FWP outlines 0‑based parks budget and requests small-dollar increases, equipment and technician positions

At a hearing of the Montana Legislature's Natural Resources and Transportation Subcommittee, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks presented a 0‑based budget for its Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division and outlined four decision packages intended to cover operations, equipment and staff for the next biennium. The department described core programs — from block management and fishing access sites to trail grants, snowmobile grooming and heritage resources — and highlighted rising visitation and volunteer support.

The budget presentation matters because state parks and access programs are primarily funded outside the general fund and the division says demand and operating costs have increased: FWP reported about 3.2 million state park visitors annually, large volunteer contributions and multiple grant programs that leverage local matches. The department asked the committee to consider four decision packages to cover specific, near‑term needs while it continues long‑range planning under its OGSM (objectives, goals, strategies, measurables) annual plan.

Beth Shumate, assistant administrator of the Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division, told the committee the 0‑based budget was built from a “mission and task focused exercise” and asked legislators to refer to the handout materials for program tables and financial detail. “This division's work is interwoven into the tapestry of the Montana lifestyle,” Shumate said, listing state parks, fishing access sites, river recreation areas and trail programs as the division's central responsibilities.

FWP staff walked the committee through program highlights and current funding levels: the administrative unit oversees recreation grants and planning; the agency allocates roughly $4.5 million annually through competitive recreation grant programs; the trail stewardship program closed its 2025 application cycle with 61 applications requesting almost $4 million; the agency typically budgets about $2 million annually for trail stewardship grants; and the OHV and snowmobile programs together account for roughly $1 million in annual funding. The department said community shooting‑range grants leverage federal Pittman‑Robertson funds and that it typically budgets $200,000–$300,000 per biennium for that program.

Shumate and other staff described access programs in greater detail. The block management program enrolls roughly 6.8 million acres, the department said, with more than 1,300 landowners and about 1,400 agreements. FWP also reported a pilot for online block management reservations that produced more than 870 reservations across 10 options.

FWP presented four decision packages (DPs) to the committee:

- DP603: Smith River budget authority increase — $40,000 (state special). FWP said the increase will cover operational costs tied to the Smith River human‑waste pack‑out system, lease payments to private landowners and printing maps and information for floaters. The department noted the pack‑out infrastructure (installed in 2023) and said current operations cannot absorb the contract costs.

- DP606: Recreational equipment (one‑time) — $149,500 (state special). The request would replace end‑of‑life equipment (some items described as 15–25 years old) at multiple parks and sites and update rafts and trailers for river recreation.

- DP604: Gartside Reservoir fishing access site dam operator — $25,000 per year (state special). FWP says the Gartside Reservoir dam in Richland County is classified as a high‑hazard dam and the department proposes contracting with a locally based operator to provide gate operation, water‑level coordination and near‑site monitoring rather than relying on maintenance staff who must drive from Miles City.

- DP605: State park statewide resources — 7.35 recreation technician FTE (ongoing). FWP explained visitation pressures and the role seasonal and full‑time technicians in visitor safety, fee compliance, conflict mitigation and basic site maintenance; the department said the positions would be spread across regions and high‑use parks.

FWP financial staff also flagged an agency cash‑projection concern during committee questioning: Chief Financial Officer Lena Havron said cash “starts to project to the negative in 02/1930,” language the committee asked the department to clarify. Committee members asked for follow‑up on fund‑balance projections and the source categories (licenses, state special accounts and federal funds) that would support the DPs if authorized.

Committee members pressed the department on management structure and conservation priorities after the 2021 reorganization that assigned more land management to the Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division. Senator Ellis noted concern that “the purposes of those different land pieces are so different” and sought assurances that wildlife and fisheries conservation would be preserved where lands such as wildlife management areas (WMAs) and fishing access sites have distinct conservation objectives. Director Christy Clark and division staff responded that management is coordinated with wildlife and fisheries divisions and that maintenance staff were moved into Parks and Outdoor Recreation while wildlife retains purview of WMA management. The department agreed to provide additional detail on interdivisional coordination and monitoring.

The Gartside Reservoir request prompted questions about why FWP owns and operates a “high‑hazard” dam and what functions the structure serves. Ryan Tatum, stewardship bureau chief, told the committee the DP is for dam operation — “not for the actual maintenance of the fishing access side. It's actually for the operation of the dam itself because it is a high high hazard dam,” he said — and the department committed to supply historical details, ownership records and the dam's primary purposes to the committee in follow‑up.

Public commenters nearly uniformly supported the Parks division and the DPs. Carly Johnson of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation emphasized continuing support for block management and private‑land access programs; Clayton Elliott of Drive Unlimited described himself as initially skeptical of the 2021 reorganization but said the centralized recreation focus had improved coordination; Ben Lamb of the Montana Conservation Society urged support for the base budget and noted that roughly half of the division's base budget supports landowner access and enrollment programs; and other stakeholders representing conservation and outdoor organizations urged approval of the specific DPs and the base budget.

The department also presented its House Bill 190 annual OGSM plan to the committee, which summarizes agency objectives and measurable targets across customer service, stewardship, access and workforce culture improvements. Examples in the OGSM include completing two shooting‑range site plans, advancing the ExploreMT licensing/database transition, expanding hunter education field days and strengthening regional access programs.

The committee asked for additional detail on several items before taking further budget action: (1) a clearer breakdown of DP605 staffing by region and site, (2) fund‑source detail for each DP (licenses, state special accounts, federal funds), (3) the historical record, ownership and purpose for Gartside Reservoir and why FWP holds fee title, and (4) a clarified cash projection and any implication for future license‑fee requests. The department committed to provide those follow‑ups.

The hearing concluded with the committee scheduling an upcoming site tour of the Department of Transportation facilities and reminders about subsequent hearings and reports required under HB190.

Ending: FWP asked the subcommittee to consider the DPs as targeted, near‑term investments to address documented equipment shortfalls, public‑safety needs at a high‑hazard dam, visitor‑service pressure and Smith River operational costs. The department and committee agreed on written follow‑up on Gartside dam history, DP funding sources and a clarified cash projection before any final budget decisions are made.