State Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, said Friday that most hunters who have spoken to him during the past four years about potential increases to hunting fees, express the opinion that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game may not have earned the raise.

"Most of them don't feel that the game is very plentiful," Andrus said. "They, of course, blame who manages it, so they don't feel there is justification to raise fees."

The Fish and Game Department has developed a plan to raise fees for catching salmon and steelhead and for hunting antlered elk and deer. The proposal includes lesser increases for hunting and fishing fees overall and is expected to generate $7 million for the agency. The department will take the plan to state lawmakers next year for approval.

Andrus, who was first elected to his current office in 2004, said he hasn't considered how he would vote regarding a hunting fee increase, and that he would have to wait to hear all of the details and arguments surrounding the proposal. But he did talk Friday about some potential obstacles.

He anticipates that if Fish and Game asks for increases, they will likely cite increasing gas prices and the need to increase personnel to better manage game and stop poachers, among other needs.

He said the department could not only face stiff opposition from hunting groups, but also from lawmakers unwilling to increase the fees in the midst of difficult economic times.

"When they first starting talking about this, the economy was strong," Andrus said. "I don't know how this will play out in the legislature. I think a lot depends on how the economy is at the time."

Fish and Game Director Cal Groen said the plan to raise some fees more than others is modeled after a business standard.

"Your high-quality products, you're going to charge more for," Groen told The Spokesman-Review.

The department operates with money from hunting and fishing tag fees, which haven't been raised in four years, and federal and private grants.

If state lawmakers approve the fee increase, 80 percent of the money would go toward maintaining programs that already exist. The remaining 20 percent would go toward improvements, such as expanding fish hatcheries and designating more fishing areas for families in urban areas.

Fish and game officials decided to target the highest fee increases only for specific types of fish, elk and deer to keep the new tag fees from deterring lower-income Idaho residents.

Under the proposal, tags for salmon and steelhead would increase 63 percent, from $11 to $18, for Idaho residents. The controlled hunt deer tags would increase 36 percent, from $18 to $23, and the elk tags would go up 25 percent, from $29 to $36.50 for Idaho residents.

The fees that non-Idaho residents under the age of 17 pay to hunt elk here were among the largest increases in the proposal. The cost of those tags will go up 157 percent, from $14.75 to $38.

Idaho Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, co-chairman of the House and Senate joint budget committee, said the structure of the fee proposal has some appeal, but the plan could still face opposition.

"I think conceptually, fee increases are going to be a tough sell in this Legislature," Cameron said.

Andrus wouldn't speculate on what the 2009 Idaho Legislature would do, but he did say the economy could tip the scale.

"If things are still stagnant, I can't see that Fish and Game will get a raise," Andrus said. "But I am just one of 105 votes, and I am not saying how I would vote. I would have to hear everything first."