Montana hunters and anglers will pay more for their 2016-17 licenses when they go on sale today.

This year hunters must purchase a $10 “base hunting license” as a prerequisite to buying any state hunting license. It includes the hunting access enhancement fee that was charged separately for $2 last year.

The new base license was created in lieu of adjusting license fees for individual species.

A season-long Montana resident fishing license will increase by $3 this year to $21.

Fishing licenses will no longer be sold in combination with a conservation license, which is required for any hunting or fishing license purchase.

The price of a resident conservation license will remain at $8 for all ages.

Under the new structure, most licenses that were free or discounted in 2015 will be charged at half the standard license cost. Previously, free licenses or a variety of discounted prices were offered to some youth, seniors and disabled sportsmen.

In 2016, only military recognition and block management cooperator combination licenses will remain free. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reimbursed by the state general fund for military recognition licenses and block management cooperators provide hunting opportunities for all sportsmen.

The new fee structure will define “youth” as those between 12 and 17 years old. This language replaces a number of age categories.

The price of all other resident tags, licenses, drawing fees and permits will remain the same as in 2015.

The license fee changes were approved by the state Legislature during the 2015 session.

The legislation evolved as a compromise between budget requests from Fish, Wildlife and Parks and members of the House and Senate who objected to placing more financial burdens on hunters and anglers and increasing the budget for the agency.

The changes to the license fee structure were initiated by an advisory committee in 2014. The panel sought to bridge an expected budget shortfall of $5.7 million for the fish and wildlife agency.