Just Call It A Tax Hike -- Outdoor Retailers Want To Bag Wholesale Tax Plan Geared For Wildlife Not Covered By Other Programs

Would you be willing to pay an extra $2.50 for that $100 sleeping bag if the money would help save the western pond turtle, the snowy plover and the pygmy rabbit?

A national coalition of wildlife departments thinks you would.

REI thinks you shouldn't.

The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, joined by the Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation, is pushing the idea of an outdoor recreation equipment tax for programs to aid the common critters - the birds, fish, bugs and mammals that are neither hunted, fished nor threatened with extinction.

A 5 percent tax on outdoor gear would raise $350 million nationwide to protect animals, the group says. Washington would receive about $7.2 million annually.

The Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America and the Sporting Good Manufacturers Association oppose the tax, saying it wouldn't raise as much as wildlife agencies claim and that it ignores a wide range of other recreation needs.

"We really see this as a special-interest group looking to solve its own problem," said Kathleen Beamer, REI vice president of public affars.

The proposal, called the Wildlife Diversity Funding Initiative, is modeled after the 5 percent Wildlife Restoration Act tax on guns and ammunition that goes to pay for the conservation of hunted animals, and a similar tax on fishing gear that benefits sport fishing.

"Wildlife gets very little attention until it hits the

endangered species list," said Naomi Edelson, wildlife diversity director of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in Washington D.C. "There's no reliable funding in this country for wildlife conservation - only for endangered species and game species."

Because it would be levied at the wholesale level, that sleeping bag - along with tents, binoculars and other camping gear - would already be marked up before it hit the showroom floor. The consumer would get dinged for considerably less than 5 percent - probably only about 2.5 percent of the item's retail cost, Edelson predicted.

REI's Beamer said one of the problems with the tax is that not all outdoor recreation gear ends up being used outdoors. Many sleeping bags, for example, are bought by parents so their kids can have a slumber party. Many people go hiking in tennis shoes.

"This kind of tax is blind to the purchaser - the purchaser may or may not realize the benefit," Beamer said.

The administrative cost of collecting the tax would also eat up a chunk of the revenue, Beamer said.

The idea of a recreation equipment tax is not new to this state. The Washington legislature considered a "backpack tax" in 1991, but the proposal withered for lack of support. One of its opponents was then-Gov. Booth Gardner.

David Jennings, president of the Black Hills Audubon Society in Olympia, said the proposal died because it put Washington recreation manufacturers on an uneven footing with out-of-state competitors. "It is very hard for an individual state to take a stand, because it makes industries in one state non-competitive in other states," he said.

Beamer said REI is interested in helping to meet a gamut of recreation needs, but is working with the Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America on a broad proposal to raise $1 billion annually for recreation needs.

The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies - which represents public fish and wildlife agencies from all 50 states - estimates there are about 1,800 animals whose existence is threatened because they are not endangered or hunted, and thus don't qualify for any special funding through the Endangered Species Act or the hunting or fishing taxes.

If the recreation tax passed, the money would be distributed as grants parceled out to each state through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The funds would go to such projects as buying or restoring land and monitoring wildlife populations.

Washington Department of Wildlife officials would use the money to inventory wildlife diversity, protect critical wildlife habitat and enhance wildlife enjoyment in cities and urban areas.

Three species would also get special attention. The department would protect the western pond turtle by acquiring sites and reintroducing turtles raised in captivity; study ways to boost the population of the western snowy plover; and study the pygmy rabbit, perhaps re-introducing it back into the wild in places where it has vanished.

Before the wildlife association approaches Congress, it's trying to line up grass-roots support through hiking clubs, bird-watching groups and environmental groups. If the clubs can convince the manufacturers that their members will stand behind this tax, the association will attempt to get sponsorship of a bill in Congress this spring, Edelson said.

In this state, all 26 local chapters of the Audubon Society voted in favor of the proposal earlier this year, Jennings said. Local chapters of the Sierra Club are set to vote on it during their December meeting. But The Mountaineers have never heard of the proposal.

What products might get taxed? Edelson said the group would sit down with the industry and make up a list. Some of the items might include backpacks, stoves, sleeping bags, tents, field guides, binoculars and film.

"I really understand the need," Beamer said. "I'm not arguing with how desperate the problem is. I just don't think this is a good solution."