Hunters and anglers play important role in Game and Fish budgets

Hunters and anglers not only benefit from the various Wyoming Game and Fish programs, but they also help contribute to the department’s budget through the purchase of licenses, firearms, ammunition and boating and fishing equipment.

Wyoming Game and Fish Deputy Director John Kennedy said the Wyoming Game and Fish general fund budget has been impacted by the recent cuts to state departments, however, with the Wyoming Game and Fish divided into two areas, wildlife management, which falls under the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission budget, has not been impacted.

“It’s complicated. A lot of people don’t understand. It’s important to get this out so people understand our funding model,” Kennedy said.

The two budgets are the general fund budget which is funded by the Wyoming Legislature and accounts for 7 percent of the total Wyoming G&F budget. The other 93 percent of the budget falls under the Game and Fish Commission 2017 fiscal year, which was approved in July in the amount of $77 million.

General Fund Budget

Kennedy said in regard to the budget cuts the Wyoming Legislature approved in March and the additional cuts Governor Matt Mead announced earlier this summer impact the general fund.

The Wyoming Game and Fish began receiving general fund support from the Wyoming Legislature since 2005. “That was a really important policy call by the people of Wyoming, the Legislature, the governor’s office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to help fund those funds programs that benefit more than hunters and anglers,” Kennedy said. “Although that budget is only 7 percent of our total budget, it’s really, really important.”

He said the general fund is used for programs such as veterinary services program for work on wildlife diseases, sage grouse, sensitive species, aquatic invasive species and wolf management.

Kennedy said the Game and Fish work on sage grouse and wolves, helps keep them off or keep them from getting listed on the endangered species list.

For the general fund budget, Kennedy said they did make cuts in accordance with the budget approved by the Legislature.

Cuts included:

—10 percent on travel, $27,000

—5 percent on contracts, $83,000

—1.5 percent overall cut, $169,000

The governor’s additional 8 percent cut meant an additional $900,000 cut in the general fund budget.

He said originally Game and Fish proposed a standard biennium budget for 2017-2018 of $12.1 million and they cut $1.2 million. He said the budget now is at $10.9 million.

If the Game and Fish needs to supplement the general fund they have to make a request to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.

Kennedy said Game and Fish had also received funding support for capital construction projects including at fish hatcheries. They are now not receiving general fund support for capital construction.

“Our Commission is picking those up with Commission funding,” Kennedy said.

Commission budget

Unlike the Game and Fish general fund budget that is allocated by the Wyoming Legislature, there are several revenue sources for the Game and Fish Commission budget — 47 percent continues to come from hunters and anglers through license fees ($38.5 million for FY17); federal grants from the federal Pittman-Robertson Act (PR funding also known as the Wildlife Restoration Act passed in 1937) which comes from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. “In fact, that revenue source has increased significantly in the last couple of years because of increased gun sales,” Kennedy said. “We’ve been receiving those dollars for a long, long time. That’s been a very important part of Game and Fish’s budget and funding model, is the use of Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson (federal program passed in 1950). The Dingell-Johnson Act, also known as the Sport Fish Restoration Act, is the boating side of things, Kennedy explained. He said they receive federal dollars, through a similar distribution formula like Pittman-Robertson, from the excise taxes on sport fishing equipment, import duties on fishing tackle, yachts and pleasure craft and a portion of the gasoline fuel tax attributable to small engines and motorboats. The funds are used for fisheries management and fishing access throughout the state.

Funding from the two main federal grant programs amounts to about 19 percent of the revenues for the Commission ($15.6 million for FY17).

In 2012 and 2013, Wyoming Game and Fish reduced the budget by $2 million and $4.3 million respectively after the Game and Fish sought an increased in license fees, which was denied by the Wyoming Legislature.

“At the same time we reduced our budget we got a significant increase in PR funding, unanticipated. We also saw an unanticipated increase in fishing sales,” Kennedy said. He said with the revenue increases and decrease in expenditures it allowed the Commission to increase the operating fund.

