Fish and Game explains license‑cash swings, proposes $18.2 million in mostly one‑time enhancements

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game told the Joint Finance Committee it is requesting $18,184,900 in enhancements for fiscal 2026, about 88 percent of which the agency described as one‑time items, and that a dip in license‑fund cash balances in fiscal 2024 reflected federal grant billing timing rather than a permanent revenue decline.

Janet Jessup, Legislative Services budget analyst, said the department does not receive general fund support and relies on dedicated and federal funds, chiefly the Fish and Game Fund derived from hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. She told the committee the agency typically expends roughly 85 percent of appropriations and that many dedicated funds are prescriptive and set aside for specific purposes.

Jim Fredericks, director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and John Oswald, the department’s administration bureau chief, explained the license cash‑balance pattern. "The dip in FY '24 was in part due to...…