Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation outlines $44 million federal grants portfolio and flags uncertainty

Danielle Fitzville, Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation, told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that the department currently has about $44,000,000 in federal awards on its books and that $18,169,674 is budgeted as FPR’s federal share for fiscal year 2026, equal to roughly one-third of the department’s FY26 budget.

Why it matters: the federal funds support forestry, recreation, land acquisition and positions; changes to federal priorities, paused awards or altered grant language could reduce services to municipalities, nonprofits and Vermonters and would require the department and legislature to prioritize or replace lost dollars.

Fitzville said the $44 million figure represents the department’s active grant portfolio, not money received in a single year. Ansley Blair, FPR’s director of finance and administration, said many grants are multi-year or reimbursement-based: “We have a $5,000,000 grant, which will take us 5 years to implement,” and the department must spend money first and then draw reimbursements from federal partners. Blair said FPR is conducting monthly drawdowns when projects are underway.

Blair outlined how federal funds are distributed across divisions: about $4 million supports forestry programs; lands administration and recreation account for nearly $14 million (much of that as pass-through grants to municipalities and nonprofits); and roughly $7 million is budgeted for land acquisition through Forest Legacy. She said 43 employees have at least a portion of their salaries paid with federal dollars, which compresses to about 22 full-time equivalents funded by those grants; FPR’s total headcount referenced in the presentation was 134.

Committee members asked how much of the $44 million is still available to be drawn this fiscal year. Blair said the department has remaining obligations within the $44 million portfolio and described timing differences between the $44 million under agreements and the $18.17 million booked for the coming fiscal year. She explained reimbursement rules: the state fronts costs and is reimbursed once work and documentation are complete.

FEMA-related funds were discussed separately. Fitzville said FEMA awards relate only to projects where state lands suffered storm damage; they do not fund business-interruption claims for private operators (those claims were handled through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development). She said only a “small portion” of FEMA funds have been received so far and that the department has closed about 18 of roughly 80 FEMA-eligible projects, with many projects still under documentation and approval.

On federal uncertainty, Blair and Fitzville said FPR has not had funds pulled back but some awards are on “pause” or under federal review. Blair said the department has added protective language to some subgrant agreements to reduce state liability for federal policy changes and that in some cases the federal government has asked them to remove language from agreements. Fitzville said the mandated language under review typically concerns diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and climate change; she described the change as a request to strip or alter references to those topics in outgoing subgrants.

Fitzville and Blair also described staffing and partner risks tied to federal reorganization: they said some long-time federal contacts have left, federal agencies are reorganizing and the U.S. Forest Service staffing changes may reduce the number of people available to administer or collaborate on grants. They identified specific program risks if federal funding were reduced — wildland fire funding, long-term forest-health monitoring, and stewardship/private-lands oversight — and said any cut would require prioritization of what the state would seek to backfill.

The department also noted a decline in border visitors affecting state park reservations: Fitzville said Canadian reservations were down substantially this season and estimated a roughly 60% decline in that cohort’s bookings, noting that Canadian visitors often represent longer stays.

Fitzville said the department has not eliminated state positions because of federal uncertainty but has held off filling some approved openings as a precaution. She said FPR is monitoring federal appropriations (the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution) and will keep the committee informed.

Ending: Committee members signaled continued oversight; FPR offered to provide updates as federal appropriations and grant conditions are clarified.