Operating Fund

“The Game and Fish Commission has always had an operating fund that has monies in it to keep our operations going and manage fish and wildlife within a year and among years between license-fee increases and within a year between license sales,” Kennedy said.

He added that operating fund has received quite a bit of attention due to the increase in revenue from the gun sales.

However, he said the PR funding is only given to the Game and Fish as reimbursable revenue. It does not come as a big pot of money. The Game and Fish must first spend the money and send the bill to the Fish and Wildlife Service. All projects funded are subject to a 75 percent (USFWS) and 25 percent from the Commission.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the PR Act authorizes distribution for administration for the Wildlife Restoration Program, multistate conservation grant program, hunter education enhancements and hunter education.

“Folks are not off in thinking we have budget capacity because of that increase in funding it’s just not that the money we have in the operating fund is not strictly PR funding, it’s a blend,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy noted, however that the federal grant acts are not necessarily stable revenue sources. “We can’t rely on that (PR and DJ funding) as a future funding source. We anticipate continuing to receive PR and Dingle for hunting and fishing but at some point the sale of guns and ammunition are going to go down. We can’t bank on that for future management of wildlife. We’re OK right now, we’ve got some time but we need to be thinking about future, stable, consistent sources in the future.”

Regarding future funding, Kennedy said the Game and Fish is not proposing any license increases or authority issues (asking the Legislature to give authority to the Commission to raise or lower fees).

Operating Fund Reserve

Kennedy said this year the Commission took the operating fund and established an operating fund reserve similar to state’s rainy day account.

Balance of the operating fund was $56 million. They decided to take four-year average and take six months operating expenses and put into reserves and not spend, Kennedy said, that amounted to $31.5 million, leaving $25 million left in the operating fund.

The Commission opted to invest that in wildlife and directed the staff to put the money toward several projects.

—Wildlife forensics and fish pathologist lab in Laramie and a new regional office in Laramie. “We currently have a very small Wildlife forensics and fish pathologist lab on the UW campus – and we’ve been working toward new building. It’s been one of our highest capital construction project for years and we’ve never gotten funding for it,” Kennedy said.

Project cost is estimated at $12 million to $15 million.

“These are things that it’s really fortunate Commission has that capacity to pull this off because there’s no way we’re going to receive general fund capital construction dollars just because the state of the economy.”

—Allocate resources to conservation camp in Dubois. The camp is a world class facility, but has always suffered from lack of appropriate resources directed to repair and improve the camp, Kennedy said. The cost is $4 million with the Commission budgeting $2 million and they are seeking partners for the additional $2 million.

—Cody Regional Office has been on list of high priorities for a long, long time. The Commission asked the staff to start working on planning and designing to improve or replace the regional office.

—Deferred maintenance on facilities including houses and hatcheries. Kennedy said the Commission requested more money for the deferred maintenance for facilities and vehicles.

—Other high priority projects implement mule deer initiative (promote on-the-ground habitat projects for mule deer statewide); big game migration corridors. Kennedy said where the Game and Fish staff has identified big game migration corridors, the Commission has asked them to conduct risk and habitat assessments to implement proactive projects to preserve those corridors. Other projects include wildlife diseases, conservation, education and outreach and retention of hunters and anglers.

Total revenue sources

Total revenue for the Wyoming Game and Fish, combining the Commission and general fund and Commission budgets is as follows:

—License fees, which hunting and fishing licenses, conservation stamps, application fees and preference points, 47 percent, $38.5 million

—Federal aid, 19 percent, $15.57 million

—Operating cash, 12 percent, $9.6 million

—Grants, 7 percent, $6 million

—General fund, 7 percent, $6 million

—Interest, 3 percent, $2.77 million

—Access fund, 2 percent, $1.73 million

—License recoupment, 1 percent, $.83 million

—Boating registration, 1 percent, $.69 million

—Total projected revenue $81.6 million.