Alaska Fish and Game presents FY26 budget requests emphasizing vessel and aircraft maintenance, research restorations

Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang and Bonnie Jensen, administrative services director for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, gave the Senate Finance Budget Subcommittee an overview of the governor's proposed FY26 budget on March 6, 2025.

The department's pitch to the subcommittee centered on maintaining current services while adding targeted funding for vessel and aircraft maintenance, restoring cuts to commercial fisheries assessments, and funding a set of survey and lab upgrades. “We return more than we spend by a large amount,” Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang told the committee, summarizing the department's view that a roughly $250 million budget supports an annual economic return the department estimates in the billions.

The FY26 request keeps core services intact across the department's three primary functions—resource management, stock assessment and research, and customer service/public involvement—while adding line items to address deferred maintenance and capacity problems. Bonnie Jensen described the breakouts in the governor's submission, saying, “the largest funding source is federal funding, which consists of 35% of our overall budget.” She also noted increases in personal services tied to salary adjustments and new line items to show facility rent payments more transparently.

Why it matters: The department argued the maintenance and survey items are essential to sustain stock assessments, fishery enforcement and research programs that underlie management decisions affecting commercial, sport and subsistence users. Lawmakers pressed department officials on vacancies, use of federal grant matches and the value of restoring specific local monitoring efforts.

Key budget details presented

- Overall ask and returns: Commissioner Lang framed the request as a roughly $250 million departmental portfolio, about $70 million of which is unrestricted general fund, and said that the department’s activities support an annual economic output the presentation placed in the billions.

- Funding sources: Jensen described the funding mix as roughly 35% federal, 33% “other,” 28% unrestricted general fund (UGF and general fund match), and 4% designated general funds. Fish and Game Fund, interagency receipt (IA) authority, statutory designated program receipts (SDPR) and Exxon Valdez funds were listed among other source categories.

- Division budgets: The largest division budgets shown were commercial fisheries ($88 million), wildlife conservation ($71 million), sport fish ($55 million) and statewide support services ($34 million). Subsistence and habitat sections were presented as relatively small by comparison.

- Staffing and vacancies: The department reported a recent uptick in position counts after long-term declines; roughly half of fisheries staff are seasonal. Jensen and the commissioner said permanent full-time vacancies are present but not unusually high; Jensen said there are 17 full‑time positions vacant over a year (about 2% of full‑time workforce) and a 9% vacancy rate among non‑seasonal full‑time positions.

Targeted requests and capital items (selected)

- Vessel and aircraft maintenance: $450,000 UGF added to statewide fisheries management to fund maintenance for six research vessels and five aircraft (shipyard work, engine rebuilds and similar expenditures).

- Restoration for commercial fisheries assessments: $721,000 UGF requested to restore survey and assessment projects that were cut late in the prior budget cycle. The list of projects cited included Judd Lake weir, Togiak herring assessment, Prince William Sound trawl survey, Chulitna Lake weir, Lower Yukon test fishery, Kuskokwim-area Bethel test fishery, Arctic/Yukon–Kuskokwim sonar work and Sandy River rearing projects.

- One‑time groundfish support: $300,000 UGF requested to maintain groundfish assessment work in Southeast Alaska amid falling test‑fish revenue.

- Genotyping equipment: $175,000 in Fish and Game Fund authority to replace genetics‑lab genotyping equipment used for in‑season stock identification.

- Hatcheries: $100,000 federal and $100,000 Fish and Game Fund authority requested for continued enhancement work at the Anchorage and Fairbanks hatcheries; department noted those hatcheries previously had no fish‑and‑game fund authority to match federal grants.

- Subsistence research: $100,000 SDPR authority sought to support partnership projects with the North Pacific Research Board and other grant partners.

- Wildlife aircraft/vehicles: $217,000 Fish and Game Fund authority requested to maintain aircraft and other vehicles (snowmachines, ATVs); department officials said most aircraft repairs are contracted out and there is not historically a dedicated maintenance funding source.

- Administrative and boards: deletion of one full‑time administrative officer (a $28,000 UGF cut); $14,000 UGF for increased Board of Fisheries and Board of Game meeting costs tied to SB 189 guide‑concession permit work; a multi‑year operating appropriation requested to accept Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission disaster funds.

Capital requests mentioned briefly included a continuing Alaska Marine Science program, a $5.6 million project to study Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon, and authority to receive larger Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund grants the department said are available through NOAA.

Discussion, follow-up and next steps

Lawmakers asked for additional detail on economic returns tied to specific divisions, and Commissioner Lang agreed to provide further numbers to the chair. Senators also pressed the department on long‑term vacancies (particularly analyst/programmer positions), the department's ability to capture and match Pittman‑Robertson and Dingell‑Johnson funds, and whether the department could restore specific local test fisheries such as the Anchor Point test fishery.

The department described attempts to use public matching and other creative approaches to capture available federal PR/DJ funds and said it is now “capturing the maximum amount we can,” but acknowledged that capacity and matching constraints had previously caused reversion of some funds.

No formal vote or committee action was recorded during the hearing; senators asked the department to provide follow‑up materials to the chair and indicated further review in subsequent subcommittee meetings.

Ending: Commissioner Lang and Jensen closed the presentation and the subcommittee adjourned at 8:51 a.m.