resident hunter or angler on your gift list will not need to pay for another state hunting or fishing license.  Ever!  From hunting trophy whitetails to casting for lunker largemouths, their cherished recreation in Georgia is covered.

Lifetime Hunting & Fishing License Prices

• The best bargain is for children: $200 for under 2 years old and $350 for kids age 2 to 15. That’s a potential savings of more than $2,600 over a lifetime.  A license can even be purchased for a non-resident child age 2-15 for $1,000.
• The price for ages 16-59 is $500.
• Discount lifetime licenses for resident adults age 60 to 64 are $95.
• Residents 65 and older can receive a free lifetime license, with an option to pay a one-time fee of $10 for a durable, commemorative plastic card.
• Veteran lifetime license is $400.

Apply Online by Clicking Here

Can’t afford a lifetime license? How about purchasing an annual or 2-year license for that hunter or angler?  This purchase provides your sportsman or woman access to the Georgia outdoors.  Even if they already have a current license, the license you purchase will “stack” onto their existing one to let them continue to pursue the sport they love.

Gifts That Keep On Giving …

The Wildlife Resources Division uses hunting and fishing license sales to fulfill its wildlife mission. Yet sales of lifetime, sportsman’s and other licenses are also a key measure through which states receive Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funding.

Since 1937, the federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program has channeled dedicated excise taxes on sporting equipment – more than $14 billion nationwide through 2011 – to states to manage fish and wildlife and provide recreational opportunities.  Uses in Georgia vary from funding public fishing areas to managing the state’s 1 million-strong deer herd.

It’s worth noting that Georgia receives federal funds only for paid licenses.  Avid hunters and anglers who buy a discount lifetime license ($95) at age 60, rather than waiting for a free lifetime license at age 65, ensure their excise taxes are returned to Georgia for the rest of their life!  Those 65 and older can also support wildlife by buying a discount lifetime license instead of asking for the free senior license.

Overall, wildlife recreation also supports the economy, with participants spending $144.7 billion nationwide – equal to 1 percent of the gross domestic product – and with an economic impact of abot $5.6 billion in Georgia

This holiday season, skip the wrapping paper and give the wildlife enthusiast on your list a lifetime license or an annual Georgia Outdoor Recreational Pass.  It’s the perfect gift for them and the wildlife they love.

Sorry, Death Cab for Cutie.