New licenses and plates available for park users

New Yorkers and visitors may purchase lifetime licenses to fish, hunt, and visit New York State Parks.

To promote this, the state is offering New York’s Outdoor Adventure License Plates, which features nine new plate designs – including the I [love] NY HUNTING, I [love] NY FISHING, and I [love] NY PARKS – available for free to those buying new lifetime hunting, fishing, or parks licenses in 2014.

In addition, New Yorkers who secure lifetime licenses can receive an Adventure License, which lets them consolidate all their recreation licenses and benefits onto their state driver’s licenses.

The Adventure License and plates are available on the state’s revamped online licensing portal: www.licensecenter.ny.gov.

A Lifetime Hunting License for small and big game costs $535.

A Lifetime Fishing License costs $460.

ALifetime Empire Passport costs $750. As a free one-time bonus, purchasers will be able to select from any one of the following: a free week of camping, a free round of golf for four, or a $100 State Parks gift card.

According to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, sportsmen and women spent $4.95 billion on hunting and fishing in New York in 2011 and support more than 56,000 jobs across the state. In addition, spending by sportsmen and women in New York generated $623 million in state and local taxes in 2011.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation maintains and operates 179 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 60 million people annually.

A recent study commissioned by Parks & Trails New York found that New York State Parks generates $1.9 billion in economic activity annually and supports 20,000 jobs.

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