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Office of Species Conservation cites federal grant timing and urges completion of sage-grouse planning
Summary
Analyst and the Office of Species Conservation presented federal grant-driven spending patterns, trustee-and-benefit outlays and a request to increase a miscellaneous revenue appropriation by $30,000 to pursue nonfederal grants; the administrator said federal rulemaking and NEPA timelines complicate species-management planning.
The Office of Species Conservation told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that much of its recent budget activity reflects federal grant timing and one-time federal appropriations, and the office requested a small increase in its miscellaneous revenue appropriation to pursue nonfederal grants.
Janet Jessup, the committee’s analyst, said the office was allocated 16 FTP and in 2023 received a $5 million federal appropriation tied to IIJA-related grant opportunities; much of the increases shown in the five-year appropriation graph are federal trustee-and-benefit payments, she said. Jessup emphasized that federal grant appropriations create a ceiling for spending but that cash availability determines the actual amount the office may expend.
Administrator Edmonson said the office has used federal funds for trustee and benefit payments and that the office is requesting a $30,000 increase in its miscellaneous revenue fund to pursue grants and donations from nonfederal sources. “We now have somebody for our income and our outgo,” Edmonson said, thanking the committee for a fiscal specialist position added last year.
Edmonson also described regulatory and procedural pressures that affect species-management planning. He told the committee that changes in presidential administrations and federal rulemaking introduce “a whiplash effect” on Endangered Species Act listings and National Environmental Policy Act processes, and he urged finishing long-running plans — including sage-grouse plans — to reduce regulatory uncertainty for ranchers and other land managers.
Jessup and Edmonson said the governor’s recommendation did not deviate from the office’s requested enhancements. The office materials and federal-fund inventory are available on the committee SharePoint, and Edmonson thanked staff and Legislative Services for assistance in preparing budget figures.
