Renew your hunting and fishing license now to avoid stampede of last-minute outdoors folks

If you hunt or fish in the state of Alabama, your hunting and fishing license will expire Aug. 31, so now is the time to renew. 

All licenses can be purchased online at www.outdooralabama.com. Officials suggest getting your license now, because the system has been overwhelmed in the past when too many sportsmen log onto the system at once.  

“Get your license ASAP, because dove season opens Sept. 2, and inevitably some hunters wait until the last minute,” Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Wildlife Biologist Marianne Gauldin said.  

Make sure your driver's license or ID has not expired, because if WFF can’t verify your residence, they can’t issue a license.   

Many hunters and anglers still ask why they must buy licenses. The money spent on these licenses is the sole income for the WFF department, the agency that makes sure there is hunting and fishing for generations to come.  

Money from licenses is used for conservation of a wide variety of species, according to Gauldin. “Not just game species that are hunted and eaten, but for birds and insects that we don’t always think about when we think about hunting and fishing,” she said. Gauldin said these non-game species are important because they make up the habitat that supports the game species.  

Gauldin said that the best way to support conservation is to buy a hunting or fishing license. It may be a good idea to buy a hunting over bait license or a hunting feral pig at night license, she said. In a previous interview, WFF Director Chuck Sykes said for as little as those licenses cost, it is worth it to have one as insurance. For instance, a buddy takes you hunting, and you didn’t know he was going to hunt over bait, but he does. If you are there and don’t have a license, you get a ticket.  

These monies are often used to match federal dollars.Purchase hunting and fishing licenses “not only gives us that money, but it also enables us access to other funding sources and federal monies related to the number of licenses we sell. And that goes to support all species,” Gauldin said.  

Gauldin said, “Even though all licenses don’t expire until the 31st, the license pre-sale is on.” You can purchase all hunting and fishing licenses at www.outdooralabama.com. It is an easy process that will take only about 10 minutes.