‘Change is hard’: Legislators point to issues with new FWP licensing system

A state licensing system that no longer accepts cash in most places has caught the attention of legislators, who peppered Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Christy Clark with questions about the change at the Legislature’s Environmental Quality Council meeting this week.

FWP launched its “License Ambassador Program” earlier this year, which switched the purchase of hunting, fishing and conservation licenses to an online platform run by the agency. The platform is a computer or tablet set up at participating businesses across the state.

It has not been popular, and the kiosks at businesses don’t accept cash.

“I can’t say people are very pleased about it,” Clark said. “Change is hard.”

FWP’s website lists 136 locations where licenses can be purchased, a number that was more than 200 last year, Clark told the committee.

At least one Wyoming store is also now set up to sell Montana licenses — Ryna Performance in Cody. Henry’s Fork Anglers, in Island Park, Idaho, also sells them.

“We were limited from onboarding new businesses due to the equipment requirement,” Clark said, going on to say the old system was “outdated, unrepairable and increasingly unreliable.”

Clark said FWP staff are visiting the businesses to see what “additional refinements” can be made to the system. She added that “it’s become apparent that some folks don’t have a credit card” and said licensing sales are available at FWP’s regional offices and headquarters.

She also mentioned she’d been to some fly fishing shops to witness license purchases and that the shops had “work-arounds,” though it was not clear if that meant work-arounds for customers who wanted to pay in cash.

Montana also passed a law in 2023 — Senate Bill 558 — requiring that retailers “must accept” U.S. currency, including federal reserve notes, which Rep. Josh Seckinger, a Bozeman Democrat, asked Clark about.

“It’s the same as when you order something from Amazon, you can’t pay for it in cash,” Clark said. 

Rep. Paul Fielder, a Thompson Falls Republican, agreed with Seckinger.

“In my region, a lot of people are remote and rural. People don’t have computers, they don’t have cell phones, they don’t do that sort of stuff,” Fielder said. “You actually go in and buy stuff and pay money for it. And I always thought that this online licensing thing kind of discriminates against a lot of people that just don’t have that kind of lifestyle.”

Clark said the online system accounts for 80% of licensing revenue, with the remaining 20% done in-person.

She said staff are reviewing inquiries from businesses “to determine whether additional refinements and communications are needed to make this process more efficient and effective,” and added business visits will continue in a FWP effort to see what help they need with the transition.