Just Got My TPWD Tax Statements For MLD

[M16]

There's no sense in trying to make a valid argument. The concept of entitlement is too commonplace these days. Everybody wants something for nothing and if it doesn't happen it just a big conspiracy against them.

Thanks for making my argument. The State of Texas wants something ($300) for doing nothing new. When you spend literally tens of thousands of dollars in habitat improvements preserving the state's wildlife you're suddenly a freeloader?

Not to worry. I've figured out a way to game the system. Members in a wildlife cooperative only pay $30. So I'm gonna get with my neighbors and start one. But wait there's more. The lease license is $6 when you are in a cooperative. I've been paying $252. But wait there's more. My private biologist can go work for the state and then I can use him for free. Another big savings.

[dgilbert]

Why do we have to pay school taxes all your life?

[M16]

Why do we have to pay school taxes all your life?

Because the government owns your house and property even if you have payed off the mortgage. It's very common that the owner of a house or property wants some rent money.

[RiverRat1]

Here is the deal... The MLDP program has grown in scale a LOT over the last 20 years. Best I can tell its 15x the size that it was in 1999. That means more people to administer the program - and that doesn't even include the biologists. Even for people that are using their own biologists, there is still work involved in maintaining any business process. I would think you and M16 would know this from basic private business knowledge. Add in the government and that is exacerbated. Without this fee (its not a tax, its a fee) at some point the system becomes unsustainable OR the people not in the program are actually paying for it.

So my argument would be that the 95% of hunters that are not on MLDP are subsidizing the plan for the 5% that aren't paying anything directly for the program. That just isn't sustainable at scale.

I get what you're saying but two things.
1. The State set up this program to work with landowners so landowners could help wildlife numbers. Wildlife the State owns. Never was it assumed to be freeloading. Not until a year ago.

2. So if 10 people were on the program helping the State..Then it grows to 100, then 1,000.. Isn't that a good thing? If the State thought it was a great program since the beginning then why does it "cost too much" once more people are on it? I mean sure costs rise but should be a good thing as they're getting that much more in return.

I'd like to know how many ranches have stopped MLD this year. I'll stop soon. It's just too much of a hassle and then the fee just adds insult. Doing what the State wants you to (and spending money doing it). People thinking it's freeloading are ignorant to how the program works.

[Drycreek3189]

This shouldn’t be a surprise....we’ve known this was coming for couple years now.

I agree, I can’t see why it didn’t cost from the start. You know everybody’s gonna pile on a freebie, I’m just wondering why TPWD couldn’t see that. They’re not very forward thinking.

I didn’t drop it because I thought it was gonna cost in the future, I dropped it because of all the record keeping and other needless stuff (for me). After about five years I just couldn’t see it doing anything for me that I couldn’t do on my own. I didn’t need the extended season, and I think they wanted me to shoot too many does. That feeling was validated as soon as they changed the program. Whereas when I was on the original program they wanted me to shoot five does per season, as soon as the new program came in they allowed only one. What changed, other than they don’t know what the hell they’re doing ? My biologist didn’t even know what a food plot was, NOT KIDDING, the first one did, he retired, the second was just out of school and worthless as teats on a boar hog. That’s why I dropped it. It is my belief that they cater to the large places and to hell with the small places, more invites from the large places